Chapter Nine

Remy describes his feelings throughout the days with Sunny gone.

To my dismay, I did not hear from Sunny at all for the rest of the day. In fact, the days just kept dragging by without her, leaving me with less and less hope that I would ever see or hear from her again.

I knew what had happened and I didn’t need to be told.

I was just not boyfriend material. I knew this, and yet I had deluded myself anyway.

There had to have been a reason that I never had a girlfriend until I was in my twenties. It was made more evident by the way that relationship had ended. And the icing on top was how I had managed to chase Sunny away after a single day.

I plunged myself face-first into denial, trying to make myself hate her�"Trying to blame everything on her, just so that I could look at myself in the mirror and still sleep at night.

What had I done? I wasn’t the one coming on strong, it was all her. I wasn’t the one giving my number out to random losers at coffee shops, and then forcing them into bed while they were trying to make tea.

It wasn’t I who had suggested bringing someone over to my house to sleep all day while I was at work, despite having just met them the day before.

What had I done wrong? I’ll tell you what: A big fat nothing, that’s exactly what.

All I ever tried to do was to be nice and do what she wanted. Was that it? Was I too much of a pushover for her?

I ground my teeth at the thought, rejecting the idea right away. It wasn’t me, it was her.

And that was what I forced myself to believe.

Deep down, I knew that none of it was true. Inside, I could never bring myself to hate Sunny. She captivated me. She made me feel alive. But my only experiences with heartbreak had been resolved by forcing myself to believe that I hated the other person, and so in spite of my true feelings, I had to think nasty thoughts about her, cursing her in my mind every chance I got.

Any time someone ordered a soy latte, I thought to myself “one small w***e coming right up.”

Any time I saw a woman with red hair, I told myself that she was probably a soulless, unfeeling b***h.

Flower print dresses became s**t-wear, and any time someone described the weather as “sunny,” I mentally gagged.

Unfortunately for me, however, this was not like other heartbreaks. Cursing and belittling Sunny inside my head didn’t really make me feel much better, if at all. I was coming home from work each day and just throwing myself into bed without meals, not even caring enough to change out of my uniform. All I wanted to do was sleep the pain away, and if it hadn’t been for work, I wouldn’t have gotten out of bed at all.

As it was, I hadn’t even bothered to shower. I wasn’t doing anything in my spare time anymore, except sleeping my life away. I slept so much that my body started to reject sleep, forcing me to down sleeping pills that would say to hell with what my body wants and knock me out anyway.

Five or six days passed this way, as far as I know, that is. Between all the sleeping and the uneasy dreams that came with it, I had started to lose count.

The only thing I know for sure is that it was a Saturday when my phone rang out, stirring me from another medicine-induced coma. It was so loud and so sudden that when I heard it, my entire body lurched, and I fell out of bed, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might explode.

My legs were so shaky once I stood, that I could barely walk. Using the walls for support, I limped out into the living room as the phone continued to ring. When I finally reached the arm chair, I collapsed into it, picking up the phone and rubbing my eyes rather forcefully.

“Did I forget to come to work?” I rasped into the receiver.

“Not to my knowledge,” said the woman on the phone. “Are you okay? You sound really out of it… I can call back if you want.”

“Sunny!” I cried happily, the grogginess fading away. “No, I’m fine. Don’t hang up, please.”

“I didn’t really plan to,” she said softly. “But seriously… Are you okay?”

“I think I might be better now. Where have you been? Do you hate me? Did I do something stupid? I’m so sorry if I did. I tried really hard not to act like an idiot.”

Sunny laughed.

“You’re fine,” she told me. “I promise. And I’m sorry I was out of touch so long. That was not my intention at all. I had to go out of town on an emergency business trip, and I forgot to program your number into my cell before I left. Gosh, I’m so sorry, Remy… That must have seemed so cold. Can you ever forgive me?”

“Of course I can,” I assured her. “But I thought you said you were a secretary. Do bosses usually take their secretaries on business trips with them?”

“I guess you could say I’m kind of like an assistant, too. Apparently, my boss doesn’t trust PDAs or computers. The only reason I got the job is because he feels he can trust me. And that’s why I get such a large paycheck.”

I allowed my jaw to clatter onto the floor, since I knew that Sunny couldn’t see me.

