Aspyn squinted. “Excuse me?”
I pointed to the tip. “The lit part is known as the cherry, by the way.”
Her frown lessened. “Oh.”
“Just try it. If you don’t like it, you can throw it down and stomp on it.”
To my surprise, she gave in, taking the cigar from me. She held it wrong, like a cigarette.
I intervened. “Rest it on your middle finger—you’re good at using that one—then curl your index finger around it.”
She did as I said, and then hesitantly placed the cigar between her lips. Something about that was damn sexy. I felt my mind venturing toward the gutter.
I lit a match and reached it out to her. “Puff gently as I light it.”
Aspyn inhaled and immediately started coughing.
“What part of puff gently did you not understand?”
“I inhaled it,” she coughed out.
“Yeah, I got that. I told you not to do that. Just suck a little into your mouth and taste it.”
My mind was definitely fully in the gutter now.
“It’s all about technique,” I said. “Watch and learn.” I lit my own and demonstrated. “First thing,” I said as I took a little of the smoke in. “You can’t neglect the cherry.” I pointed to the tip. “You’ve got to keep it lit. At the same time, you have to find a happy medium between smoking too fast and not fast enough.”
She mimicked what I did, puffing lightly this time.
“That’s it. Draw it into your mouth—never your lungs. Not too fast and not too slow. If you suck too hard, you’ll fuck it all up.” I couldn’t help myself. “Probably the only time I’ve ever said that.”
She coughed. “I’m sure.” Aspyn took another puff. “I can actually taste the vanilla.”
“There are no chemicals in these. So you should be good with whatever diet you’re on.”
“If you think this is healthy, Troy, you’re kidding yourself.”
“One won’t kill you.” I wriggled my brows. “You should try everything at least once.”
“I beg to differ. There are some things best kept away from entirely.”
Pretty sure I got that message loud and clear. I watched her for a bit and noticed she was taking the smoke in too frequently.
“Wait about thirty seconds between puffs, then gently allow the smoke to fall out of your mouth,” I directed. “The beauty of this is that it’s supposed to force you to relax. Perfect for high-strung people like yourself to practice chilling out.”
“I need something a bit stronger rolled into this paper to deal with you, Serrano.”
“That can be arranged next time.” I winked.
“Please don’t bring weed to the next day trip.”
“Why not? I’m already in trouble with those fuckers at Horizons,” I joked. Then she flicked the ash. “Don’t do that! You need that ash at the tip to help control the temperature.”
“You’re so bossy,” she said as she flicked the ash again just to spite me. Some of it landed on my shoe.
“It’ll overburn if you keep doing that,” I scolded. “Leave it on, and let it do its thing. Then give it a small roll every once in a while if you have to get rid of the excess.” I smirked. “Unlike you, the cigar is delicate.”
“Who says I’m not delicate?” She flashed an amused look.
“You are no delicate flower, Aspyn Dumont. I know that. And that’s not an insult, by the way. Just stating a fact. You’re strong, and you know it. And that’s attractive.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What are you trying to pull?”
“I’m sorry my complimenting you somehow comes off as offensive.”
“Every time you say anything nice, I feel like I’m getting punked.”
“Wow.” My jaw dropped. “It’s like that, then.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. You’re being honest.”
Her tone softened as she took a deep breath. “Okay, I get it. I’m supposed to slow down and enjoy this. I’ll try.”
“As you get to the bottom, the flavor will change a bit. There’s a certain point where the cigar won’t taste as good. That’s when you know to stop. Usually, I ditch it and move on to another one.”
“Kind of like your love life?”
“Very funny, Dumont.” Is it wrong that I want to smack her ass right now?
I looked over at the spot where my grandfather had been just a second ago. Or was it several minutes ago? Fuck! I’d been so into Aspyn smoking that fucking cigar like it was my dick that I’d lost track.
“Where the fuck is Nonno?” I shouted.
“Oh no.” Her face turned red as she frantically looked around. “Not again.”
I gritted my teeth. “He’s doing this on purpose.”
“Shit, Troy. How could we have let this happen a second time?”
We tossed our cigars.
“You go that direction.” I pointed behind me. “I’ll take that end.”
As I went in search of my grandfather, I somehow ended up caught in a game of ring-around-the-rosy, with a group of girls dancing in a circle around me. I managed to escape and proceeded to run across the park.
After about five minutes passed, I took out my phone and texted Aspyn.
Troy: Any luck?
Aspyn: Nope.
A few minutes later, though, she texted.
Aspyn: Found him!
Thank God.
Troy: Where is he?
Aspyn: He’s chatting up this lady on a bench.
Troy: Where?
Aspyn: We’re behind the public restroom building.
Troy: For fuck’s sake. Thank you.
My original plan was to ream Nonno out—until I noticed him smiling and talking to the woman, who was laughing at everything he said. Not wanting to embarrass him, I decided to wait until we left the park to scold him. Technically, it wasn’t only his fault. We’d let this happen—again. But I also knew my grandfather, and he was playing games, getting a kick out of Aspyn and me having to stop our bickering long enough to unify in search of a missing old man.
Aspyn stood off to the side, watching my grandfather talk to his new friend. Her eyes locked with mine, and we shared a smile. Neither one of us had the heart to be mad at him.
After we returned Nonno to Horizons that afternoon, I saw Aspyn in the parking lot.
Jogging toward her car, I shouted, “Wait up.”
“What’s up?” she asked.
“You left so fast. I just wanted to say goodbye.”
Her mouth curved downward as she hung her head.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I’m mad at myself,” she admitted. “I almost feel like reporting myself to management. I deserve to be fired.”
“Whoa.” I stopped walking for a moment. “No, you don’t. He’s pulling this shit on purpose, so how could it be your fault?”
“Well, I let myself be distracted by your…cigar.”
We stopped in front of her car.
“Aspyn, don’t be so hard on yourself. You deserve a break.”
She crossed her arms. “How do you know what I deserve?”
“It’s obvious. You work hard at your job. Nonno told me all of the staff loves you. Then, on top of everything, you take care of your niece. That’s not an easy life. Unlike mine—I have no responsibilities. So what if you got a little distracted? I say, it’s about damn time.”