Adam, quick on the draw this time, saved it from spilling. With a smirk on his face, he took one last bite and pushed his plate away. “I bet there were a lot of skinned knees when she was a kid.”
My mom nodded dramatically. “Skinned knees, elbows, random injuries, and lots of messes.”
I sighed, exasperated at her willingness to overshare. “Way to throw me under the bus, Mom.”
Honestly, though, I was thankful his teasing broke the tension.
She chuckled. “But once she started dance classes, it got a lot better.”
Adam’s brows rose and he turned toward me, placing his arm along the back of my chair. “You danced?”
“Yup.” The fact that I didn’t constantly topple over while I danced was a constant source of surprise for all of us. And theclasses actually helped my coordination, posture, and spatial awareness. “Started in fourth grade and continued all the way through my senior year.” I shrugged. “I wasn’t the best, but I became pretty good.”
“We tried a few sports first. It was…not good.” My mom’s nose wrinkled like she smelled something bad.
Dad scoffed. “That’s an understatement. I swear, I was convinced the ball would purposely seek her out. And it didn’t matter what kind. Softball, soccer, lacrosse. She got hit by every single one, multiple times.”
Adam cocked a brow at me. “So does that mean you won’t be participating in the volleyball game in February?”
“Definitely not.” I wasn’t stupid enough to even try that. “I would probably end up with another concussion.”
“I have a ton of pictures from her dance recitals over the years that I can pull out.” My mom smiled proudly.
“He doesn’t want to see a bunch of pictures of me as a kid.”
“Oh, I totally do.” His smile was genuine, but maybe with a hint of mischief. “I need to see proof of this dancing thing.”
I swatted his stomach with my good arm. “You’re ridiculous.”
Part of me was sure he was joking, but twenty minutes later, he sat next to my mom on the sofa as she showed him the dance album she’d created many years ago. I didn’t understand why this was important to him. Ammo to tease me with later?
I shook my head and went back into the kitchen to start rinsing the dishes and loading them into the dishwasher.
After a few minutes, Adam entered the kitchen and sidled up next to me. “Here, let me.”
“I am perfectly capable of loading a dishwasher.” I raised a brow, daring him to challenge me.
“Without spilling water everywhere?”
I gathered a handful of water, throwing it at him and then smirking. “Oops. I guess not.”
He took a step forward, that mischief back in his eyes, and reached out, grabbing the sprayer. I quickly moved away from thesink before he could spray me. But he just grinned as he took over putting the dishes in the dishwasher. I huffed and crossed my arms.
Damn him.
He stole a glance over at me. “Did you enjoy dancing?”
“Yeah. I did.” I grabbed a dirty glass from the island and brought it over to him.
“You’ve never mentioned it.” He reached out to take the glass from my hands.
Our fingers brushed, and I froze as it sent a zing up my arm. I yanked it back and turned toward the island, attempting to catch my breath.
What the heck was that? I didn’t understand why I was suddenly having these moments with him. Maybe the bump on my head was somehow causing these weird things to happen.
Totally possible.
Chapter Fifteen
