Page 20 of Seeds of Christmas
I glance sideways at him. “You’re awfully competitive for a guy who claims to be ‘chill.’”
He shrugs. “You bring it out in me.”
That shouldn’t make my stomach flip, but it does.
The truck feels smaller all of a sudden, the air warmer.
He clears his throat. “Alright, round two. My turn.”
“Okay, Mr. World Traveler. Impress me.”
He grins, eyes still on the road. “One—I once got a tattoo in a foreign country and instantly regretted it. Two—I can juggle. Three—I used to sing in a band.”
The last one catches me off guard. “You? A band?”
“Why is that so hard to believe?”
“Because you seem toochillfor that. Bet you don’t know more than three chords.”
He clutches his chest in mock offense. “Cruel. Also wrong. I know at least five chords.”
I bite back a smile. “Tattoo’s the lie.”
He flashes that lopsided grin. “Nope. It’s on my shoulder.”
I bet his shoulders are nice and rounded. And tanned.
“Seriously? What is it?”
He hesitates. “A compass.”
“That’s… actually not that bad. It’s kind of cool. I thought you were going to say you got a Simpsons character or something when you were drunk in Europe.”
“Yeah,” he says softly. “My brother picked it.”
“That’s sweet.”
He looks at me for a second too long before turning back to the window. “Your turn.”
I tap the wheel, trying to steady my heartbeat. “Okay. One—I was almost expelled my first semester. Two—I can’t drive stick shift. Three—I’ve kissed someone in a campus building.”
He laughs. “Nobody learns stick anymore and,you? Expelled? No way.”
“Why not?”
“You just told me how much you like to be organized. Kinda nerdy, kinda not expel-y.”
I gasp. “That’s offensive.”
He grins. “Fine. The kissing one’s the lie.”
“Nope.”
“Wait, you got almost expelled? What the hell did you do?”
“Accidentally set off the fire alarm in the chem lab during a midnight study session.”
“Accidentally?”
