“Clarissa.” Denver said it this time.
“No!” She kicked out and threw her arms up, almost hitting Denver. It wouldn’t have hurt him, but he still looked startled, watching her curl back up and begin to snore again with a little less confidence in himself.
“What do you want to do?” he whispered, turning back to look at me. “I could carry her out of here, but I’m a stranger to her and that’s…”
“No. You’re right. You shouldn’t attempt that.”
I guess I was sleeping on the couch. She was out for the night. Hopefully. It would be okay.
Denver glanced around. “I have three roommates. They’re all good guys. I have no idea if you’d want to do this, but there’s one more empty bedroom right now with a private bathroom attached. If you want to stay there until you work this out, you’re welcome to it.”
That was… not something I could ever see myself saying yes to. But it was one night and I was so very tired, and a confrontation in the morning on little sleep and while I was getting ready for work seemed like a bad idea.
“If you’re sure, then yeah. I’d love that. Sorry.”
“No need to be sorry. What can I do to help?”
I didn’t need help gathering up a change of clothes around a sleeping Clarissa. But there was one job he might like more than me.
“Um, while I get my stuff, can you move the box wall? Maybe bring it out here and block the entrance to the hallway so she can get to the bathroom, but not wander into the kitchen and living room area.” It felt like the right thing to do for her, though I was no sleepwalking expert.
Denver saluted and got right to work. I tucked away the sight of him happily building a box fort while decked out in catcher gear so I could recreate it for Lauren later. And then I grabbed everything I might need for the next week just in case and shoved it in a duffel bag from my closet. Hopefully, it wouldn’t take that long to figure this all out, but it was probably better to be prepared.
Chapter 11 – Noah
“Morning, Noah.” Clark walked into the kitchen and stole the box of Honey Nut Cheerios away from me. Not to eat, just to use in his breakfast fortress of solitude. He’d never given up his childhood habit of hiding away behind a wall of cereal boxes while he ate. Growing up, it was to keep our three older brothers from making faces at him. Now, it was probably just habit.
He swiped the milk from my side of the table and took it prisoner as well. “For Taco Tuesday, Hannah and I usually go to this place called Mangos. They have like fourteen different kinds of tacos. You should get a date and come with us tonight.”
“Okay, maybe.”
Clark peered out from his cereal box fortress and studied me. “You’re not still on a dating hiatus are you? Because nobody as evil as Carin should have that much influence. That girl made you do everything for her, and then rewarded you by making you feel like you were never good enough.”
“Thanks, Clark. So glad I could take that trip down memory lane.” Ugh. Carin. Or Karen, as I now thought of her. That urban dictionary phenomenon could not have made me happier. She was the reason I’d stuck Jenny in the friendship category immediately upon meeting her, but even after Carin and I broke up, I still hadn’t wanted to see Jenny as anything more than a friend. Well, until I did. I should win awards for worst timing ever.
“So, is that a no to dating?”
“I’m definitely open to dating again.”
Clark’s eyebrows raised. “Glad to hear it. Do you want us to bring someone for you? I’m sure Hannah could find someone to drag along. Well, not drag. That’s a bad way of putting it. Some of her friends are really eager to find someone, and you’re not exactly a swamp monster.”
My brother was a rock star with compliments. How he got a girlfriend was a mystery best left unexplored. “Such a tempting offer, but no matchmaking, please. I’ll see what I can do about tonight. But don’t count on me being there, okay? I don’t want to mess up your plans.”
Clark sighed, like I was this unsolvable problem, and then went back to his cereal.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to eat fourteen different types of tacos with him. I just didn’t want to do it while on a double date. My baby step plan with Jenny did not involve unleashing my matchmaking brother and his equally excitable girlfriend on her. If I took Jenny out, it would be on a stealth date where she didn’t know it was a date. There would be no doubling. Clark and stealth did not belong in the same sentence.
I rinsed my bowl and hurried to get out the door for work before Clark could throw more questions or suggestions at me. Lately, Chilivan worked better without the air conditioning on, so I was glad the mornings were still cool. I patted Chili, knowing the second we reached summer temperatures, she was going to a new home.
Dan and Sadie were waiting on me once again, but when Sadie jogged over to meet me at my car, I knew something was wrong.
She impatiently motioned for me to roll my window down. “We have a bit of a situation.”
“What kind of a situation?” I glanced around. Sadie’s car was already running, and Dan was opening up the passenger door to get in. I wasn’t exactly early, but I wasn’t late either. “Is Jenny not coming? Is she having car trouble? Is Elena coming with us again?”
“Elena found a different ride to work. No surprise there. Come on. I’ll explain on the way.” Sadie turned around and headed to her car, not waiting for me to comply.
I grabbed my bag from the passenger seat and got out of my van. “What about Jenny?”
