But I wanted to help. I held my hands out, not-so-proudly showing off my adequate yet cheap clothes. “What am I gonna do with a closet full of hangers? You’re lookin’ at like one-fifth of my entire wardrobe, and most of these amazing threads go folded in my dresser.”
Fork in the air, she froze, looking me over. “Not much for clothes, I take it?”
“Nope.” And for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why I kept filling her in on the worst parts of me. It was like I was trying to un-impress her. And judging by the look on her face, I was succeeding. “No reason to be. I don’t get out much. I mean I work in the building so…”
God, just shut up.
I clamped my mouth closed before more stupidity could spill out. She was still watching me like I had a big ol’ slab of loser covering my face, which was pretty accurate.
“That’s…”
“Pathetic.”
She chuckled. “I was gonna say interesting.”
“Only it’s not.”
“Yeah it is. You’re an interesting guy, Hound.”
There were worse things she could have called me, so I decided to probe further. “Why do you say that?”
She seemed to consider me for a few beats before answering, “Most people put on a front for people they don’t know, but you’re really… honest. Kinda brutal to yourself, even. Why?”
I shrugged and took a shot at diagnosing my motivation for putting my worst foot forward. “I like to keep expectations low.”
“You’re funny.”
Not really, but I could be all kinds of self-deprecating if it made her eyes light up like that. “You should see me at a job interview. No qualifications, all sorts of limitations, I’m the employeeeveryonewants.”
Sadness flooded her eyes, and the entire world seemed to darken as her smile faded. “That must be hard.”
Shit.
Not the response I was going for. I would have done anything to put that sparkle back in her eyes, but I’d effectively snuffed it out. I couldn’t help but wonder if she knew the kind of power she held. If she knew the kind of shit I’d do to put a smile on her face.
“It’s fine. Your cousin took a chance on me. Turns out I’m pretty good at coding.”
A tiny spark of sunshine returned to her eyes, pushing back the darkness once more. Flecks of gold and brown danced in her bright green eyes, taking her beauty to an otherworldly level. She was such a goddamn anomaly, I couldn’t stop staring. There was just one thing I needed to know.
“Why’d you take off on me today?” I blurted out. I hadn’t meant to ask the question aloud, but now that it was out there, I desperately needed the answer. “Are you just naturally avoidant? Or did I say something wrong?”
Her eyebrows rose and cocked her head to the side, studying me. I half expected her to shut the conversation down, but instead, she popped a forkful of salad into her mouth and slowly chewed it.
I waited until she swallowed. She took another bite.
“You gonna respond?” I asked.
“I’m being avoidant.”
Ah. The girl had jokes. I barked out a laugh. “Well played.”
“For real, I just needed to be alone for a while.” Her gaze darted to a picture frame on her dresser. “I needed a good cry.”
Standing, I circled the coffee table to get closer so I could see the photo that had snagged her attention. It was Mila with another woman. “Who’s that with you?”
“Has anyone ever told you you’re nosey?”
Chuckling, I nodded. “All the damn time. But here’s the thing, I grew up feeling like I didn’t belong. Now, I ask questions to show my interest in people, so they know someone cares. I don’t want anyone to ever feel unwelcome like I did.”
