Page 8 of Knox
I laughed. “I bought yours, too.” His face fell before he laughed, but I saw it. “Okay, it’s like this.”
The swinging door leading into the living room opened, and Sylvie backed in carrying boxes. Her interruption gave me an escape route from a question I couldn't answer.
“Thanks, Josh. I’ll buy next time.” She set the food on the island, searched for her box, and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. “You boys have fun.”
She headed upstairs, and Knox watched her go before looking at me.
“Food?” I raised my eyebrows, and he laughed softly, shaking his head.
He had a reason for his questions about Sylvie, but wasn’t about to share, so I got us two bottles of water, set the extra pizza for Uncle Ian and Finn in the fridge, and led Knox to my room.
“Wow,” he said as he walked in. “Y’all have a really nice house.”
“Thanks. We just moved back in today. Uncle Ian added things on because this was the guesthouse.” I set the boxes on the steamer trunk turned coffee table, and sat on the loveseat.
It took a second before Knox joined me, as if he was nervous. Why would he be so nervous? Weren’t we just two guys hanging out? Or did guys not pay for someone else’s food? I always paid for Jasper.
Andy and Ian were friends, and they paid for each other’s food. Well, best friends, but still. Oh, God. I was bad at this.
“What are you thinking about?” Knox asked as he sat as far away from me as he could get. Now, couldn't he have picked the chair if he didn't want to be so close?
I realized I had removed a slice, and was doing that weird thing, as Jasper called it, where I stared at nothing.
I sighed. “Sorry. I overanalyze in my head.”
“What are you overthinking?”
“Why did you ask me about Sylvie?”
He laughed. “People don’t usually pay for someone else, Josh.”
“Oh,” I nodded. “What does it mean when you do?”
He reached up and smoothed my bangs out of my lashes. “It means you’re dating, or have known each other since diapers. Sylvie asked you for pasta like you were secretly fucking.”
I jerked my head back and frowned. “No. I like guys. She’s family, so-”
“Chill, Josh. Didn’t mean to upset you.” He smiled.
“Should I not have invited you to stay?” I was confused. Maybe I needed a course in social interactions because I didn't have a clue, really.
Knox gave me half a smile. “Only if you were just being nice. Just because I was in the backseat didn’t mean you had to feed me, too.”
I licked my top lip, my thoughts skittering to a halt for the second time today. He had the prettiest brown eyes. Almost bordering on gold, really. Why didn't I notice the gold earlier?
Knox nodded and offered me a bite from his slice. Absently, I took it as we stared at each other.
Jasper dumped me for a girl. Said girl’s brother asked me for a ride home, and was now feeding me pizza.
What was wrong with this picture?
I kept my thoughts to myself and ate, answering Knox’s questions about my new stuff.
The guy wanted something. He wasn’t ready to say, though.
Why wouldn’t he tell me?
It made no sense.
