A cold puff of breath left her lips. February always felt like the coldest month compared to January and December. It was either the temperature or the fact that Lucy felt awfully alone on this park bench. She was grateful for the cooler air, but chilly conditions weren’t her thing. Even the briefest drop in air conditioning had her shivering like a leaf.
Something about low blood pressure, her mother had said before she left today. To look less annoyed, her earphones became the subject of her attention. She untangled the wires from the complicated knots they found themselves in.
The sound of her obnoxious ringtone broke through the playlist. It always scared her—the blaring of a trumpet—but she never had the heart to change it. After all, Lucy especially assigned it to an equally troublesome person.
“Are you planning on letting me freeze to death?” She answered the phone—sarcasm evident in her tone. “You must love me a lot, Tommy.”
“Calm down, Loosh. It’s only 23 degrees, and you’re acting like it's winter.” He scoffed, voice peeking through the phone speaker.
“It’s too cold, I swear.” She murmured. Her free hand moved to settle inside her jacket pocket—warming cold fingers. “Never mind that. Are you nearby?”
“Turn around, doofus.”
With a roll of her eyes, Lucy reluctantly looked over her shoulder. Sure enough, Tommy was there—approaching with no sense of urgency. He saluted her with a smug smile. His laughter caught on the call before he spoke, enjoying the frown that found home in her features. “Don’t look so grumpy. I’m here now.”
She ended the call, standing from the bench—grateful for the warmth of movement. Music still played in her ears, though she allowed one earbud to dangle haphazardly. Just enough to hear him, she thought. Despite her previous grievances over his late arrival, a smile crept onto her lips.
“What took you so long?” She tilted her head, scrutinizing the self-satisfied look on his face. His head tilted just a bit to the side. His eyes never left hers—probably thinking of a stupid reason to give.
“Would you believe me if I said that the bus broke down on the way here?”
“Really, Tommy?”
“Trust me on this one.” Tommy let out an amused huff, ruffling up her hair. “I unfortunately didn’t get the chance to take a picture of the very exasperated driver.”
Lucy swatted him away, rolling her eyes in exasperation. “Fine. I’ll take your word for it.”
His hand didn’t return to his side just yet. Instead, fingertips hovered over her temple—brows furrowing as if noticing something. She watched him, not straying away from each minute twitch in his expression. It was like willing his thought process to be known to her.
“That’s your music?” Tommy asked before mischievously snatching the earphone, lightly swinging by her shoulder. He held it closer—listening as the music spilled out, loud enough to hear. “You’ll damage your eardrums with how noisy your choices have been getting.”
“Not my fault for liking a good bit of punk rock lately.” Lucy shrugged, watching him press the earbud fully into his ear.
“What is this?” He teased. “Some underground band that disbanded years ago?”
“It wouldn’t be my type of music if they weren’t.” She laughed, head thrown back.
“Typical Lucy.” Tommy huffed, though not out of disdain—never out of meanness. He patted her back, nudging her to start walking down a random path in the park. Lucy followed suit, elbowing him in return as they began moving.
The pair walked along talking about everything and nothing. Maybe they didn’t quite realize it, but every brush of their shoulders only seemed to draw them closer. Every accidental step on the other's shoe brought laughter that allowed them to lean into each other’s spaces. Each back and forth about an annoying co-worker or a burdensome classmate let them into a world that no one had the privilege of being let into, one they understood with ease. And in the moments where words couldn’t quite fill the gaps, the music playing through their shared earphones filled their companionable silence.
“I swear you’re always discovering some new indie song,” Tommy spoke up first, breaking the quiet. “Or an underground band that barely gets attention or airtime.”
“And you’re the only one who ever bothers to ask me about them,” Lucy replied.
“Between the two of us, you always had the better music taste.”
“Is this your way of trying to get another list of tunes from me, Tommy?” She gently shook her head in amusement, accidentally popping the earbud loose from her ear. Her cold hands fumbled to catch it by the wire, only to have warm hands clasped around hers.
“Maybe.” He took the suspended earphone from her hands and carefully pushed it back into place. Music returning to its rightful owner. A knowing smile crept onto his lips, softening any harsh lines that the setting sun had cast. “Maybe not. Who knows?”
A blush had settled over Lucy’s cheeks. “You know you could always just ask.”
“Well, I like hearing you talk about it before handing them to me.” Tommy simply said, as if it didn’t mean anything. But it did. To Lucy, it was everything. It told her that she held space within his world as much as he did hers. If he filled her days with warm words and stories, she decorated his with tunes from all walks of life.
The tension left her shoulders that were always held so tightly. The lightening of the crease between her brows that were often knitted together. And most importantly, the smile that reached the corners of her eyes and made them brighter. He took notice of it—of her. Tommy didn’t say anything more—he didn’t need to.
His hand simply reached for hers—warmth enveloping the cold. With fingers intertwined, Lucy leaned against his shoulder, and they continued walking.
Their hands swinging back and forth to a beat only they could hear.
