The swinging of long earrings or the swinging of a dress as one walks (n)

The sun beats hot on the back of Cosima’s neck. They pull up the collar of their short sleeve button down to cover the exposed skin. They glance next to them at their friend. The left side of Nico’s neon orange runner’s shorts has ridden up under the top pair of small blue shorts. His tan arms are completely exposed outside of his muscle tank. Cosima looks back down at their jean shorts and vegan Doc Martens.

“You couldn’t have told me we were going on a nature walk before you dragged me out of the apartment?” Cosima asks.

Nico tears his eyes away from a distant group of kids petting a jogger’s golden retriever. He scans Cosima up and down.

“Yeah, you definitely are not dressed for the occasion.”

Cosima shakes their head. “You’re lucky I broke these shoes in last week.”

Nico’s gentle smile twists into a mischievous smirk. “So, would you say you’re good for some nostalgia?”

Cosima stops, arms crossed in front of their chest. “Do I even want to know what the hell that means?”

He points down the path. “Race you to that tree.”

“I’m sorry, you want me to run?” Cosima gestures at their outfit. “In this?”

Nico drops into a runner’s stance. “On three, we go.”

“You’re kidding?”

“One.”

Cosima shakes their head. “No way in hell I’m embarrassing myself with this.”

“Two.”

“Stop counting and stand up you idiot.”

“Three!”

Nico pushes himself off the path and lunges forward into a full sprint.

“Seriously?”

Cosima sighs and pushes themself into an awkward run after Nico. They catch up to him as he waits for a group of bikers to pass at the paths intersection. Cosima watches the final biker reach the bottom of the hill and ride past Nico. They push themself to run faster, only to run into Nico’s outstretched arm.

Cosima raises their head, catching sight of a woman flying past on roller skates. She’s wearing a black t-shirt and bright red skirt. Black socks with red detailing stick out of her skates. Her skirt is whipping around her thighs. It catches in the space between as she lowers with slightly bent knees. The little fabric that remains on either side of her flaps quickly against the air rushing past her.

“Sorry!” she yells as she flies down the path.

Cosima watches the young woman’s skirt flap against the wind until she turns the corner. Their eyes stay locked until her red bag is out of sight. They pull their gaze from the distant path, looking down at Nico’s still out arm.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

Cosima nods. “I’m…” They look back down the path. “I’m fine.”

Nico bumps his shoulder into Cosima’s. They look back at Nico.

“Yes?”

“You like roller skate girl.”

Cosima leans away from Nico, arms crossing in front of them. Nico copies.

“How can I like a girl that I’ve only ever seen for five seconds before they almost plowed me over? Besides, I know nothing about her.”

Nico shrugs, smiling at the sky. “One can always dream.” A smug smile spreads across his chapped lips.

Cosima shoves him before running for the tree. Their hand smacks into the bark as Nico hits the grass on the other side of the path.

“I win!”

Nico imitates Cosima’s protest stance. “I will drop it about the roller skating girl, but only if you admit you thought she was cute.”

Cosima sighs, lifting their gaze to the branches above them. They close their eyes, the way the woman flew by, skirt whipping, absolutely carefree, replaying in their mind. “Fine. She was cute.”

Nico cheers and raises his fists in the air. Cosima shoves his shoulder. They look past the trees at the busy street.

“Can we go to the store? I need some stuff for that party tonight.”

Nico agrees, leading them through the trees to the edge of the park. Cosima and Nico wind down various streets before they find a subway entrance. They climb down the usually less sticky steps to the turnstiles, swiping their metrocards and walking through. Nico takes them to three wrong platforms before finding the right one.

“We are worse than tourists.” Cosima says as they question whether or not to risk sitting on a bench. Nico plops down on it, a squishing sound following. Cosima decides against sitting.

“Listen,” Nico protests, “I may be a New Yorker, but I’m from Syracuse. I might as well be from the midwest.”
“We’ve been going to college here for two years.”

He shrugs. “Doesn’t count.”

Cosima shakes their head, laughing lightly to themself. They watch their train scream to a stop and slide into the packed car in front of them. Cosima catches sight of a rush of red as the doors slam closed.

