Page 50 of Love is a Drum Beat
Lifting her eyes, she found Dax rubbing his chest where the phone must have struck. Without a word, he bent to pick it up. “Can I come in?”
Jo nodded.
Dax set her phone on the table next to the bed.
“You’re back early.”
His brow furrowed. “Jo, it’s six o’clock in the evening. Have you been sleeping all day?”
She crossed her arms. “Maybe.”
“That’s good. You need the rest.”
“Did my baby book tell you that?”
The intensity in his eyes didn’t waver. “No, the circles under your eyes did.”
Great, he probably thought she was a complete mess. “I’ve never been good at keeping a sleep schedule. I guess it’s a byproduct of going on tours with the late nights.” She clutched her hands in her lap as her words trailed off.
There was an awkward air to the room as Dax stood looking out the giant glass windows. “I was about to make some dinner. How do you feel about spaghetti squash?”
She shrugged. “I like spaghetti.” She’d at least try it with squash in it.
He nodded and turned on his heel. “Okay then. I’ll… uh… go get that in the oven.”
He reached the door before Jo called to him. “Dax, I don’t think you make spaghetti in the oven.”
He shot her an uncharacteristic smirk over one shoulder. As soon as he was gone, Jo relaxed back against the pillows. This wasn’t going to be easy.
She scrolled through her Netflix queue and settled onThe 100, needing a little weird to escape into. What was weirder than a space show that dealt with evil artificial intelligence, constant waves of radiation, and people living inside a mountain?
Dax returned almost an hour later, carrying two plates and two drinks. She was sure he’d drop something, but he managed to set Jo’s food on the table beside the bed along with her drink.
She waited for him to leave like every other time he brought her food. Instead, he lowered himself to the floor.
“Dude, there’s room up here to eat.” Even though she didn’t know if she could handle such proximity.
Dax didn’t seem sure about that either because he shrugged and dug into his food.
Jo looked at her plate. “I thought you were making spaghetti.”
“Spaghetti squash.”
“This isn’t spaghetti.”
“No, it’s squash.” His mouth tilted into a half grin as he ate.
Jo poked the yellow strings with her fork. “Well, at least there’s garlic bread. Unless you’ve made that out of beets or Brussel sprouts.” She paused. “You didn’t, right?”
“Eat the squash, Jo. You’ll like it.”
Dax looked at her so expectantly, she had to at least try it. There was an earnestness to him that made it very difficult to disappoint him.
Jo lifted her fork to her mouth, closing her eyes as she set the buttery strings inside. It was… not horrible.
Dax grinned. “Right now, you’re trying to think of a nice lie about how you knew you wouldn’t like it.”
“How do you know it would be a lie?”
