Chapter 39: The Man Everyone Wanted

Benedito Goncalo Cruz Pereira 

It had been years since I had a genuine conversation with someone outside of family and enjoyed myself. It was obvious I never really smiled or laughed around strangers. I never allowed myself to show emotion unless I had to manipulate the situation in order to get what I wanted. 

Yet with Bobby, I often found myself letting my guard down. He made me laugh like no one else could, at times when I was alone and thought about him I could not help but smile. Yes we fought more than normal and communication was… let us say it was rocky, extremely rocky but we somehow found common ground. 

Even now as I tried to teach him basic Portuguese words I could not help but grin whenever he groaned out in frustration. Whenever he was stressed he would suck on his two front teeth and press the tip of his tongue on the small gap.