Be Linx. Be Linx.
Linx would apologize for all the awkward. That’s what he’d do.
“Hi,” Tanner heard himself say, infusing as much gentle into his tone as he could. “I brought you chocolate. Figured it’d be a good way to apologize for last time. I get awkward sometimes.”
She paused whatever she was doing, hitting him full on with her bright light.
Be Linx. Be Linx.
“You don’t need to apologize,” she said, a sweet smile hitting her lips. He wanted to taste it. That smile. “But I’ll still totally take the chocolate.” She held her hands out with “gimme” fingers.
He handed it over.
“So I wanted to ask… do you like coffee? Dinner?” he asked, leaning onto the counter in a move Linx could’ve patented.
Huh, Mach wasn’t wrong.
When pretending to be Linx, there was no increased blood flow to his cheeks to make them warmer or that familiar quickening of his heart, like it was running away because a pretty girl stood across from him. The King of Awkward might be ready to retire. All he had to do was pretend to be someone else.
“Yes,” Sam said. “Yeah. Of course. I drink coffee and I eat. Sometimes at the same time.”
Look at him making small talk with a pretty girl. He’d thank Linx later.
“You are here,” Babushka announced from the hallway.
“Sam and I were just discussing her enjoyment of coffee.”Keep it light. Keep it chill.
Babushka glanced to Sam and made an “ahhh” sound.
“Uh-huh,” Sam nodded a confirmation. “We definitely were. What can I do for you?”
Babushka looked down the hallway. Frowned. Then turned her focus to Sam.
“I came to tell you that I have gift for you,” Babushka said to Sam, totally wrecking their current thread of making plans. “You may now call me Babushka.” She lifted her hands as though announcing,Huzzah! But with hands instead of words.
“That’s unnecessary,” Sam said, but something about the way she said it made his chest ache. As though she was saying she wasn’t necessary. He understood that feeling. He didn’t like that for her.
Unless he was reading into things that weren’t there. That was probably the most likely scenario, because—other than him—who would say they weren’t necessary? Especially Sam, whom the residents here adored. Clearly, the woman wasnecessary.
“It is necessary,” Babushka said, reaching to pat Sam’s cheek with her right hand. “My dear, you are ready. I am so proud.”
“Sorry, what?” Sam asked, eyebrows drawing together. “What are you proud of?”
“That you are ready, of course,” Babushka said.
“Better not to make it a thing,” Tanner said under his breath, using the same cadence as Linx when he started in with the sarcasm.
Sam really shouldn’t make it a thing because this was Babushka, and she tended to be overdramatic on a good day. He wouldn’t read too much into any of this, so neither should Sam.
What would Linx do at this point? He’d probably try to track down a bakery to find some cake.
He sure as fuck wouldn’t spend too much time reading into things that didn’t deserve the attention. Linx would know this was just another of those things that didn’t need increased scrutiny.
Not when he had this possible date about to agree to coffee-slash-dinner.
“Vell, they are ready now. I am sure.” Babushka gestured for them to follow as she headed toward the hallway.
“Who’s ready?” Sam asked, hurrying after Babushka.
