The Silence

He frowned, impatient. "You knew this already."
"Yes, but you're Roman, the painter."
This upset him. I couldn't imagine why. "Oh."
"You're going to give me your painting?" I was mortified by this. "None of your pieces are under a hundred thousand."
He shrugged.
I pointed to the complicated painting. "How much is this piece?"
He cleared his throat uneasily.
I stared at him, confused and appalled. "Well...?"
"It's just two hundred and eighty thousand."
My eyes popped. "Are you insane?"
"No one has booked me into an institution yet, so..."
I scolded him. "Roman, be serious."
"It's a gift," he whispered. "Don't offend me by refusing to accept it."
How did he know I was going to reject his hand of kindness?
"Nuru?" he asked in a troubled voice.
"Oh Roman." My voice was full of emotion. "How can I ever thank you?"
I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself.
Roman pulled me against him. I grimaced. As if that would help. It only made things worse, being so close to him and yet not... close enough, at least, not as close as I'd have liked.
"I'm leaving, now." Roman called up the stairs. He was standing at the foot of the staircase.
I moved away from him, trying to be sneaky about it.
"Don't forget to meet me at twelve tomorrow, Roman," Ruth said, coming down the flight of stairs in a hurry. I noticed how fast she was, how energetic she was compared to people her age.
"Sure thing, gran."


We drove back to Roman's place in silence — an electric charged silence that made sure my stomach stayed in constant twists.
"This is the kitchen,” Roman was saying as he showed me his house.
The room was surprisingly welcoming, clean and looked brand new, to no surprise on my part. The built-in cupboard was a glossy red that caught the reflections like a lucid mirror. The floor was covered in white tiles and the north wall was a refined steep looking glass. He placed his hand on my back and guided me around the house.
"My bedroom," he said when we took the narrow hallway from the kitchen. The sliding door opened into a spacious incredible lounge in the south wing; a dark black leather couch sat facing the largest TV I'd had ever seen outside a cinema, a top of the range sound system lay blinking a deep green light and I realized a song was playing in the background, a band I didn’t recognize.
He led me up the short flight of stairs that ran up right into the bedroom part of his room, when I looked down I could see the lounge, bar area, Jacuzzi, library and two doors – one was a closet larger than Jennie’s house and the other a bathroom.
He showed me my bedroom, it was blue in color — a pale blue that oddly reminded me of his eyes — the king sized bed harbored the north wall, a desk housing magazines and thriller novels and a brand new computer sat under a window overlooking the forest behind Roman's house.
My head fell comfortably against the pillow, and I fell asleep at once, too exhausted to dream.
In the morning I ran to my window and leaned into the violet sky – it was going to be sunny today. The sun was slowly creeping up on the east wing, the sky orange and dark at the edges.
After my rushed shower, I realized I was late, and rapped sharply at Roman's door, when no answer came I let myself in, figuring he was still asleep.
Roman was awake, alright. My mouth fell open and my breath came out with a whizzing sound. I was frozen in place, staring at him with an embarrassed, appalled look.
"Sorry," I stammered, scrambling for a decent train of thought, and instantly backing out. My cheeks showing my embarrassment.
Roman looked up, and frowned.
"Oh, do come in won't you?" He waved and swung his legs at the side of the bed.
"You were... playing with yourself," I whispered shyly, my eyes failing to stay where they should — on his face.
"It's called jerking off," he said, heading for his closet.
I stared at his crotch for a long time and gulped, it was slowly losing its firmness, not fully awake now, and I knew soon it would be sleeping. My mouth still hung wide. It was... surprising. Yeah, exactly that.
He cleared his throat to get my attention. "Stop staring, it's not like you've never seen a dick before. Or is mine the biggest you've seen yet?"
It was silent as I blushed harder.
"What? Oh hell. You've never seen a dick?" He looked at me blankly. "Seems you are having a lot of firsts with me."
"Why were you..." I said awkwardly, trailing off suggestively.
"What?" Roman asked in a dry voice.
I took a deep breath. "Playing with yourself?"
"No," Roman said with a trace of frustration in his hoarse voice. "Say... masturbating, then I'll consider answering you."
"I can't."
He rolled his eyes, his nose wrinkled in distaste. He was obviously annoyed by this fact — very annoyed. "Whatever."
My heart felt like it was going to swell up and burst through my chest. "Why were you jerking off?" I blurted impatiently.
He leaned forward, cocking his head to the side to stare at me in shock. "Nuru, I didn't think you had the balls."
I frowned up at him. "I don't."
His look turned from shock to worry. "Geez, I didn't mean it literally. What happened to your funny bone?"
I chuckled nervously. "Coming home to a jerk forces one to be wary of anything he says. And besides, you aren't funny."
Roman looked like the proverbial cat with the milk. "If I didn't know this was your attempt at flirting, I'd have been hurt."
"I still think you're a jerk."
Uh-oh. I didn't like that wicked grin on his face, as though he'd just figured out something I was failing to uncover.
He was strolling gracefully toward me with the most beautiful smile on his angel's face. "Did you just call my house, home?"
Hearing the stagger in my heartbeats, I glowered. "Ugh, you're unbelievable!" I whirled, storming away, towards the door.
Roman chuckled and picked up his tablet, he pressed once towards the screen and then doors locked in front of me.
I paused my stride with a start — my eyes popping open wider — and gasped. When I whirled to him, I hid my shock with a grimace. "You have a remote to your house? This is a smart house? With its own smart device?"
I looked into his conflicted blue eyes, the staggering continued. "What did you think this was?"
I pursed my lips and crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm not speaking to you."
"I hope you know, you telling me you're giving me the silent treatment is technically talking to me."
He sounded smug and so I ignored him.
My head was already a rollercoaster by the time he leaned closer and stared into my eyes. "You realize we live together, so you'll eventually have talk to me."
I bit my lip. Roman had a point, not that I could acknowledge that. Right now, I concentrated on remembering how to inhale and exhale.
"Fine," he grumbled, leaning closer, his breath tickling my cheek. "Do you want me to apologize?"
"No!" My pulse was thudding.
Roman sighed and stared at me, measuring with his eyes. "I'm sorry, Nuru."
"You're a dick you know that?"
"D.i.c.k..." he began, his voice sounding thoughtful, his eyes miles away.
"Don't you dare turn dick into an acronym, you bastard!"
He frowned. "As much as you wish that was the case, my parentage has never been in question. But —"
I cut him off. "Roman!" I warned him. "I'm seriously considering murdering you, right now. Don't push me."
He smiled brightly at me. My heart was drumming hyperactively under my chest. "Okay, I should apologize now."
"You should." My voice was not as steady as I wanted it to be.
"I'm sorry."
"Why do you even bother?" My eyes were shrewd. "You don't even mean it."
His face fell a bit. When he spoke his voice was earnest. "Nuru, I'm sorry. I mean it... I swear."
I ground my teeth. "Apology not accepted."
He took a deep breath and his jaw tightened. "Won't you consider my apology at least?"
I kept my expression firmly under control, and bit the inside of my cheek to stop from smiling. "I will."
His forehead creased. "There's a condition?" he asked in disbelief.
"Of course," I mumbled, my face was solemn.
He put his hands on both sides of my face. "Do I have a reason to be nervous?"
"Not really," I said in a small voice.
He considered for a moment, staring into my wide eyes. "Now that makes me nervous."
"Answer my question."
"Uh oh." His voice was tight, he glanced at me hesitantly. He released my face. "...sounds complex."