“I like doing things for people, especially you.” I shrug and lean a little closer to her.
There isn’t much space between us on this blanket, but I swear it feels like she’s miles away from me.
A moment of silence passes and then another as I watch Demi battle her inner turmoil over me refusing to take her money. I don’t know all the reasons she’s so fucking guarded and reluctant to let me do anything nice for her, but I’m sure it has a lot to do with her divorce.
“Have you ever had flan?” She finally breaks the silence, and I don’t miss her scoot a bit closer.
“I have, it’s great.”
She nods, a soft smile spreading over her lips. “I’ll repay you in flan. I make it. Well, I’ve made it before. It’s my mom’s recipe so it isn’tasgood as hers, but it’s still pretty good. I like to try her recipes whenever I can—which isn’t often, but this is one my mom and abuela both made often growing up.”
“Did your mom cook a lot when you were growing up?”
She nods again. “All the time. I really think making us food was her love language.”
“That’s awesome,” I admit.
“Did yours?”
I shake my head, noticeably crinkling my face together. “My mom wasn’t a big cook. She had a couple dishes that she made on rotation every so often, but for the most part, there was a chef who cooked, and it was very much catered to my dad’s wants.”
Memory flashes of a pan of lemon pepper chicken with roasted potatoes and ears of corn. My favorite thing my mom used to make, even if it wasn’t anything groundbreaking. I fucking loved it. But it wasn’t something we had too often. Our lives were so busy when we were young. Between my dad’s career and my sports, it was rare we spent more than two nights a week together as a family for dinner.
“Well, still, I bet those few dishes were amazing.” Demi smiles at me with a tiny look of pity, and I hate it.
The pity part, not the smile. Because goddamn, I’d do anything to see those dimples on display like that.
“So are you all settled in?” I haven’t seen the inside of her apartment since the day I borrowed eggs.
“Yeah, I think so. I should probably get some more glasses and plates, things like that. But honestly I don’t host anything, and—as pathetic as it sounds—I don’t really have friends around here that I’d invite over, so I guess maybe I don’t need them.” She chuckles, and this time it’s me who offers the smile laced with a small amount of pity.
“It isn’t pathetic. I hate hosting. I’ll be someone’s dinner guest every night of the week, but I want my space to be…I don’t know,mine.” I shrug, feeling a little odd I just said all that out loud.
“At least you have friends you can hang out with, though.”
“You want ’em?” I laugh. “Seriously, take the girls.”
“Wow.” Her eyes shine as she laughs. “How would they feel knowing you’re so easily giving them away?”
“They’d understand.”
We exchange smiles again, and I feel like she finally settles. There’s no stiffness to her anymore, no pauses to make carefully thought-out sentences. She’s justbeing.
“That’s kind of how I’ve always felt, though—going back to your last point about your home just being your space. I’ve always been a homebody, and I mean, I love socializing when I feel like it, but being able to come home to a quiet house is so good for me.”
“Right?”
“Kind of surprised you aren’t the one hosting all your gatherings, though.” She raises a brow to me.
“At this point, it’s probably easier for my friends to host, especially those with kids. But even before that—Chase always did the poker nights, Ford did a lot of the barbeques, and Nate and I kind of rotated for chill hangouts. I’ve never had a party here. Despite whatever the rumor mill might like to say about me, I’m not actually a wild party animal.”
She eyes me intently, seemingly surprised we’re so alike on this topic.
“So, you didn’t have the idea to throw two footballs at the same time to two separate moving Jet Skis over the summer? Or was that one just a crazy rumor?”
“No.” I laugh, and she starts to shake her head as she smirks. “That was all me.” I proudly grin.
Liam’s cheeks turn a light shade of pink as he smiles proudly over his summer moment that was somehow deemed newsworthy, ending up on a few sites.
