Perfect Fortune

          Crunch.

          The cookie crumbled and fell through Aponi’s soft caramel colored fingers and onto the table. She smoothed out the small slim piece of paper from beneath the crumbs and read the tiny red print inside her head. She laughed to herself as her eyes traveled over the tiny red words. “ Your heart is a place to draw true happiness,” she said snorting with laughter. Shaking her head she tucked as strand of ebony black hair behind her ears. “Someone buy me a box of crayons.” She tossed the cookie remains aside, pulled her takeout box of pork-fried rice, and dug in with her chopsticks.

          Reading fortune cookie fortunes used to be an enjoyable experience for Aponi, but now they just made her laugh. They used to fill her heart with hope, but now, they just filled her empty stomach. The door to the house slammed shut and Aponi dropped her chopsticks suddenly. They flopped back and forth on the wooden table. “Way to slam the door,” she muttered loudly. She heard keys drop onto the table and didn’t even need to look up. “Dakota”

          “ What a greeting” Dakota muttered as he walked past the table to the fridge. “Take out again?” he asked as he picked up a can of soda and popped the top as he kicked the refrigerator door shut. Aponi just shrugged and laughed as he slipped into the chair across from her.

          Dakota took a sip of his soda and let the can rest on the table. He looked down at the cookie crumb covered table and laughed aloud, “Ordered the extra cookies again?”

          Aponi looked up and smirked. Dakota smiled back with his hundred-watt smile, shook his head at her strange tendencies, and ran his fingers through his dark black hair that looked almost blue in the dim light of the kitchen.

          “ I though you gave up on the search for the perfect fortune, what happened?”

          Aponi laughed, “Can I help it if I have a sweet tooth?”

          “ I wouldn’t call fortune cookies for more than a large wedding party, satisfying your sweet tooth.”

          Aponi rolled her eyes and returned to her take out meal. As much as the cookies satisfied her stomach, she still had a soft spot for that one fortune that lay inside one of the cookies.

          “Did you get me any egg rolls?” Dakota asked.

          Aponi bit her lip and set down her chopsticks. She began to fumble through the cookie piles and loose fortunes that littered the table in search for the bag the Chinese food had arrived in. “Um...” she muttered, “Here!” she exclaimed as she pulled a small duel packet of egg rolls from underneath a pile of rejected fortunes.

          “Thanks” Dakota muttered taking the egg rolls from her and smiling. Aponi took a few more bites and broke apart another cookie. Dakota watched as Aponi’s eyes peeked in interest as they stumbled over the fine red print.

          “ A maybe?” Dakota asked, food flying from his mouth. Aponi looked up and set the fortune onto a fresh space, starting the maybe pile. “What did it say?” Dakota asked after swallowing. Aponi just smiled and stayed silent. “ Oh come on Aponi!” he argued. Aponi just smiled and returned to her tub of pork-fried rice.

          Aponi couldn’t help but smirk while thinking of the fortune. Her dazed look and funny smirk really had him squirming. He’d known Aponi for a few years and had put up with her strange habits for a while, but now her fortune cookie had him tied in knots. It was mostly his stomach; there were butterflies. Maybe this time her fortune would read something in his favor.

          Dakota looked up and watched as Aponi cracked open another cookie. He watched intently as Aponi’s lips curved in delight as she read over the fortune and let it drop into the maybe pile. “Anything good?” he asked. Aponi grabbed her glass of water, swallowed a few sips, and shrugged as she set the glass down. “Come on Butterfly, share?” Dakota begged.

          Aponi shook her head, threw her empty take-out box in the trashcan, and left the kitchen. Dakota quickly wiped his mouth on his sleeve and chased after her. “Aponi! Where are you going?” he asked, “You have at least fifty more cookies out there!” he shouted pointing to the kitchen as he chased after her.

          Aponi fell onto the couch, “Stuffed,” she said patting her stomach. Dakota laughed and fell down beside her on the couch.

          “How many cookies did you go through before I got home?”

          “ Enough” she muttered.

          Dakota laughed.

          Aponi looked over and frowned, “stuff it.”

          That little statement had Dakota laughing so hard inside. Aponi swung at Dakota’s head and missed. She fell into him and just stayed there. Leaning hard against Dakota’s chest, her breath slowed. She could feel Dakota’s heart racing and she could see his eyes glazing over. His pupils dilated as she stared longer into his eyes. Aponi bit the corner of her lip as she felt butterflies taking laps around her stomach.

