“Yes, of course. You didn’t need to grab anything. Thank you.” I don’t know why, but I feel off with him. I feel shy, and that’s not how it’s been between us. He hands me a sandwich and then reaches into the backseat. “Here.” He hands me a pink bag.
“What’s this?” I ask as he starts pulling out.
“Open it.”
I look at the bag first. I laugh softly. “So, you’ve obviously picked up on my obsession with pink. The blanket, socks, pillow, and now this bag.”
He glances over at me. “Your entire dorm room is pink.”
“It’s true. I love pink.” I glance down at the bag. “What is this?”
“Open it,” he says for the second time.
I pull out the tissue paper and peek inside. I pull out a white box, unsure what it is at first. Then I see the Bose insignia. I open the box and see headphones. I suck in a breath. “Slater, these are like three-hundred-dollar headphones.”
He nods. “They’re the best noise canceling headphones. I have the same pair. Well, mine are black, not pink.”
“Slater,” I try, completely blown away. “I--” I shake my head. “That’s too much. You shouldn’t have done that.”
“I wanted to. I did debate on giving them to you, though.”
I glance over at him. “You did?”
He nods. “They’re the best noise-canceling headphones, and they will help you sleep in the afternoons. But then you won’t come over to my house.” He lets the words hang, and I don’t know what to say. I move on and look inside the bag. I pull out asix pack of Hershey bars. I glance over at him. “I love chocolate. Thanks.” Next, I pull out a pack of red and yellow Twizzlers. I grin. “You found them.”
“I still think Twizzlers are disgusting.”
“You have to try these.” I pull out a bottle of ibuprofen next. I frown in confusion and then pull out a box that says it has a heating pad inside. Mortification rolls through me when I put it all together; I can’t even look at him.
“Evie gave me some suggestions,” he says quietly. “She, uh, told me that’s probably why you’ve been crying.”
I sort of laugh and cry at the same time. “I haven’t been crying.” But even as I say the words, I feel a tear drip down my cheek because this was so kind of him. “Slater, this is...” I take a breath.
“Good thing you’re not crying,” he says, and I can’t help my laugh.
“Oh, my word,” I finally say. “I am so embarrassed,” I finally admit.
“You don’t need to be.”
I laugh and suck in a shaky breath. “Thank you, Slater. This was really, really thoughtful.”
“You’re welcome. You’d better eat; we’re almost back to campus.”
And just like that, we’re right back to business. I can’t help my smile. “Which one is mine?”
“You can have either. I got a ham one and a turkey one.”
“Which one do you want?” I ask.
“I’m good with either; you take which one you want.”
“I’ll take the turkey one. Thank you.” I dig in, suddenly realizing how hungry I am. He drives on to campus and finds a parking spot not far from the guard shack where I need to check in. I hand him his sandwich, so he can eat. “This is so good. Thank you.”
“Did you eat lunch?” he asks.
I think back. “I had peanut butter crackers.”
“That’s not lunch.”