The people around them bump into Cosima and Nico at every stop and start of the subway. Cosima plays with their dangling peach earrings throughout the entire ride.

As the subway screeches to a halt at the fifth stop, Cosima pushes their way out of the car behind Nico. They travel out of the station and around the corner to the Target. Nico grabs a cart as Cosima heads to the produce section. Their hands are full of avocados by the time Nico meets Cosima.

“Is it really necessary to get that many avocados?” he asks while opening a produce bag.

Cosima dumps their armful into the bag. “It’s not my fault everyone loves my dip. Besides, a few of those are for us this week.”

“We do eat a shitton of avocado.”

Cosima laughs lightly and begins walking to the next aisle. There they grab tomatoes, lettuce, and spinach. Nico taps a pineapple on Cosima’s head before placing it in the cart. They drag the cart behind them to the escalator, pushing it onto the ramp. They step onto the escalator themselves after.

Halfway between the bottom floor and the second, Cosima’s eyes catch on a familiar shade of red. Roller skate girl, she’s there. Her face is pulled into a concentrated expression as she digs through the apples, squeezing and assessing each one.

She turns to look at the assorted berries behind her, her skirt flying out and spinning slightly delayed from herself. The skirt continues spinning after she has stopped, clinging to her legs as it falls back to its natural spot. She turns back towards the apples, her eyes falling on Cosima. Her mouth begins to turn up as Cosima’s foot catches on the top of the escalator.

Nico links his harm under Cosima’s before they fall. They look back to find the woman turned and aisles away.

“Are you okay?”

“Are you going to ask me that every time?”

Nico smiles and leans close. “Is the roller skate girl here?”

Cosima shoves Nico away and grabs their cart. They quickly push their way to the cutlery aisle. Nico runs up next to them.

“Why are we over here?” They ask between shallow breaths.

“Are you not supposed to be the fit one?”

Nico shoves Cosima, causing them to run the cart into the aisle wall. Cosima shoves him back.

“Answer my question.”

Cosima sighs as they grab an avocado slicer. They turn the package over in their hand, glancing at the images lining the side.

“Tiff recommended getting one of these for how often we butcher avocados.”

Nico shrugs. “Looks complicated.”

Cosima stands, shaking their head, and drops the package in their cart.

“Do we still have all the dairy I need to make this at home?”

“Well my lactose-intolerant ass didn’t touch it, so probably. That’s a question for yourself though.”

“I’ll just hope for the best then.”

Cosima takes their cart back to the escalator, and they and Nico ride down alongside it. Cosmina is careful to avoid tripping on the edge again.

“And they stick the landing,” Nico teases as he steps over the crack.

Cosima ignores him heading straight to the self checkout. They scan each item and place them into Nico’s open totes. Cosima wonders how Nico always seems to have totes on him, and how he always has just enough. After Cosima pays, they each carry one of their bags out of the store.

Nico looks left and right in the doorway. “Do you remember which way the subway station was?”

Cosima lowers their head and takes a deep breath. They raise their head with eyes closed. They turn towards Nico before opening them.

“You’re hopeless. Your sense of direction is terrible.”

Nico nods. “You say that like I don’t permanently l have left and right tattooed on the opposite hands because I told my tattoo artist the wrong thing, and he assumed it was a joke I did on purpose.”

“No,” Cosima points to the left for them to begin walking. “I’m saying that in light of that hilarious mistake.”

Nico continues to complain, but all his words fade into background noise as Cosima spots her. Roller skate girl stops just before the crosswalk, waiting for the bright walk man to signal her to continue. Her skates are back on, and Cosima is close enough to see the detailing on her socks. They are littered with variously sized red puckered lips. The red is the exact same as her skirt, which is again blowing around in the wind.

The woman has a hand holding down the back of the skirt and her other holding her groceries in front of her legs. Her long black hair is pulled into two braids which are swaying against her back. Large cherry earrings dangle from her ears. She is rolling her skates back and forth in place while she waits impatiently.

