“Very much so. She still barely looks me in the eye.”
She laughed. “That’s amazing. And a good way to keep your life private.”
“In a way, I was lucky to see that ... as traumatizing as it was.”
“I bet there’s so much going on that I’ve missed.”
“Have you joined the Facebook group yet?”
“No. What’s in it?”
“Everything.”
Her eyes went wide. “Everything?”
“If you want gossip, you join that.”
“Then I need to be in it. Though, I’m surprised you’re even on there. You seem like a private guy.”
“I am. I don’t do social media usually, but I made one for when people needed me. Plus, it’s entertaining. I could send you the link to it, if you ...” I trailed off. Would she feel threatened if I asked for her number? I only needed it to send her the link for the neighborhood watch group, but I could easily imagine what else I could use it for.
“Hand me your phone,” she said. “I’ll put my number in it.”
That wasn’t theworstit could have gone, but I couldn’t look at her as I slid my phone over.
“Dude, this thing’s ancient. What is this, an iPhone 4?”
“Six,” I muttered.
“Leave it to an old man to have an old phone.”
Now my gaze snapped to hers. “I’m surprised you even know what it is. What, were you in diapers when it came out?”
Piper’s eyes lit up, and I had to resist the urge to smile. She liked it when I teased her. It made me want to do it more.
“For your information, I wasnot. But I bought my first phone when I was eighteen, so this actually does feel old for me.” She shrugged and went to the contacts.
So she was isolated as a kid. It wasn’t uncommon, but she at least had freedom now. She must’ve done it the second she legally could, just as I had.
“Okay, here you go. Don’t abuse it.” She slid the phone back to me. “Or maybe do. I have to wonder if you also text like an old man.”
“And how do old men text?”
“Typos. Lack of punctuation.”
“I know basic grammar.”
“Do you know the difference between they’re, their, and there?”
“Yes.”
“Hot.”
She said it right when I took a sip of coffee, and I nearly spewed it. “Wh-what?”
“Got you.” She laughed. “What, can you not accept a compliment? It’s true.”
I needed to tell her that I didn’t date, so there was no chance for anything between us. But I was still recovering from her surprisingly effective flirting. It was all I could do to send her the Facebook group.
