“I know.” She takes a deep breath in and closes her eyes, smoothing back her sweat-drenched hair and clenching her jaw. “I’m gonna jump in the shower, and then I’m out of here.”
“Where you going?”
“I saw an ad for water aerobics classes at the pool.”
“Okay.”
Standing there in the middle of the living room, she falls silent. There’s the strangest look in her eyes.
“What?” I ask, squinting.
“This…” She waves a finger back and forth between us.
“This what?”
“This feels like an actual conversation.” She tilts her head. “It’s weird.”
As she heads off to the bathroom, I toss my pizza crust back in the box and stretch out on the couch. Lois has a point: Things are weird. It’s been two weeks since she moved in, and I sometimes forget she shouldn’t even be here. In my defense, she’s super quiet and makes an effort to be nice, even when I try my hardest to get a rise out of her. It’s a fun little game I’ve really come to enjoy, and I especially love it when she tries and fails to rein in her snarky replies.
I don’t know how far she’s gotten in finding an apartment, but I make a point of reminding her every day that our agreement has an expiration date, simply to see if she’ll bite. It’s just so easy to push her buttons!
“Clock’s ticking, Heartbreak!” I shout as she emerges from the bathroom freshly changed.
“How could I forget?”
She crouches down to stuff her phone into her bag, frowning as she straightens.
“What’s up? Muscles sore?”
“A little,” she concedes, clasping her ankle and pulling it behind her to stretch her thigh. “I forgot I even had any.”
“Where did you say you were going?”
“To the pool at the gym—the one next to the mall.”
“Same. I can give you a ride.”
“You’re heading to the pool?” She shifts to her other leg, raising an eyebrow at me.
“The mall.”
“So would this ride be free?” She lets her foot drop to the floor.
“Stop overthinking everything, Heartbreak.” I drag myself off the couch, slip on my shoes, and grab my keys from the side table. “So?”
“Okay, but drop me off away from the entrance.”
“What, like I’m your father dumping you around the corner from school so you don’t look lame in front of your friends?” I gasp, pausing for dramatic effect, and clamp a hand over my mouth. “Oh my God! I said the D-word. Theforbiddenword.”
“No,notlike my dad, becausehewas never embarrassing,” she fires back, heading for the stairs.
I have no comeback to that, and it pisses me off. She is so unbelievably annoying. First she took my couch, now she’s coming for my one-liners. I head for the elevator instead.
When I get outside, she’s hovering in front of my car, staring up at the building. I don’t need to ask her what she’s looking for. Orwhoshe’s looking for, to be more precise.
I pat my car roof. “Let’s hit the road.”
She sighs, teasing a lock of hair between her fingers. “Yeah.”