“Good grief,” I wheezed. “Who on earth do you work for, anyway?”

“Someone important, I told you. But I’m not allowed to say his name, or describe what he does. It goes with the whole trust thing. Sorry.”

All I could do was gape in silence. What could I even say to something like that?

“Better pick your jaw up off the floor before it gets all dirty,” Sunny said.

I sat back in the chair, allowing a grin to crack across my face.

“You know me too well,” I told her. “So, you don’t hate me, then?”

“Not in the slightest. And by the way, thank you for the drawing. It’s the cutest thing, really. I love it! But honestly, I’m surprised you found my house. You must have a really good memory.”

“Actually…” I bit my lip awkwardly, twisting the phone cord between my fingers. “I… I kind of cyber-stalked you to get your address.”

“Is that right?” Sunny’s voice was calm. Slightly amused, even.

“Yeah,” I said. “Is it okay that I’m, like, obsessed with you?”

Sunny’s laugh filled the line, crackling slightly with static.

“Only you,” she said. “If it were anyone else, it would be creepy. But you’re welcome to obsess over me as much as you like. As far as you know, I could be obsessed with you, too.”

I smiled enormously, my face becoming warm and sweaty.

“Oh yeah?” I said. “Is that true?”

Sunny giggled, then cleared her throat.

“Remy Clover,” she said. “I am obsessed with you.”

“I’m obsessed with you, too,” I said, sweetly, feeling as though we had just shared a really special and personal moment. My heart was doing drumrolls for my brain which was spinning donuts inside my skull.

“So, my dear obsessee,” Sunny’s voice seemed slightly dazed, and I could only assume she was getting the same vibe. “How much longer do you think you can live without seeing me?”

“Ten minutes,” I said. “No… More like five. Five seconds, even. Oh, who am I kidding? I’m on my death bed at this very moment.”

“Oh dear,” said Sunny. “This is quite serious. Is it alright if I just come on in?”

I blinked, replaying that last sentence in my head a couple of times.

“What?”

“Knock, knock,” said Sunny. A moment later, there was a knock on my door, for which I was completely unprepared, and I may have uttered some sort of obscenity as I jumped up in alarm. Heart pounding, I raced to the door, flinging it open to reveal the most gorgeous woman I had ever laid eyes on, her red hair cascading over her shoulders, and a cell phone clutched in her hand.

“Did I just hear you say a bad word?” she asked with a grin. Without thinking, I flung myself at her, locking her into a tight hug. I fought with all my might to hold back the tears that tried so desperately to escape from my eyes.

“I totally thought you hated my guts,” I said, burying my face in her hair. As she hugged me back, I noticed that she was shaking slightly. I let go of her and watched as she smiled up at me, a tear rolling down her cheek.

“You have no idea what an a*s I feel like,” she said, her voice quivering in spite of her soft, unfaltering smile. “The whole time I was gone, all I could think about was how our last visit had ended, and I knew… I just knew you were going to think I was avoiding you, and… and…” Sunny leaned forward onto my chest, her shoulders shaking gently with the tears that she cried. I pulled her inside, closing the door behind us, and leaned up against the wall, just holding her.

“When I saw your drawing,” she sniffled, “Something about it just seemed so sad, and I knew my suspicions must have been right…” I kissed the top of Sunny’s head as she squeezed me tightly around the middle. “I am so, so sorry,” she said. “So sorry. But I’m going to make sure this doesn’t happen again, okay?”

Wiping her cheeks, she smiled once again.

“I brought you something. But before I give it to you, I think we’d better both sit down and get comfortable.”

With one last smile, she grabbed my arm and led me back to my own room, as if she owned the place.

Together we collapsed onto my bed, Sunny pushing me down and kissing me with enough passion for each and every single day that we’d been apart. It was a kiss that seemed to last forever, and when she finally pulled away, I felt drunk.

“Thank you, ma’am!” I oozed.

Sunny gazed over me with starry eyes.

“I’m obsessed with you,” she said in barely more than a whisper. If possible, my smile grew even wider.

“I’m obsessed with you, too.”

With a satisfied grin on her face, Sunny turned her attention to a bag that I hadn’t even noticed until that moment. From the bag, she withdrew a small box, which she placed into my hands.

“I got this for you,” she said. “I think you need it, big time.”