          “So what did those fortunes say?” Dakota asked.

          Aponi pushed herself off him and curled up on her end of the couch. “Not perfect unless they come true,” she muttered, her heart racing more than before. She looked over at Dakota. He’d been her best friend for a long time, usually she looked straight past appearances to the heart, but she couldn’t help but fall in love with his emerald green eyes. Her gaze shifted over his perfectly tan complexion and soft chiseled face. Then her eyes stumbled upon his soft pink lips and they just begged her to come and taste them.

          “ They musta been good”

          Aponi shrugged.

          “Well they had to have been, you never have a maybe pile anymore” Dakota said softly, leaning closer towards her, “tell me, what did they say?”

          Aponi just smirked, “ you give him butterflies every time you meet,” she answered.

          Dakota smiled, “ What about the other one?”

          Aponi smirked again, “that’s a secret,” she whispered. Dakota threw his head back and laughed as Aponi threw her legs across his lap and flipped on the television with the touch of a finger on the remote and turned off the television and turned to Aponi with his jewel tainted eyes.

          “Well, if you’re not going to tell me...” Dakota said throwing Aponi’s legs off his lap and getting to his feet, “I’m going to go read it for myself.” Aponi’s eyes widened and her face paled. She leaped to her feet and chased after him into the kitchen.

          “No!” she shrieked, if you read it, it won’t come true!”

          “Then why is it in the maybe pile?”

          “I still have a lifetime of fortunes to go through.”

          Dakota picked up the two fortunes that rested in the maybe pile and stuffed them in the pocket of his warn in blue jeans and smirked at Aponi. “Come and get them” he beckoned.

          Aponi put her hands on her curvy hips and made a menacing face as she lunged towards Dakota with all her strength.  She grabbed him around the waist and brought him down on the cold linoleum tile of the kitchen floor. Aponi laid sprawled out across Dakota. She bounced up and down, sitting across his chest, as he laughed at her. She gave him her trademark smirk, dug her hands deep into the pockets of his jeans, and stole back her fortunes. Dakota held his hands up over his head and let out a sigh of defeat.

          The two just stayed there on the kitchen floor, Aponi sitting across Dakota’s chest frowning down at him. Dakota just rolled his head back and forth laughing at her. Aponi made a sour face as she looked down at him. “Come one Aponi...let me up” Dakota muttered, trying to sit up. Aponi held her position and wouldn’t move. “Fine...be stubborn” Dakota said pushing himself up with his hands and watching Aponi fall into his lap. Aponi crossed her arms and frowned. “ Why won’t you tell me?” Dakota asked. Aponi remained silent. As she looked down into Dakota’s green eyes and sighed heavily.

          Dakota smirked, “She’s going to tell me,” he thought to himself.

          Aponi slowly opened her hands and tossed aside one of the small slips of paper and unfolded the other fortune and slowly looked over it before reading over it, “You are the guiding star of his existence.” she said softly, “lucky numbers ten, twenty-four, thirty, thirty-four, thirty-eight, and thirty-nine.”

          Dakota looked up at her in disbelief, and thoughts fumbled through his head, “ Ten...the age we were when we met, twenty four...her birthday is February fourth, thirty...her basketball jersey number, thirty-four...the house number, thirty-eight...my lacrosse number, thirty-nine...my birthday is March ninth...”

          “ Yea...” she said shoving the fortune deep into the confines of her own jean pocket, as she noticed the look on his face.

          “ That is...”

          “ The perfect fortune”

          Dakota nodded.

          “ But it’s not going to come true.”

          “ Why not?”

          “ I told you...can’t read it until it happens” she said, her voice saddening with every word.

          “ Well do you want it to come true?” Dakota asked.

          Aponi pressed her lips tightly together and looked down at her hands as her fingers fumbled together. Dakota sat up more and shifted Aponi as she sat in his lap, her legs now saddling his thighs.

          “ Do you want it to be real?” he asked.

          “ More than anything,” she said in a whisper.

          Dakota smiled and played with her long messy bangs with his fingers and pressed his forehead to hers. Aponi looked straight into his eyes and a tiny smile played at her lips. She closed her eyes as she felt Dakota lean in close. She could feel his lips press gently against hers and she playfully nipped at his soft bubblegum lips. She could feel him smile and she opened her eyes and laughed as she pushed him back onto the floor. Dakota couldn’t help but chuckle as Aponi leaned in close, their noses touching, “ I guess this is the way the cookie crumbles,” she muttered and plastered her lips to his.