vending machine | ethan torchio

ii

flavia turned her head and traced her eyes down to a person sitting on her bench, unable to contain herself. since the bricks were few and the seat low, the way his legs were bent and his arms right across his knees was comical. if only she had a reason to laugh at a time like this.

the music was still playing, now louder than before since he took the headphones off and let them hang around his neck. having a better look at him, flavia couldn't help noticing that it wasn't only his legs that were comically long; his hair, going way past his shoulders all the way to his chest, was quite a sight, especially considering the circumstances. the woman thought that it would take literal ages to make hers even half that long, with very questionable quality at the end of the process.

she shouldn't let herself get sidetracked, though. the guy was obviously still waiting for an answer and if she already turned around, she might as well give it to him. but what was it?

something about kicking...

he asked if she tried kicking the machine that gave up on her and her hardworkingly earned coins.

"that... isn't usually necessary", she said, her throat getting tighter around the last word. what was she thinking, talking to someone so randomly at 2 a.m.? and why in the world did his face had to be so hard to take her eyes off of?

even with the machine being the only proper source of light, flavia could come to the conclusion that the guy's features had to be some of the most perfect she's ever seen. he was looking up at her, so the sharpness of his jawline was obvious, but somehow toned down by rounded cheeks and soft, dark eyes. if he was to turn his head ever so slightly, she didn't doubt that his profile would be just as fascinating.

he then smiled and his face took on a whole new level of softness, breaking away most of the sharp lines obvious at first glance. flavia noticed a row of imperfect but somehow still charming teeth flashing as he attempted something that could be characterised as a friendly grin.

god, she wasn't supposed to be staring, and the silence certainly wasn't supposed to make her wish that he would talk some more. for these reasons, she had to remind herself once again that they were in a relatively dark street very late at night and he spoke to her when he really could've ignored her existence for, like, five minutes.

the unknown man stood up and she figured that, although not super tall, he was still tall enough for her to have to look up as he stepped closer. reflexively, she moved sideways, her palms sweating while she tried to remember some basic throws that now seemed like a distant memory that wouldn't help much. this didn't go unnoticed, as he raised his eyebrows and froze for a moment before turning his attention to a metal box that he was now standing in front of.

seems like they both had an eye for details.

yep, perfection, flavia thought, eyeing his side profile a few steps away.

his nose bridge connected two halves of his face without any obstacles. flavia's, on the other hand, had to be disrupted with a small hump in the middle, a source of most of her insecurities in high school. if she hadn't come across this specimen of god's favorite, she would've completely forgotten about that part of her life.

the guy spread his arms so that he was holding the box at its corners tightly, looked down at the spot where the product was supposed to come down and kicked near it with all his might.

thud. thud. thud.

one after another, the kicks came flying and every time, flavia blinked in the same rhythm. the efforts weren't without their fair results, though. a single can of cherry coke made its way out of the corner where it was previously stuck. the sound of it hitting the ground was as comforting as ever, and the woman watched as the guy - the creep, the intruder - bent and tugged the can out of the pick-up slot.

the smile shone even brighter than before as he handed it over to her, a lady in trouble. since the can was closed and she practically watched every step of its removal from initial spot, flavia had no problem taking soda from a stranger's hand.

even those hands are too big for a can this small, she thought before she could stop herself and nodded as a sign of gratefulness for his oh so good deed.

as he was standing closer than before, flavia could hear the music clearly and picked up some rather obnoxious lyrics sung almost breathlessly in italian. she's never heard anything like it, the guitar and bass in the back supporting the singer's fight for breath, as if all of them were trying to do as much as possible before time runs out.

what's that song called? who's singing it? i've never heard such a distinguishable bass solo!

those were all the reactions piling up in her head, but she gave in to none of them, instead keeping her tongue tightly behind her clenched teeth.

the guy made no effort to move away, but at least he didn't step any closer either. they stared at each other for some time, the music from his headphones being the only clear sound in the air around them. if it wasn't so late, flavia might even dare calling out some strange electricity between them.

but she was a stranger as much as he was and a proper reaction - the one she did allow herself to make - was raising the can up as if she was toasting and nodding again.

"thanks for this."

she turned to look back a couple times as she walked back, as if the unknown man would appear in her sight again. flavia didn't dare wonder why this idea wasn't as off-putting as it would've been just some minutes before that.