“You must be Mr. Daniels,” I said, getting up from the chair to shake his hand. “Nice to meet you!”
“Oh no, the pleasure is all mine. Michael Reiner’s sister. Crazy coincidence.” His dad grinned and clapped his hands. “I’ve been a Moo U fan for years. About cried my eyes out when J here got in.”
J. How cute. I smiled at my roommate and raised my brows. “I know my brother did.”
“Anyway, Dad, want a quick tour?” Jonah said, his eyes dancing with amusement as he put a hand on his dad’s shoulder. They were carbon copies of each other, his dad just older and with less muscle.
“I’m seeing the place from here.” He marched further into the place and whistled at the kitchen. “Ah, your rules.”
Jonah’s ears turned red, and he shuffled his feet on the carpet. “Yeah, about that… I might’ve gotten a bit worked up at the beginning.”
“A bit?” I said, raising my voice. “Try again.”
His dad laughed and took the piece of paper off the fridge. “Jonah, this is a little much. No parties? No music? You gotta live a little, son.”
Jonah clenched his jaw and met my gaze for a beat before snatching the sheet from his dad’s hands. “We’ve adapted.”
His dad looked at me. “Is that so, Ryann? Don’t hold back now. Tell me the truth. Has this grump changed any of his rules?”
“He’s adjusted a few.” I met Jonah’s gaze and winked. “Honestly though, most of the rules are okay with me. I’m not a huge partier, and it’s not too bad being roommates.”
His dad sighed and smiled real big before tapping the paper back onto the fridge. “I’m glad you two are friends. This guy worries about hockey too damn much, so it’ll be good to have you keep him on his toes.”
“Dad, come on.” He ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh of frustration.
“It’s the truth. I swear, in high school he would schedule time forfunin thirty-minute increments.” His dad moved into the living room and checked out the couch and laundry unit. “Do you not have any alcohol in here? Son, you need to make bad decisions in college, not after it. Haven’t you seen the movies?”
“We’re not twenty-one.”
“Right, because no one drinks until it’s legal.” His dad winked and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. “I’m buying you beer before I leave. It’s a must.”
“No, no, you don’t have to. I don’t really drink.”
“Ryann, if I buy beer, will you make sure he gets tipsy once? Maybe snap a picture so I can see?”
“I can arrange it,” I said, grinning wide at my roommate. Seeing Jonah embarrassed only made his dad act goofier, and the pang I felt earlier changed to happiness. Jonah’s dad was so good for him, even if they had their own financial issues. “We did go to a party, and he kicked my ass at a drinking game.”
“Heyyo, that’s my boy!” He held out a high-five, and Jonah rolled his eyes before obliging his father. “Okay, I want pizza. That parlor still here?”
“Yeah. Let’s go,” Jonah said, a smiling toying on his lips. “I invited Ryann too, if that’s okay.”
“Son, please.” His dad looked at me with an exaggerated face. “You are obviously welcome. It’ll be my treat.”
“No, you visited me. I’ll pay.” Jonah used hishighly annoyedtone, but his dad didn’t care. He waved him off and headed toward the door. “Dad, I mean it.”
“Pick your battles. This isn’t one of them. I’m buying my son and his roommate lunch. End of story.”
Jonah’s shoulders tensed, and I didn’t think before putting my hand on his arm and squeezing. He sucked in a breath and looked worried, but I shook my head at him.
“Not worth it,” I whispered and held up a finger. “Hold on a sec.”
The first week of school had a ton of flyers all over the campus, and the pizza parlor had great specials, so I tore through my backpack until I found the flyer.Fifty percent off order. I shoved it in my pocket and plastered on a grin. “I’m starved.”
The walk to the place was filled with his dad asking us both questions about our classes. He rarely mentioned hockey, and I felt like it was intentional, like his dad knew how obsessed Jonah was with the sport and wanted him to explore other things. Every time Jonah mentioned practice, his dad switched gears and changed the subject. He talked about the fall and the latest gossip on his Next Door app.
I found his dad’s endless optimism charming. Jonah obviously got the same energy from his dad, but he channeled all of his into a sport, while his dad went where the wind did. We arrived at the place and got seated into a booth when his dad excused himself to use the restroom. This was the moment.
“Hey,” I said, hitting my knee against his. His dad insisted he get his own side of the booth, leaving Jonah and I sitting close. His clean scent and warmth weren’t unpleasant, and a brief, random image of us eating dinner together came from nowhere. Holding hands. Kissing. I shook it away from my mind but hated how much I liked it.
