“I didn’t get pizza,” she mumbled, and I couldn’t be sure I heard her right.
“Come again?”
“Pineapple and ham pizza. My stomach’s been growling since lunch and I don’t regret leaving, but I need food and I don’t know where anything is so I’ve been Google Mapping it.”
It was hard not to laugh at her determination. “I know just the place.”
She exhaled, relief evident on her face, and I didn’t think twice before putting my arm around her shoulder for justa second. I hoped the half-hug was the appropriate way to show her I supported her and I didn’t think about the loss of heat when I released her. “Zaza’s is a new pizza joint that’s open twenty-four hours. They have dollar slices and I can’t guarantee they’ll have pineapple and ham, but I’ll bet my life you’ll like it.”
“Any place named Zaza’s has my attention.” She grinned, the gesture a shadow of the one I knew she could do, and I hated the mask she put on. We talked two blocks in silence before she spoke. “Did he make you come after me?”
“No. He wanted to about ten seconds after you left and I stopped him.”
She froze, bringing her gaze to mine. “Why?”
“Because you needed a friend, not your brother.”
“Are we friends, Tanner Johnson?” She had a playful curve to her lips, as if she held a secret, and it charmed me.
“Yes. So, if you want to talk about what happened, I’m here. If you want to eat pizza and talk about lists, we can do that too.” I shrugged, desperate to say the right things to comfort her. “Whatever you need.”
“Thank you.” She wrapped her fingers around my arm and squeezed. “I can now addmake a friendto my list and immediately cross it off.”
“Ten points to you. Tomorrow, we can knock out two more. But you should probably puttalk to your obnoxious twat brotheron there, too.”
Chapter Five
Kenzie
Monday morning was not off to a fantastic start. I deleted two texts from Sean asking me how I was doing.No thanks, Sean. Goodbye.My biology class posted the syllabus and it was a shit ton of work for just an eight-week summer course and my mom sent a quick update that Dad was battling a terrible fever,again. It also didn’t help that I’d tossed and turned the entire night, replaying the argument with Aaron.
Why is he mad at me?
What triggered it?
Do I have to find a new place?
I went without contacts for the day, putting on my thick-framed glasses, and chose an old tie-dye shirt and black cut-off shorts. The rain from the day before had barely cooled the temperatures and instead made the humidity seem worse, as if my hands would stick to my skin if I touched it.Gross.The weather was disgusting and I fought a groan when I grabbed my laptop and headed downstairs to make coffee and eat some food. I was still hungry despite the two slices of pizza I’d gotten with Tanner the night before, and my chest felt lighter.Tanner.
My first friend.
I fought a smile, my already warm skin becoming a degree hotter, and narrowly avoided Zade on the stairs. “Oh, hey. Morning.”
“Morning, Kenzie,” he replied in a deep, sleepy voice. He wore plaid pajama pants and that was it. “You making coffee?”
“Yup.”
“Thank god.” He yawned, stretching and showcasing his hard-earned muscles, but his body was different from Tanner’s. His was leaner, more toned to fit a pitcher’s needs rather than for power to hit the ball out of the park. It didn’t prevent my face getting red or my slight flustering. “Pour me a mug, would ya?”
“Uh-huh.” I scurried down the steps, hating my reaction to him, and came to an abrupt stop when Aaron sat on the couch with an expression I could only gauge as concern. My anger from the night before returned and the sight of his stupid face had my jaw clenching. Unless he said the wordsI’m sorry, I had no reason to speak to him. My heart raced and I put one hand on my hip, waiting. It didn’t take long. He pointed to a large steaming mug of coffee on the table.
“That’s for you.”
“Thanks?” I chose to sit in the recliner and tucked my feet under myself before grabbing the cup in my hands and facing him. We were close enough now that I saw his stress, the strain around his eyes and the worry lines on his forehead. My first thought surprised me.He needs rest for baseball. He can’t play if he’s stressed.“Aaron—”
“No, let me go first.” He cleared his throat and leaned forward so his elbows were on his knees, putting all his attention on me. “I’m fucking sorry.”
My throat tightened and I nodded. “Good start.”
