He takes out the containers to make himself a plate of food.
“Just so you know,” he says, pressing the buttons on the microwave. “I don’t haveeverything.”
“Huh. That’s good to know.”
“I mean, my teeth are great.” He turns and smiles. “And my … what did you say? Oh, my bone structure.” He lifts his chin and tilts his head side to side. “I think I got that from my dad.”
“It’s not nice to sneak up on people, you asshole.”
“What are you mad about?” He takes his dish out of the microwave. “I could’ve caught you talking shit. At least you were being complimentary.”
“Oh, I was talking shit. You just missed that part.”
He shakes his head and carries his plate to the table. I grab mine and follow him, sitting to his right. Instead of sitting, he goes to the refrigerator and brings back two water bottles.
“Thanks,” I say, taking one from him.
“What kind of shit were you talking?” he asks, dropping into the chair.
I sit back and yawn, stretching my arms overhead. “I was just telling her what a dick you are.”
“Oh.” He scoops a forkful of rice into his mouth. “That’s reasonable.”
“And how I think that yourrealproblem is that you want to be my friend, and you’re mad that Gavin got to me first.”
“Igot to you first. You met Gavin later.”
“Yeah, but Gavin established himself in my life well before you.”
He twists the top of his bottle, narrowing his eyes.
Something about that gives me immense pleasure.
“Speaking of the devil,” I say. “Does he come around here a lot? Or was me running into him a complete fluke?”
Chase takes a long drink. “I see him all the time. I helped him build that fence yesterday. He went fishing with us. I probably see him and Luke a few times a week.”
“Don’t you have another brother?”
“Yeah. Mallet.” He takes another bite. “He lives out West. He fights for a living, so we don’t see him much. He comes home now and then.”
“Oh.”
“What about you? Do you have siblings?”
I pull a leg up and wrap my arms around it. “Nope. It’s just me. Well, me and my mom. That’s the only family I have.”
“I’m sorry. That sounds … lonely, I guess.”
“It’s okay.” I shrug. “It’s probably better like that. Mom has quite the history of sordid love affairs.”
Chase grins. “Oh, really.”
“Not in a romance novel kind of way. In ashe’s been married multiple times and none of them last more than two yearskind of way. And I can’t think of one of them that I wish would walk back into her life, either. They wanted her to pet their ego, wash their laundry, or, in the case of Rick—they wanted her pain pills after she had back surgery. He was a fun one.”
“Yikes.”
“Exactly.”
