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On closer inspection, however, I see the tubes running out of the sleeve of his baggy graphic T-shirt. The tube is hooked up to some kind of machine at the back of the wheelchair.
“Hey.” I smile warmly. "What's your name?"
His voice is deeper than expected. “Joel.”
"I'm Clarissa."
“Clarissa.” He rolls his tongue over the syllables of my name.
I smirk, already sensing that Joel is a character.
“Can I ask you something, Clarissa?”
“Anything.”
Joel drapes one lanky arm over the handle of the wheelchair, face upturned. “Do you believe in love at first sight?”
I bite down on my bottom lip and glance at Cody. “No.”
“I didn’t either.” He leans toward me, hearts in his eyes. “Until I saw you.”
Laura chokes.
I whirl around, having forgotten that she was even there.
Joel doesn’t pay Laura any attention. Eyes still locked on me, he murmurs, “Has anyone told you you have beautiful eyes?”
“Uh…”
“They’re like the sun right before it touches the clouds,” he says. “Unfathomable.”
Laura snorts again.
“Joel, that’s… that’s very kind.”
“Kindness implies I’m not telling the truth. I’m one-hundred percent real, Clarissa.”
I shuffle my feet.
Joel keeps staring at me.
Flustered, I rope Laura into the conversation. “Laura, you and Joel probably share common interests. Why don’t you take him on a quick tour while I talk to his—I mean to Cody.”
“I’d rather stay with you.” Joel maneuvers his wheelchair right beside me.
“Fine by me.” Laura points to the tubes. “What’s that?”
Joel’s cocky smile shatters for a second. He quickly fixes it back in place and wiggles his eyebrows. “A ventricular assistant device. Sexy right?”
“I guess.”
“What does it do?” I ask.
“It’s a machine that keeps my heart pumping.”
“Oh.”
“But I don’t think I’ll need it anymore.”