Shawn grabbed his glasses from the floor and jumped to his feet, spinning to greet me before I could offer a hand to help him up. “Cass!” he declared. He set the books in his arms down, then grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch and wrapped it around his waist. “You’re here.”
I offered him a smile. “Shawn, man, I hardly recognize you!”
It was true, too. Back in high school, Shawn had been scrawny, with cowlicks up the back of his head and a mouth that was too big for his face. Now, though, he was still slim, and he still had those big, puffy lips, but his face and his body just kind of fit together, like all of the parts of him had grown into each other. He had a strong jaw that complimented the curves of his cheeks, and even behind his glasses, I could see the swirling silver and gray of his eyes.
He was pretty, I realized, caught off guard by the thought.
I hitched my bag over my shoulder. “Looking good. How’s your morning going?”
“It’s okay. I’m just waking up.”
Shawn adjusted the blanket around his waist while I swooped up the last couple of books, then dropped them on the coffee table. I noticed all of the stacks of papers and books that were scattered around the room, mainly shoved into piles in the corners. I leaned over the big wooden coffee table, then glanced one of the spines. “Atmospheric Rotation. Whoa, you’ve still got that big brain, huh?”
When I turned back his way, Shawn had a kind of stunned look on his face. “Yeah, I guess so. Just working on a project,” he said, his voice on edge. “Did you need anything after your ride? Coffee or water or…”
My heart softened as I remembered his nervous habits. When we were teenagers, I used to feel this weird urge to squeeze him until he calmed down. A half-grin cocked up the side of my mouth as I thought about grabbing him right there in his NASA T-shirt and pulling him into a hug.
Definitely not the right move to reintroduce myself, though. Plus, it was obvious I’d interrupted his morning. “I’m good,” I said, then rotated my shoulder. “But I have been driving all night. If you don’t mind, I’ll wash the road off and grab a nap, and we could catch up later?”
Shawn let out a shaky breath. “Yeah,” he said, looking relieved. “Sure.”
“Great. Thanks, buddy.”
Shawn pointed the way to the back bedroom, which had its own little bathroom, decorated with a pink and gray tile mosaic that had probably been installed in the 90s. I stripped off my clothes and stood in the ceramic tub while the hot water beat down on my skin, and for a few solid minutes, I just stood there, exhausted and braindead as the room filled with steam.
* * *
When I woke up later that day, the unfamiliar room around me was gray with shadows. On three sides, big square windows looked out over the trees, and a ceiling fan spun lazily above me. It took me a minute of blinking and stretching my legs under the plaid blanket to remember where I was. I needed to haul my stuff in from the truck and figure out my summer digs.
I hopped out of bed, pushed my long hair back, and then pulled my jeans on. Still yawning, I wandered into the main part of the house, my stomach rumbling. When I rounded the corner, I paused.
Shawn was sitting at the dining room table with his laptop open in front of him and a few books at his side. The screen cast a light glow over his face as he picked up one of the books, then flipped through with a gentle wave of his hand. A mug sat beside him with the string of a tea bag hanging out the side. He had an easy, pleased smile as he nodded at the book, and I realized he was so wrapped up in his thoughts, I could probably stand there all night without him noticing.
It was peaceful. And weirdly reassuring.
Then my stomach gurgled, breaking the silence. “Oh!” Shawn said quickly, slamming the book shut. “You’re awake.”
I leaned against the doorframe. “What are you reading?” I asked.
“Oh, it’s just a book. Research for something I’m working on.” He gestured down at the book, then back to me. “I just finished my master’s degree a couple weeks ago,” he explained.
“You still have to do homework after you graduate?” I joked. “Damn, Shawn, that’s a tough school.”
He laughed, a warm, light sound that hadn’t changed in years. “It’s my own project, not something for school. Anyway, it’s boring. You wouldn’t be interested. Do you want me to show you around the house?”
I almost pushed him on that. The way he was looking at his book earlier, like he was in some kind of trance, it didn’t seem boring. But we had the whole summer together, and my stomach was still demanding attention. “I was going to scrounge up some dinner. I left my snack bag in the back of the truck, I’ll just go grab it.”
“I made a frozen pizza,” he answered. “It’s nothing special, but there’s half still warm in the oven, if you want it.”
I sniffed, catching the scent of pizza that lingered in the air. “Smells delicious. Thanks, man. I’m going to run to town in the morning for supplies, but I didn’t really think ahead for tonight.”
Shawn nodded, then rose from the table, his chair scraping across the floor. “There’s a pretty decent grocery store about a twenty-minute drive from here. I can give you directions in the morning, if you want.”
I followed him into the kitchen and watched as he pulled open the big gas stove, then grabbed a half of a veggie pizza from the rack. “Is the grocery by the hardware Leo mentioned? After I check out the art studio in the morning, I’ll need to get some supplies.”
“Right,” Shawn said. He grabbed a yellow ceramic plate from the cupboard and deposited the slices, then handed it off to me. “How long will it take you to remodel the studio, do you think? Will you be working on it all summer?”
I chuckled as I took a seat at the counter. “I take it Leo didn’t run all the details by you?”
