“Why did you hug me last night?” I asked, my fingers tapping rhythmically against the tinted window of his car, my eyes intent on catching his.
He glanced at me for a split second and looked out on the road ahead again. “What hug?”
“Yesterday. The hug. You” — I groaned — “never mind.”
He chuckled at this and turned a corner, his eyes focused ahead. “I just missed making you uncomfortable.”
Parking a block away from the Pizza Shack, Alexei and I walked towards the entrance only to be stopped by the manager halfway through.
“Sir Alex,” the manager said, rubbing his palms against his apron.
“Mr. Sanchez,” Alexei replied, coming to a halt in front of him.
“Are you here for . . . Eli?”
Alexei blinked and slowly nodded, scratching on the back of his neck sheepishly. “Yeah. Why?”
“She, u
