Chapter Twenty-Three

The ballpoint pen moved fast against the rough grain of the paper, and for a moment, all that existed was the ink on it and her. The soft hum coming from the neighbour's garage faded into the background, and all she could hear was her breathing, before even that blended into the background. Her entire attention was given over to the journal and -

A huff of laughter.

Rudely dragged out of her reverie, her head snapped back to find the source of the sound. Behind the couch was Keanu, standing over her, his eyes lowered to the journal in her hands. Instinctively, she hid it under a cushion as quickly as she could and blushed hard. She broke eye contact awkwardly and pretended that what just happened did not happen.

"Hey, Keanu," she said. "I was just reading a book."

"No, you weren't."

She swallowed. "I was - "

"Let me see what book that was, then."

"W-Why?"

"I've been looking to get back into reading lately. That book looked interesting. Let me see it."

"No," she said right away.

He huffed. "That was no novel, and you know it, Alice."

Her cheeks heated up. "Then what was it?"

"Wait, I correct myself. It was a novel," he said. "Wasn't it?"

"You saw wrongly," she said and his hand reached out towards the cushion. Her nerves went into overdrive and she forced herself to sit on top of it.

"You're writing a book," he said. "I never knew you had interest in writing."

Christ, she was at page one just a few seconds before he appeared behind her! She was so relieved she finished the drawing of that man and decided to write a short story in the next few pages.

"Keanu, shut up," she said.

"That book seemed…" he said, pausing. "So raw. I've never seen so many visceral words before."

She stared hard at empty space.

"Words like - " Keanu said, a corner of his lips lifting. "Pussy and - "

"Don't say it!"

"Get off the cushion, please," Keanu said. "I'd love to continue reading your erotica." Then he erupted into laughter.

"Oh my god, you're horrible! Get lost," she said, throwing another cushion at his head. He ducked it.

"Imagine that," he said amid laughter.

She glared at him. "Imagine what?"

"A virgin writing erotica."

She scoffed. "Why can't a virgin write erotica? Is there something wrong with that?"

"From what experiences do you draw your material from?"

"I mean, I don't have to experience it firsthand. There is plenty of porn on the internet."

"So you're like one of those critics who write about a restaurant they've never eaten at before."

"Something wrong with that?"

"Maybe you should do some firsthand research first."

Would you like to investigate with me?

"I'm not dating anybody now, and I've never wanted to do that with Leonard," she said, glancing at him briefly. Her cheeks still felt like a branding iron had been placed on them.

"There's nobody around you that you want to fuck?"

"No," she said curtly.

He half-smiled again. "Why, Alice, I thought you wanted to fuck me."

She scoffed in disbelief and mild anger. Getting up, she took one cushion up and threw it at Keanu, who shot to the side to avoid it. She rounded the couch with another cushion in her hand and lifted it over her head, aimed and threw it at him. This time, it struck his head and he laughed. She smiled at the sound of his laughter, at least until he picked up the cushion from the floor.

"Wait!" Alice called out but it was too late.

The cushion flew smack into her face and fell to the ground. She grabbed onto her nose, rubbing it, very sure that it was probably now bright red.

"Asshole!" she said.

She picked up the cushion and threw it at him, but he caught it between his hands. "Nice try," he said. "You throw like a girl."

"I am a girl!" she retorted.

"Yes, you are," he said, picking up another cushion. She rounded the couch, trying to get as far away from him as possible.

"You're gonna break something, I swear! Stop!" Alice said.

"You have a point," he said. Then he threw the cushion aside and stepped towards the couch. Lifting the cushion on it up, he revealed her journal underneath and picked it up.

"Keanu! Oh my god!"

He held it in his hands, rounding the couch in tandem to her movements.

"Don't read that!"

"Too late," he said, flipping the book open.