Sucked that she only heard about it now.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me about it? Getting it published, I mean,” she asked, moving on from his shoulder and grabbing the shampoo bottle.
Theo paused and she waited for a moment to squirt the liquid into her hand.
“You know how my parents are. I…I thought people would think it was silly,” he finally said after she’d started lathering his oily hair.
“Theodore Galanis,” she said with authority, yanking at his hair to turn his head to face her.
“You know my name’s not Theodore—” he said.
“Now, when have I ever made fun of you for any of the otherhundred different nerdy things that you do?” She cut him off before he could finish.
“Does this moment count?”
“I’m not making fun of you. I’m stating facts.”
She turned his head so he was facing forward, then she dug her fingers into his hair, working the shampoo into his shiny, dark brown tresses. They sat silently for a few minutes as she worked, taking her time massaging his scalp.
“You should have told me,” she finally said, barely above a whisper, trying not to let her hurt show through. “You know I would have been happy for you. It’s really fucking cool.”
“I know.”
“And it’s really unfair that you let strangers read your work, but not me. I was your first fan, remember?”
“I know.”
“And if I find out that Eddie knew about it before me—”
“He doesn’t know—”
“Well, if he did, I’d kick your ass. I’d kickbothof your asses.”
“I know.”
“Then, good. As long as we’re on the same page—”
With his good arm, Theo reached behind his head and wrapped his hand around her wrist before pulling it around to his front, wrapping her arm tightly against his chest.
“I missed you,” he whispered.
Dani closed her eyes, taking him in. Feeling his fingers closed around her wrist. Holding her next to him. This was the Theo she remembered. The one who wasn’t afraid to show his emotions.
She leaned forward, wrapping her other arm around his chest and burying her face in his neck.
“I missed you, too.”
“We’ve got to get out of here.”
“Why? Getting pruney?”
Theo chuckled. “No, out of Greece. I’ve never wanted to leave Greece so badly.”
He held up his hand in front of their faces, spreading his fingers out wide. Theywerestarting to prune. “And maybe I need to rinse my hair so I can get out of the tub, too.”
She laughed, then pulled away, letting him sink into the tub and under the water to rinse out the shampoo. But as he dunked his head, hisotherhead popped up.
¡Ay, Dios mío!
