Audre & Bash Are Just Friends(53)

Audre: a huge cargo box got stuck in the rocks offshore in 1983! and over the years, the lunch boxes get swept out to shore



Bash: THAT’S WHY??!



Audre: i’m obsessed and kinda want one now



Bash: i’ll find you one. now I’m even more determined



Audre: night, B



Bash: night, A



Audre: and thx for the 333 tip. ur really sweet



NEW DAY

Bash: childhood confession time



Audre: k, u first



Bash: when I was a kid, I saw this h’ween simpsons episode where a witch cursed everyone to turn into their costumes. so I always picked costumes that I’d be cool with for eternity



Audre: that’s adorable. what was your fav?



Bash: captain america. he was an artist before he was a superhero. i always knew I wanted to design things. i could be captain america forever



Audre: perfect. did I ever tell u I used to be an artist? paintings and collages, mostly. i won a statewide competition in seventh grade



Bash: why did u stop



Audre: idk. The older i got, the more i realized i wasn’t THAT good. i get impatient when i’m not the best at something



Bash: why not do it ’cause it feels good



Audre: maybe idk



Bash: what costume would u pick if u had to wear it forever



Audre: dr. melfi, the therapist on the sopranos



Bash: never watched it



Audre: i have so much to teach u



Bash: ur turn. childhood confession



Audre: don’t judge me. in dept stores sometimes, i used to get lost on purpose. just to hear them call my mom to the front desk



Bash: whoa. that’s deep. why?



Audre: idk. if a client told me that story, i’d have it figured out in 2 min. but I can’t therapize myself



Bash: maybe u just craved her attention. we all want recognition. i think it’s a normal thing, don’t u



Audre: i don’t know what’s normal anymore, tbh



Bash: night, A



Audre: night, B



NEW DAY

Bash: wyd



Audre: lol it’s almost midnight. i’m at my house



Bash: house?



Audre: crib



Bash: u hungry? wanna get something to eat? that diner on sixteenth is open 24 hrs



Audre:…



Audre: which challenge are we doing?



Bash: no challenge. but it’s 4th of july! we should do something



Audre: are we allowed to “do something” outside of a challenge



Bash: i just want to see u



Audre: but i’m wearing a bonnet



Bash: so am i



Audre: u r not. um i guess you can come by my window?



Bash: omw





Chapter 21


Bash didn’t run to Audre’s building. He didn’t want to look as thirsty as he felt. Instead, he walked. Fast. Minutes later, he found himself standing beneath her third-floor apartment, texting her to come to the window.

It was 11:30 PM.

As he stood there on the wide, elegant sidewalk, he wondered what she was thinking. If she felt as dizzy as he did. As rearranged. They hadn’t spoken in person in days, but it didn’t matter. Just texting with her turned him upside down.

Audre Mercy-Moore had done this to him.

All night, Bash had been lying on his bedroom floor, rereading their old texts, listening to Frank Ocean, and feeling antsy. He needed to see her.

So weird, he thought. The person who makes me feel crazy is also the only one who can calm me down.

He waited. The seconds stretched into minutes. Everything was quiet. The streetlights were on, but otherwise everything was bathed in darkness. It was a warm night, made bearable by the soft, linden-flower-scented air wafting over from the park. His heart thundered in his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut. What if she changed her mind?

Then he heard her voice—the low, whispery, late-night version—calling down to him.

“Hey.”

Bash’s eyes flew open, and he looked up. There she was, framed by her living room window. Too pretty to even deal with. Her face had a late-night vulnerability he’d never seen before—and she looked adorably cozy in a roomy Cheshire Prep sweatshirt. They were in contact every night around this time, texting each other the most random, unhinged stuff. But seeing her in real life in the middle of the night? This was different. A mindfuck of epic proportions.

His smile happened before he could even control it.

“Where’s your bonnet?” he asked.

“Where’s yours?” she asked with a small smile.

Bash bit his bottom lip shyly. They gazed at each other for a moment in silence. Time stretching into something loopy, surreal.

God, did Audre have to be so beautiful? Her braids were swept into a high bun, showcasing the smooth, deep walnut skin of her neck. He wondered how her skin would feel there, under his fingertips. Under his lips.