“Sure.” She was competent. Brave. Generally good at things.
“Nice.” He nodded.
I chuckled and filled him in on character dynamics where appropriate.
“That guy’s my favorite,” he decided, pointing at the pilot.
“Hmm.” I sat cross-legged, accidentally bumping him with my knee.
He frowned. “What? Don’t tell me he’s a double agent.”
I shook my head and sighed. “If only.”
He set down his pizza and leaned over my lap. “No. Noooo. Zero. Do not tell me.”
I bit down my smile and shrugged. “No spoilers.”
“Fuck,” he lamented, slapping his wrist on his knee. By the end of the episode, he was shouting at the television. “Are you telling me they kill the comic relief?”
“Is this too upsetting for you? We can switch to gaming.” I wagged the remote.
“Put on the next episode,” he scolded sarcastically. “Getting me emotionally involved. I need another slice.”
Any excuse for more cheese.
After the next episode and cliffhanger, he collapsed in place. “Come on.”
“It’s addicting,” I agreed.
He flung his arm out at the TV. “It’s mean. We need a whole week to binge this freaking thing.”
I played with the edge of a thin napkin. “You could borrow it. Or come over again.”
“Yeah.” He chewed, mulling, but not looking at me.
My extremities tingled unpleasantly. Not that I needed his company. But if he wanted a normal thing. This was…normal. TV.
“I want to watch more, but we did come here to play, so maybe I should work off some of these calories.” He wiped his fingers on his palms, which did nothing but spread the grease.
“Wash your hands before you touch anything,” I warned.
“Good idea.” He hopped up. “Kitchen? Bathroom?”
I pointed down the hall, then turned him with my foot.
“Thanks, honey.” He winced. “Slugger, sorry.”
My brain fizzled, and something in my chest sparked. It was fine, probably. “Was that like the Ash thing, where you call her ‘baby girl’ ironically?”
“Maybe. My mouth does stupid things.” He chuckled, shuffling quickly down the hall as he scratched his goatee.
“I can relate,” I said, more to the empty room than my friend.
All in all, this was going well. No need to overanalyze things.
Honey. Sweetheart. Slugger. Zero. However he referred to me, it didn’t change my chemical being. Or our…chemistry.
It was warm in here, though. And I’d only get warmer with physical games. My hoodie stuck to the small of my back. I peeled it off, then fluffed my hair to get it off my neck.
