Page 62 of Crave Thy Neighbor

“Nolan, do you play video games?”

“I’m really good at Mario Kart,” he answers.

Sam grins. “We’ll get along just fine then.”

He then slides his attention to his phone, and we ride in silence for another couple of miles.

“You good?” Nolan asks out of the side of his mouth, so low and quiet I barely hear him.

What he’s really asking:Arewegood?

He doesn’t want things to be awkward between us anymore, and I don’t either. I just want to move on and spend the rest of the next two months without worry.

“Yep. You?”

He nods. “Golden like a shower.”

“What’s a golden shower?” Sam pipes up from the back seat. I didn’t even realize he was paying any attention to us.

I bury my face in my hands, mortified my son just asked about a golden shower.

“It’s when you dump apple juice on someone you don’t like,” Nolan answers, not appearing the least bit fazed.

“Oh. Then why are you like one?”

“It’s an expression for being happy.”

“Ah, I understand now. You’re so happy because you finally stood up to a bully.” He snaps his fingers together. “Man, I should give Jaxson a golden shower. He’s always being a jerk. He deserves it.”

“Oh my god,” I mutter to Nolan. “I hate you so much.”

His body quakes with laughter and he shakes his head. “Good save though, huh? Gotta remember there are little ears around.”

He doesn’t seem annoyed by Sam and his naivety.

Instead, he looks amused, like he’s looking forward to what the kid might say next.

All my worries about Sam and Nolan spending time together fly out the window.

10

Nolan

“Nolan, you home?”

“Yeah!”

The front door latches into place and Maya’s shoes smack against the hardwood floor as she makes her way through the apartment to where I’m at in my library.

“What are you doing in here?”

“Looking for a new book. Finished mine.” I hold up the paperback I finished last night.

Rain started pouring early this morning and the jobsite was shut down, so I now have the rest of the day off. With it still dumping rain, I don’t have much else to do besides read.

“This is my room.”

“I’m aware.” She narrows her eyes, and I sigh, focusing my attention back on my shelves. “I promise I didn’t touch your unmentionables, and I definitely didn’t see the bra hanging on the closet door handle.”

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