There were only a handful of good memories, yet I simply played them on repeat, making them feel bigger than they already were. Mario was a master at doing the bare minimum, and I celebrated that fact as if he was a god. It wasn’t his fault he gave me mediocre love. It was my fault for accepting it.
“So what’s your point?” I asked.
“Do you believe in destiny?”
I chuckled. “Don’t tell me you do.”
“I think everything happens for a reason, even if the reasoning isn’t clear as day right away. Maybe that’s why we met tonight, Red, because we were meant to. Maybe I had to get socked in the eye and whipped with a lasso because we were supposed to cross paths so I could help you get over your ex.”
“How?”
“The best way to get over a love is to find a stronger connection with another person. So, I present to you, your Halloween love story.” He took a bow as if he was making any sense at all.
I stood still, confused as ever. “Am I missing something?”
“Clearly, because you’re looking at me as if I’m having a mental breakdown—which, I mean, is probably accurate.” He cleared his throat and stood taller as he smoothed his hands over his chest. “I’m asking you to fall in love with me.”
I snickered. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Give me the chance to make you fall in love with me before the sun comes up in the next”—he glanced down at his phone—“five hours or so. It’s just past midnight. Give me those hours to make you fall in love with me. Then we’ll end the love story on a good note. No tragic heartbreak, no hard moments or relationship struggles. No cheating or scandals. Just two people who fell in love, then life or, in our case, morning made them say their goodbyes.”
“You really think two people can fall in love within five hours?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged and held his hand out toward me. “Want to try?”
I should’ve said no. I should’ve laughed off his crazy idea and ended the night right there on the rooftop, but I didn’t want to go home. I didn’t want to be alone. But most of all, I wanted more time with Captain, even if only a few more hours. Even if there wasn’t a real chance of me falling in love with him but just a chance of more time to feel happy.
Happy.
I felt happy.
I hadn’t even known how much I’d missed happiness until it found me that night.
So, I did what any insane girl would’ve done. I took his hand and agreed to the idea of falling in love within the next five hours.
He clasped my fingers with his and pulled me in close to him. It was the closest we’d stood since meeting, and the way he looked down into my eyes caused the butterflies to intensify. He had to be well over six-foot-two as he hovered over my five-foot-eight frame—and that was with heels. The way he looked at me made me feel important, as if he was going to give this crazy plan of his all that he had.
“Knock, knock,” he said, with the goofiest grin known to mankind.
“Who’s there?”
“Will you fall in love with?”
“Will you fall in love with who?”
“Me.”
3
Aaliyah
I wasn’t completely sure I wasn’t suffering from a mental breakdown seeing how I agreed to fall in love with a superhero for the remainder of the night. The whole situation seemed bizarre in the best kind of way. Potentially falling in love with someone in such a short timeframe sent a certain excitement coursing through me.
It seemed almost unrealistic, which made the concept that much more intriguing. It had taken me over ten months before I told Mario I loved him. I didn’t give love so freely. Captain knew that about me, because he’d mentioned it when he read me. I found it interesting that he believed he could make me fall in love with him in so little time.
Thank goodness we lived in the city that never slept because even though it was past midnight, we had so many adventures we could take part in.
“Okay, so how about we do it this way: we each pick two places to take one another. One is a place we love, and the other is a place we think the other would love. We share all these moments with each other as we dive deeper to get to know one another,” Captain suggested.
“Sounds good. Who goes first?”
“Ladies first.”
“Ah yes, that Southern hospitality thing.”
“I stand by it when it comes to respecting females.” He rubbed his hands together. “So, what’s up first?”
I wanted to take time to figure out a place I thought he’d love, so I figured it was best to start with a personal favorite of mine. Plus, my rumbling stomach was a clear indication that the first trip should include food of some sort.
“Are you hungry?” I asked.
“Could always eat.”
I grinned, excited to take him to my favorite spot in town for my favorite food. “Have you ever heard of Grant’s Wings?”
“Never.”
“Well, my friend, you’re in for a treat. Let’s get on the subway and go.” Even though I had my own Metro pass, Captain made sure to swipe his for me. Being on the subway on a regular day was one thing, but riding it on Halloween night was a completely different experience.
We were lucky enough to score a pair of seats beside one another, and the people watching was beyond compare. There were so many different costumes, so many expressions of creativity that it was almost impossible to look away. Most of the time, I was a professional at minding my own business, but that night, I wanted to take everyone in.
“I think the one-night stand is the winner for me,” Captain whispered, leaning into me. I looked to my left to see a man wearing a box shaped like a nightstand, with a lamp shade on his head. The words ‘one-night stand’ were written across the fabric covering the box, and condoms were tossed over it.
I snickered. “I don’t know, the cereal killer is kind of calling out to me.” I gestured to my right, where a man was wearing a T-shirt covered in red stains, mini boxes of cereal attached with plastic knives going through said boxes.
“Oh, okay, a good contender. But I think we can both agree that cat ears is a bit lazy, no?”
“Absolutely, but she’s wearing them with pride. Can’t fault her for that.” As we came to a stop, an older woman dressed as a slice of pizza climbed onto the subway. Without hesitation, Captain stood to give her his seat, taking hold of the standing pole in front of us.
She sat down beside me and heard the rumbling of my stomach. I placed my hands against my angry belly and smiled at her, silently apologizing for the noise.
Her stern look pierced into me as she pointed a finger. “Don’t you dare try to eat me, you psychopath,” she warned. At first I thought she was joking but she dramatically turned her back toward me and huffed in irritation. Then she went on mumbling to herself nonstop.
I looked up just in time to find Captain holding in his laughter that was about to burst out of him.
“Shut up,” I mouthed, and he turned away and released his loud chuckles, unable to control himself. I couldn’t even be annoyed by the random rude lady who was offered a seat. Captain’s laughter made me forget about anything else in the world.