Nico taps Cosima’s shoulder. Cosima turns their attention back to him, their eyes wide.

“Were you listening to me at all?”

Cosima glances back to the woman who is currently looking just past them. They look back at Nico.

“I-”

Nico covers their mouth before they can start with their half baked excuse.

“She’s here again.”

Cosima nods as they pull Nico’s hand off their face. “Trust me, I saw. Why do I keep seeing her?”

Nico smiles at them. “Maybe it’s fated.”

Cosima rolls their eyes. They were never one to believe in fate. Everyone around them who always felt fated to someone or something always was torn away, so why should Cosima believe it would ever be different, especially for them?

The walk man shines bright across the street as Nico and Cosima near the corner. The woman skates off to the other side and down the street.

“We need to go that way too,” Nico declares.

“I can’t tell if you actually are remembering how to get to the subway or if you’re playing cupid, but you’re right.”

Nico beams. “I was trying to be cupid, but the fact that I was right proves my point.”

Cosima looks back down the street, eyes searching for that bright red skirt. They don’t see her at all.

“It would be easier to follow her if we knew where she went.”

Nico quickly looks down the street with Cosima. He releases a loud sigh.

“I guess it’ll just be the subway for us then.”

Cosima leads a clueless Nico back to the subway station entrance and to the correct platform. They run down the stairs to catch a subway that just pulled in. Nico slips through the doors as they begin to close. They grab hold of the same pole, gasping for breath. Cosima closes their eyes and rests their head against the back of their stabilizing hand. Nico taps them on the shoulder quickly.

“What?”

Nico points across the car. Cosima follows his gaze to spot that all too familiar red skirt.

“How?” Cosima whispers.

“Fate,” Nico whispers back.

Roller skate girl looks over at Cosima, their eyes meeting. Her bored expression melts into a soft smile. Cosima smiles back. The girl grabs her bag from between her feet and pushes her way to them.

“Hi,” she says while rubbing the back of her neck. She puts out her hand, “I’m Amelia, she/her, and I think we keep running into each other today.”

Cosima laughs and takes her hand. “I’m Cosima, any pronouns will do.”

“They prefer they/them,” Nico adds.

Cosima jabs them in the side with their elbow. Nico grabs the spot they hit.

Amelia giggles. She takes her hand from Cosima’s and wraps it tightly around the straps of her grocery tote.

“I’m sorry if this sounds creepy, but I’ve been watching you today.” Amelia nods. “Definitely sounds even creepier out loud, wow.”

“It would probably be creepy,” Cosima says, “if I wasn’t guilty of the same thing.”

Amelia looks back at Cosima. Her brown eyes are wide with a slight crinkle at the corners. The bridge of her nose is wrinkled from her wide smile.

“I kept looking at your earrings,” Amelia confesses, eyes on the floor. “It felt like I knew you through them and how you wore them. I’d elaborate, but I wouldn’t know how.”

Cosima knows exactly what she means.

“Would you want to come to a party with me tonight?” Cosima asks.

Nico gasps beside them. Cosima throws a glare at him. He raises his hands and mimics zipping his lips and tossing the key. Cosima turns back to Amelia as they shake their head.

“Sorry about him. He gets,” Cosima glances at Nico, whose eyes are bright and watchful, “invested in my lovelife.”

“So that invite was for a date?”

Cosima’s head snaps back to Amelia. Their faces are both red hot, smiles spread across their lips.

“I… I mean… would you accept that?”

Amelia nods. “I was hoping it would be. I’d love to join you.”

“It’s not a big party,” Cosima jumps to say. “It’s more of a get together with drinks and snacks.”

Amelia giggles again. “I’m fine with anything as long as you’re there.”

Cosima feels their blush stretch from their cheeks to their ears and forehead. Their head empties, no thought for the next sentence in sight. They finally string together enough words to ask, “Pick up?”

Amelia bumps into Cosima’s shoulder as the subway comes to a stop. “I can meet you there if you send me the address.”

Cosima swallows. “How… um…”

Amelia places their hand palm up between them. “Let’s start with phone numbers.”