Eye candy
by Cheryl, posted on February 17th, 2012 in Red Writing Hood
In case you wondered what I’ve been working on for the past four months, here’s a teeny excerpt. This is the last time I wrote about them in this space. Lindsey has just, for the first time, watched Ryan work out at a baseball facility, doing basebally stuff. The post is a response to the Red Writing Hood prompt for today, which was to write a piece inspired by this picture.
Ryan was, as always, hungry, so we decided to have a late lunch. He pulled into a diner with a neon sign that read “EATS” in the window.
We settled into a booth and Ryan ordered a double cheeseburger with extra bacon, a large order of onion rings and a Diet Coke.
“Will that Diet Coke cancel out the 10 thousand calories you’re about to eat?”
“Absolutely,” he smirked. “So I owe you one. I know that wasn’t a lot of fun for you.”
“It was very enlightening.”
“Yeah? How so?” He took a huge bite of his burger.
“Well, I was going to say you’re pretty good eye candy, but with all that stuff on your face, it’s kinda killed that.”
He wiped the ketchup and mustard from his cheeks and chin with his napkin and grinned. “I have a big appetite,” he said, leering at me.
“Nice. Can you not be a pig for two seconds? Anyway, I could tell how much you loved being out there. That was cool to watch, to see that side of you.”
I picked at my salad while Ryan devoured his lunch. I used to wonder where he put all of it, but not after seeing how hard he worked out. I reached over and selected an onion ring, which I drenched in ketchup and ranch before taking a bite.
We were quiet as we finished eating. I put my napkin on my plate and took a last sip of my water.
“I can’t believe you quit,” I said.
“Quit what?” He leaned back against the booth.
“Baseball.”
His eyes narrowed. “I got hurt.”
“Oh, I know. I know you got hurt. It’s just, I see how much you love it, how much a part of you it is. It must’ve been like cutting off an arm.”
“Something like that.”
“The thing is…the thing is, I get it now. How sad you were when we met, even though I didn’t realize it, because I was all wrapped up in my own stuff. So I wanted to apologize to you because I probably wasn’t there for you when you needed me.”
Ryan looked at me a moment, then threw some bills on the table. “Let’s go.”
Tags: fiction, red writing hood, work in progress, write on edge
Carrie Says:
Kris Says:
Cheryl Reply:
February 18th, 2012 at 1:28 am
Oh, I’m so glad you missed them! I can assure you they’re alive and well – if only on my Scrivener!
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