“Fair enough,” he said. “You game for an icebreaker?”
“Sure.”
“Do you like being on top?”
Heat burst on the back of my neck.Excuse me?
“I’ve been sleeping on the bottom.” He gestured to the bunkbed. “But if ladders aren’t your thing—”
“Okay,wait,” I interrupted, mind now whirring. “I thought this wasmyroom.”
“It is.” Connor nodded emphatically before his eyes darted over to the windbreaker that hung under our porthole window.
Fuck, I thought, realizing that if I opened all six dresser drawers, chances were only three would be empty. And half the small closet would be full.
“What about the two other doors in the hall?” I asked. “Doesn’t one of them lead to another bedroom?”
Connor shook his head. “No, it’s the bathroom and then we have a little porch off the side of the house.”
I swallowed, not knowing what to say. Sharing a bathroom was one thing, but breathing the same air in a bunk room with a stranger was different. Why hadn’t I been given a heads up?
Did Erica know about this? Didmy dad? I guess the Carmichaels were less conventional than I thought (not that they’d ever paid much mental rent), and while my dad had been far from oblivious about senior beach week last spring, I highly doubted that—
“I don’t find it weird if you don’t find it weird,” Connor murmured.
Are you an axe murderer?I wanted to ask at the same time he said, “I promise I’m not an axe murderer.”
We both laughed before Connor motioned to the bunkbed again. “Take your pick,” he said. “Really.”
“Oh, um…” I wanted the top bunk, but knew I should steal the bottom from him, especially if he wasn’t a dog person. “The top’s great.”
“Cool. I’ll let you start unpacking…” He trailed off to assess my spending-the-summer-in-Europe-sized suitcase.
“It was a graduation present,” I said. “Erica picked it out.”
“The Parent Trap, right?” he guessed, fondness in his voice.
“You’ve seen it?”
“Of course.” Connor nodded. “It’s one of my brother’s favorite movies. My mom bought him a yellow duffel bag when he was nervous for his first sleepover, to give him some Hallie Parker chutzpah.”
“That’s really thoughtful,” I said, doubting my Annie James luggage set went that deep. If it wasn’t a message to move out, maybe it was a suggestion to study abroad? Who knew.
A suddenpingmade me blink. “Speak of the devil,” Connor said after digging his phone out of his pocket. He flashed his screen long enough for me to see a FaceTime request from Liam. “I’m sorry you’re stuck in here with me,” he said before leaving, blue eyes holding mine. I definitely recognized them, but from where? “I know you probably wish you were with your family.”
I almost nodded. Because while I enjoyed my privacy, this nook felt really far away from the rest of the house. Peggy and I hadn’t passed any other bedrooms on the way here.
Plus, I was sharing a room with someone I didn’t even know. Someone who probably wanted some personal space too, since he wasn’t part of the Carmichael family either.
“It’s okay,” I told Connor. “Maisie snores.”
“Well, you’re in luck,” he replied. “I got my tonsils and adenoids out in elementary school, so I don’t snore, and as far as I know, I also don’t sleep-talk or sleepwalk.”
“I’ll be the final judge of that,” I half-joked. “See you later?”
“Absolutely.” He grinned. “I’ll see you later, Olivia Lupo.”
Huh, I thought once he was gone.Did I tell him my last name?
