“Best if you just ignore all three of them.”
“Ignore your whole family. Got it.”
“Good.”
I push the door open, and he follows me inside. “Anybody home?” I shout.
“In the kitchen,” my mom yells. We make our way down the hall, following the sound of her voice. My mom is at the stove stirring something, and my dad and brother are sitting at the table.
“You both look nice,” I say, walking in and over to my mom, who’s wearing a green dress that brings out her eyes. She wraps me in a hug, and I inhale her perfume, relaxing immediately.
“You must be Tanner,” my dad says, standing and shaking his hand. “I’m Paul, and this is my wife, Charlotte.”
“It’s nice to meet you both.”
Tanner turns to my brother. “How’s it going man? I’m Tanner.” He puts his hand out and shakes Cody’s.
My brother lets go and immediately begins to type. To my surprise, Tanner takes a seat at the table and waits for him to finish. He doesn’t look over Cody’s shoulder and try to read what he’s typing either. He just sits there, still holding his framed comic, his ankle crossed over his knee, like this is the hundredth conversation he’s had with my brother and not the first.
“I’m Cody are you dating my sister,” my brother says in one long stream of text.
“Dude!” I shriek. “See, I told you to ignore everything he says.” I walk over and ruffle my brother’s hair. “Tanner is my roommate, and he happens to be a huge nerd like you. He found out we were watching Marvel movies tonight and practically begged me to come.”
Cody’s whole body shakes with laughter, and he begins to type again.
“I’m not a nerd,” Tanner argues.
“Says the man wearing a Captain America T-shirt,” I tease.
“Can we watchIron Man?” Cody asks.
“Of course we can,” Tanner says before I have the chance. “I was telling your sister that it’s my favorite movie of all time.”
Cody nods and begins to type again. “What are you holding?” he asks after a few seconds.
“Oh, this?” Tanner flips the frame around. “It’s a framed copy ofThe Avengers #1signed by… what did you call him Wren? Tanlee?”
Everyone laughs but me. Returning next to my mom, I steal a green bean from the pan, grumbling while I chew it.
“It’s not my fault the signature is hard to read,” I say, crossing my arms.
“You have a comic signed by Stan Lee?” my dad asks, walking over and looking at the frame. “Well that must be worth ten grand.”
“Dad!”
“What?” he asks. “Am I wrong?”
Tanner chuckles. “I’m actually not sure how much it’s worth. It was a gift from my grandad, and to me it's priceless.”
“He seems nice,” my mom whispers, nudging me with her elbow.
“He’s a really nice roommate,” I whisper back.
“Mmhmm,” she muses.
I’m in absolute awe of the man sitting next to my brother. I don’t know why I was worried for him to come. That feeling I’ve been pushing down returns to my stomach, and this time there is no weird chicken to blame. No alcohol either. Tanner Mitchell is giving me butterflies, and I don’t hate them.
Cody begins to type once more, and we all wait for him to speak. Tanner’s eyes find mine, and I offer him a thankful smile.
