It’s just the two of us in the kitchen, somehow. Mom and Melody were here no less than a minute ago.
“Yup,” I tell him.
“Did I go too far with the coffee?” he asks, nudging me in the arm.
“Yup.”
“Well, thank you for forgiving me enough to invite me over tonight.”
“I didn’t invite you over. My mother did.”
“Same thing.”
“Not the same thing,” I argue.
“Do you really hate me because I took your coffee?”
“Yup.”
“How can I make it up to you?”
I glance over my shoulder at him while wiping down the kitchen counter. With a shrug, I tell him, “I don’t know. Why are you so concerned with making anything up to me?”
Brody snags the dish towel from my hand. “You know what I read once …”
“You know how to read?”
He tilts his head to the side and smirks. “I will let that one slide. Anyway, I read once that it takes four minutes.”
I’m staring into his eyes, wondering what the hell he’s about to say and where he’s taking this conversation. Four minutes. To get into someone’s pants? To convince someone they’re charming when they’re going to steal your coffee after. To make someone forget their wrongdoings. Impossible.
“Four minutes for what?” I bite.
Brody’s eyes narrow, but widen as if he’s studying me, seeking the answer to his question. His stare is making me uncomfortable, but not so much that I decide to walk away. I’d rather continue staring with the hope that he becomes more uncomfortable.
I swear two minutes must pass before I think of my next question. “Are you trying to have a staring contest? I think we’re a little old for this game, Brody.”
“Isn’t that what this is? A game.”
“There is no game. You have no game, in fact.”
“Ouch,” he says, without blinking.
“You’re right. I don’t, which is why I thought you might find it funny that I stole your coffee. I know now, I was wrong.”
My eyes are the ones narrowing now. “A five-year-old would know it’s wrong.”
“I disagree,” he says with a sigh.
“Of course you do.” I rip the dishrag back from his hand dangling by his side. “What do you want, Brody?”
“Yup, it’s true,” he says.
“What?” I hold my hands up, confused.
“Never mind.”
“Okay, great. Um, so why don’t we go join the others in the dining room.”
