Devil's Food Cake [✓]

22 | vulnerable

'You're joking!'

Jonny took a moment to process what I was saying. I could hear the disbelief in his voice. We were having our daily evening chat on the phone.

'It was terrible Jonny! You should have seen his face.'

'I'd rather not,' he replied with an ironic edge. 'It was karma for the other day.'

'You can't joke about something like that!' I protested. Yet, even so, a tiny smile appeared around my mouth.

Jonny was a bad influence, perhaps thats why I liked him so much.

He wasn't the type to hold back. He just said everything as he saw it. Still, it has been a stressful today, so my emotions were in a bit chaotic.

I was trying to compartmentalise all the spaghetti strands into something that resembled an actual dish. I was failing miserably...

'Well! He should have been smart enough to ask you the ingredients.'

'He is smart,' I laughed, 'he's just...'

'Entitled?'

Jonny was in fine form tonight.

'You could put it that way,' I blew air out of my mouth, strangely dissatisfied.

Things had changed, yet I couldn't put my finger on exactly what. Zachary's rare moment of - I don't know - vulnerability - had made me feel special like perhaps he wasn't such an idiot after all.

Maybe if you peeled away the arrogance and haughtiness, he was just a person, and I was just another person with my own set of preconceptions.

Sometimes I wished I didn't even have emotions. They were such a hassle to deal with.

'I just feel bad, you know. And guilty,' I continued, picking at a thread of my camisole.

'Candy!' Jonny's voice shook me out of my introspection. 'That's what I love about you.'

'What?' I said, rubbing my eyes, trying to wipe away the goddamn tears.

There was a brief silence on his end, then he spoke, serious and teasing at the same time, 'That you're maddeningly sweet. I actually want to eat you, if you catch my drift...'

'Jonathan Pollack.'

'Yes?' he said innocently.

'You're filthy.'

I was reminded of the other night, and if you saw my face in my bedroom mirror, you'd see my cheeks were the colour of a rose.