Page 12 of Icebreaker
“Are you the landlord?”
“No, but I’ll ask about it.”
“Oh.” The moment felt like I should have more to say, but I was at a loss for what.
Unfortunately, that meant I had time to think about how the room hadn’t changed much from when he’d left it earlier. After Brennen helped me sort and stack, he went to finish his homework and left me to my own devices. Unfortunately, I got distracted by reading storybooks to my stuffies. They’d been cooped up in boxes for two days, and it only seemed fair. But I hated how scattered I felt all the time. It was like all the pieces of me were blown in different directions, and my time was spent gathering them, only for them to spin out again.
“Oh, you fixed dinner for us?”
“I’m about to start cooking. By the way, thank you for helping me eat the leftovers yesterday.” His words made me feel squishy. I liked being helpful. “I hope you’re all right with chicken Caesar salad because that’s what we’re having.”
“With croutons?” I asked hopefully. They were my favorite part.
“Yes, but it’s not ready yet. I wanted to see if you’d keep me company while I fixed dinner.” Brennen glanced around my bedroom, and I couldn’t help but think he might be annoyed I hadn’t finished what he’d helped me with.
When his eyes landed on my stuffies, I knew he wasn’t looking at my room at all. It was one thing to have a stuffed animal on your bed. A lot of college students had one, maybe two. Mine was a collection, and that wasn’t standard at all. He’d met Peaseblossom earlier, but now he could also see my mouse Pip, my gorilla Dian, my bunny Fiver, my black cat Poe, and my owl Curie.
If I’d thought he was going to come in here, I would’ve hidden them. In the last three years, I’d managed to keep them well hidden because I didn’t want my roommates to find them, but now, I’d been busted. I needed to figure out a way to keep the door closed. Brennen said he’d fix it, but who knew how long that would take?
“Wow, that’s an impressive collection.” I waited for Brennen to make fun of me, but he stayed by the door, glancing between me and the stuffies.Oh lordy. The storybook I was reading to them was still in my hand. It struck me how ridiculous I must’ve looked to him with my stuffies lined up around me in a semicircle and a stack of children’s books next to me.
Think. Think. Think.
“I hope my practicing didn’t bother you.” It was a stretch, but I was going to bluff my way out of this.
“Practicing?”
“If I work in a library, there’s a pretty decent chance I’ll be doing story time with kids because almost every library has one. So I’ve been practicing to make sure I do a good job. The voices aren’t easy.”
“That’s pretty cool. If you ever want a live audience, I’m available.” Brennen’s lips were turned up in a gentle smile. The way he said it made me think it was a legitimate offer, but the odds were low that I’d take him up on it.
“I’ll let you know.” My statement wasn’t true at all, and I didn’t like the way the lie felt in my mouth. Later tonight, I’d remind the stuffies to do what I said, not what I did. I should set a good example for them. Brennen is the one who deserved my apology the most, but there was no way I’d tell him the truth. There wasn’t any scenario where I could explain that I was a little. My sweet stuffies and I would be back in the dorm by morning.
“For someone who says they don’t know how to cook, you’re doing a fantastic job.” Once again, my insides melted at Brennen’s praise. It probably wasn’t deserved since all I’d done was chop bread into little pieces and then put some melted butter on top to stick in the oven for the croutons, but I appreciated it anyway.
“I think the chicken was the hard part,” I said in praise of the chicken he’d grilled on the little balcony off the kitchen.
“It’s all in the wrist,” Brennen answered with a laugh. I wondered if the rest of the world knew how affable Brennen Tate truly was. At practice, he was always happy to talk to the student reporters and the little kids who watched, waiting for their chance to join them on the ice. He was unfailingly friendly to everyone, no matter their position on the team or at the rink. But on the ice, he didn’t mind knocking anyone out who came close to his net.
“After dinner, are you going to disappear back into your room?”
I froze at the question because I wasn’t sure what he meant. Did that mean he wanted me to go back into my room? Or did he want me to stay out here? Or, was he just making conversation and it didn’t matter to him either way?
“If you don’t have any studying to do, I thought maybe we could watch a movie or TV or something.” Brennen looked at me expectantly, waiting for my answer. When I didn’t give him one right away, he turned and started cleaning up the kitchen. “I can sweeten the offer and let you pick the movie?”
“I doubt we watch the same movies.” We both likedThe Princess Bride, but that was while we were trapped on a bus with very few options.
“Oh yeah? What do you like?”
“Cartoon ones,” I answered defensively.
“You mean likeSouth Park?”
“No, more like Disney.”
“Well, why didn’t you say that?
“Don’t you think it’s kind of childish?”
