"Make Way" Part Four: Signs

It was a night at the Fat Cat that started it all. The Fat Cat at seventy-fifth, Christopher street. Ping pong, pool, a game of spades, and live jazz performances. Bray had gone because this would be the third chance spending a good amount of time with Nalani. They've met through a mutual friend, Ray Puna, who once had a fling with her (that bothered Bray, in all honesty). It didn't work well, he just wasn't ready to commit to anything, though she was. It left a weird impression on Bray.

The first time Nalani and Bray ever met was in a studio, both were there to help out on a student short film. Bray went because he thought Melinda Mascato was going to be there (he had a crush on her), but it just so happened Nalani replaced her for the day. Ever since then, Bray grew to like Nalani, more. They met another time at another studio shoot, only this time she was seen with Ray, being close, and clingy. Bray regretted even being in the same room. Both of them really got to know each other during their weekend trip to Pennsylvania, they went with other friends, and Ray, obviously.

Days after that trip, Nalani and Bray were watching a movie from a laptop, on his bed. It was "Mary & Max,", a stop motion animated film that is truly devastating, but beautiful. They were watching it, and both had the thought of being closer than they were, already... his arm over her and bringing her body tightly against his, and she thought of laying her head against his chest. They were just buddies watching a movie, right? Fifteen minutes in, Bray passed out, and Nalani finished the movie.

This wasn't the night at the Fat Cat, but this night and the morning after, are just equally important. They woke up and had brunch at the diner two blocks away from Bray's apartment. For Nalani, it was unexpected—having a meal with this guy... a guy who isn't just a random guy, but a guy she has some feelings for. For Bray, boy, this was something of a spectacle. They spoke about their families, how both are Ecuadorian but don't speak a word of Spanish, except a few words. They even had a moment to discuss a touchy subject...

Bray's brother was once in the hospital, Nalani lost her mother nine years ago. It was for that moment, both of them shared a different kind of gaze, there was some pain, and in a way, complete trust.

The conversation switched gears moments after, astrology. It was simple how it came along.

"My dad was supposed to put in the power ball, but then my mom's water broke, and I was born. But here's the thing, he missed the power ball 'cause ya know? I was born. And the numbers ended up being the exact same numbers as the ones he put."

They had a good laugh.

Nalani said after laughing, "Wait, so you were born in July?"

"Yeah the seventh."

"Ah, you're a cancer."

He never really understood why people asked each other their zodiacs. He never put much thought into the whole sign-thing. He wasn't sure if one sign was bad and if you weren't a specific sign, it was a sign that you weren't exceptional. See? This is the type of shit he digs too deep into.

He asked, "Is that bad?"

She gave him a solemn stare, "No, of course not. I'm into astrology, so I figured I'd ask."

"Oh alright, when were you born?"

"September thirteenth."

She waited to hear from him, he ate his burger and tried figuring it out.

"I don't know?" he awkwardly chuckled.

Nalani said it, "I'm a virgo, silly."

Cancers are an emotional batch. They get some sort of rise of being overly persistent, hell, they can be territorial. There's a balance between being self-indulgent, while being empathetic—they seek attention, and are usually frightful of being lonely, with the rational thought of needing someone to be happy. Virgos, are undeniably shy but are good conversationalists when they feel accepted. They're organized, practical, generous and hardworking, yet they can be over critical on how they present themselves. One negative thought leads to another, and it's the kind of attribute that haunts a virgo. They can't go a day without wishing at some point they were better than what they are.

Cancers and virgos work, but how well? They both enjoy eating out, nature, art, books, and are prone to massive anxiety. They can be pessimists, mostly cancers, and neither one of them are so confident revealing their personal truths.

This was all a week before the night at the Fat Cat. Both Nalani and Bray at this point have the chemistry, they played ping pong together with their friends surrounding them making jokes about something. They were hitting back and forth, until abruptly, a moment happened, a good one. She looked at him, and so did he, their exchange of stares was seductive and sincerely mutual. It felt like a minute, but it was really fifty seconds shy of a minute.

Nalani isn't a fan of root beer, no one Bray knows is. Why? She had a can of cola, and he had himself a can of root beer. They went from the Fat Cat to Bray's apartment with two friends, they bought beer and danced to some salsa. Everyone danced but Bray, his other two friends, Booner and Mannis weren't very good at salsa, but Nalani was pretty damn good. It was sexy, and sweet at the same time. Her ass erected towards Bray, and she had her eyes closed and smiled. She was free, she wasn't in the same room as everyone else, it was just her and whatever it was she was imagining. The silence, the dancing, and her hand touched his head for a moment, and the thought came to him. They were both quietly telling each other they wanted one another, he felt it, he was sure about it.

He remembered the night they saw Mary and Max. What happened before that was Nalani came over with a box of books she got from a student film set. She gave Bray this one book on industrialization and he was moved... She thought of him.

Now they were in the same room, and both Booner and Mannis left them. She sat beside him, as he was skimming through a few pages of a script he was writing. As he was reading, Nalani looked at him, intrigued and impressed. After a few words read aloud, her hand touched Bray's lower belly, and he looked at her.

"Wanna take this in my room?"

They made out till eight a.m. It was intense and glorious. She wouldn't take her clothes off because the make out session was a start. He respected that and was excited, though he had the worst case of blue balls. They both had class the morning after but didn't go. During the heated seven hours of tongues touching and mouths closing in, Nalani looked at Bray and said to him what his ex said to him two years ago:

"We're just having fun, okay?"

He was cool about it because he really was just having fun.

But there was one more sign they both caught that meant something, the morning after. They looked at each other and decided to miss their noon classes to get brunch, again.