Peering down at the box in my hands, I discovered that it was a cell phone. And not just any cell phone, but a smart phone�"one of those nice, expensive ones.

“Are you insane?” I breathed, trying to keep my jaw in line. “I can’t accept this!”

“Yes, you can,” said Sunny. “And you will. I bought it just for you. You’re on my plan, so don’t worry about the bill. I get a discount for having another phone on the line, anyway. You get unlimited call, text, and internet, so there are no excuses for us not keeping in touch now!”

Sunny’s words spun around in my head briefly, before dissolving into nothing. I couldn’t seem to take in what was happening, much less accept it. Confused and shocked, I tried to hand the box back to Sunny.

“I… can’t,” I sputtered.

“Oh, yes you can, Mister.” Sunny’s eyes were intense. “Do you even know how much it costs to cancel the contract early?”

I didn’t, of course, nor did I want to. I swallowed hard, looking down at the box in my hands.

“It… It’s already active? Or whatever?”

Sunny nodded, excitement showing in her eyes.

“Your charger’s inside, too,” she said. “I think you ought to open it sometime soon.”

Reluctantly, I pulled the lid off the box, revealing a smooth, black surface that was the screen of my new phone.

“It’s a touch screen,” said Sunny helpfully. “Use the button on the top to turn it on.”

Doing as I was told, I clicked the button and watched in amazement as the phone switched on, its display so clear and crisp.

“I’ve already programmed my numbers into it,” Sunny said. “Both my home and my cell. And I’ve got yours programmed into mine, too. The new number is written down on the side of the box, in case you need it.”

I stared at the phone, and then at Sunny, and then at the phone again. Back and forth, I stared between them, hoping that the shock would soon wear off.

“Sunny,” I said. “This is… I just… I don’t even know what to say…”

“Just say that you’ll never lose touch with me!”

“Never,” I promised, bending forward to hug her. “Never again. I’ll take good care of this phone, I swear.”

Sunny smiled contentedly, brushing her hand against my cheek.

“I hope you’ll see this as a gesture of commitment,” she said softly, those vivid green eyes piercing my very soul. “What we have is unusual, I’ll admit, but it’s also very special. I have a feeling we were destined to be together, Remy. Do you agree?”

“Yes,” I said, nodding hard. “One hundred percent, I do. I feel so insanely comfortable around you. It’s like… It’s like somehow…” I trailed off, not wanting to say anything that might come across as stupid or weird.

“Like you already knew me?” Sunny finished.

“Yes,” I said, blowing out a breath of relief. “That’s exactly how I feel… It’s like I’ve known you all along and just… forgot, somehow. I don’t know. It sounds weird.”

“Not to me, it doesn’t, because I feel the same way.”

Sunny grasped my hand tightly. Her smile was so warm, so genuine. There was no doubt in my mind that she meant every word of what she had said, and I could rest assured that she wasn’t just feigning empathy for the sake of sparing my feelings.

Leaning in close, she placed a soft kiss on my cheek.

“I’m obsessed with you,” she whispered, ever-so-delicately.

“I’m obsessed with you, too,” I replied, running my fingers through her long, soft hair.

“I’m going to take my dress off.” Sunny smiled, delighted with the look on my face. “It’s uncomfortable,” she said, “that’s all.  I’m going to take my dress off and I’m going to cover up with your blankets, and maybe we can watch some more Evangelion while we cuddle. Sound good?”

I nodded, unable to speak, a grin cracking across my face, so huge that my cheeks burned, yet I could not seem to stop it.

“Oh, and…” Sunny flipped her hair, casually. “If those clothes of yours are uncomfortable, you can take them off, too. They certainly look rather… restrictive.” She smiled, grasping the hem of her dress and lifting it just high enough for her panties to show.

“I’ll go get the anime,” I choked, looking for any excuse to hide the fact that the circus had just pitched their tent in my pants.

“Hurry back,” she said, slyly. “Clothing is optional.”

I stole one last glance at the beautiful girl on my bed and then, smiling to myself, started off toward my anime shelf.

Whether I deserved Sunny or not, I didn’t know. What I did know, however, was that I was probably the luckiest nerd on the planet earth, and I simply hoped that I would not suddenly wake up to find that this had all been nothing more than a fabulous dream.