For months, I’ve had a crush on Jasper that I’ve kept tamped down. I may not be the kinda guy Jasper wants, but I can be his friend. We all need more friends in our lives. And I guess, maybe, I could use a friend too.
“Jaxon called to check in on you while you were sleeping. I told him you would call him later.”
Jasper rolls his eyes. “What is with these people?” he mutters. It’s almost as if he’s never had a group of friends before. He does not talk a lot about his time in the foster care system, but from what he has said, it doesn’t sound like it was all that great. He probably didn’t have a lot of friends and that makes my heart break. Just as it would for anyone.Just keep telling yourself that.
“This is really beautiful,” I say, gesturing to the painting.
Jasper clears his throat, clearly not comfortable with the recognition.
“How long did it take you to paint?” I ask, hoping to get a peek inside Jasper’s world.
“Not long.”
“Yeah, okay, got it.” I turn to walk away. Of course, he’s not going to tell me anything real.
“When everything gets bottled up inside of me, I paint. Sometimes to the point of not realizing how much time has passed. This one took me a night.”
I stare back at the painting in awe. “Does it help?”
“I would like to think so.”
“You’re really talented,” I say, afraid to say too much and risk scaring him away.
He gives me a half-hearted grunt. “I don’t know why I just told you that; must be the head injury,” he mumbles, quickly walking away.And… too late.
“Are you hungry? Do you want me to make you something to eat?”
“Look, Olly, you don’t have to stay here and cook me food. I’m fine.”
“Jasper, you are not fine. You fainted and possibly hit your head. Obviously, your body is trying to tell you something. You should pay attention to it.”
He cocks his head. “Why are you like this, Olly?”
I take a step back. The words feel like a slap. “What do you mean, why am I like this? Because this is who I am.” My tone has a hint of anger.
He winces. “Sorry, that came out wrong. I don’t mean it in a bad way. We’re friends, right? But you don’t really know me, so why would you leave The Diner in the middle of the dinner rush just to check on meandtake a day off so you can stay with me?”
“I care about my friends. I don’t want to see them hurt or sad. As you can probably tell, I don’t have a lot, but I’m okay with that, because the ones I do have I care about deeply.”
My heart jumps at the admission and the possibility of just showing my hand. I quickly change the subject. “Let me make you something to eat. Please, sit down.”
“Oh, telling me what to do in my own home, are we?”
“That’s not what I…” The corners of Jasper’s lips tick up, and I can see the smirk. “Jasper!”
“I doubt I have any food here but have at it,” he says, sitting down at the table.
“While you were sleeping, I went through the refrigerator and threw away anything spoiled. I saw some slices of cheese and the bread doesn’t look like it has mold on it. I could make grilled cheese sandwiches.”
“Whatever you make, Olly, I’m sure it’ll be delicious.”
“Pfft, it’s just grilled cheese. Anyone can make it.”
“But will anyone spend over an hour picking out the best seasonings to use on a simple grilled cheese sandwich?”
Knowing that I already scavenged through his cupboards looking for seasoning, I roll my eyes, a blush covering my cheeks.
I get to work taking out a pan and placing it on the stove. Jasper hisses at the loud bang.
