Page 15 of The Crush Next Door

Sugar Ray

The next afternoon, still feeling incredible from my amazing night of sleep, I knocked on Josh's door. He whisked it open, looking completely different than the mumbly, sleepy-eyed Josh with bed head who'd arrived on my doorstep this morning to pick up Magic.

"Hey," he said. "Look at you."

"Look at me?" I asked, confused, as Magic rushed up to greet me like he hadn't just seen me hours ago.

"You actually look well-rested."

"I do?" What exactly did that mean? "So what? I don't have bags under my eyes? Is that what you're saying?"

He glanced at Magic. "Retreat. Retreat. I take it back."

At his look of panic, I laughed. Josh knew he had almost stepped in it.

"What's that?" He pointed to the container in my hands, making me draw a deep breath.

How was Josh going to take this? "So... I went to my grandparents' house for Sunday lunch, like I do every week—"

"Oh, yeah? That's really cool."

"Right? They live in Los Feliz." When his eyebrows shot up, I continued, "They've lived there forever, before it got all trendy and expensive. And now, their house is worth like two million dollars."

"Geez."

"I know, right?" We both shook our heads in amazement. "But anyway, my grandma makes the best gnocchi—"

Josh gasped and looked at me like I'd said I was rooting for the Padres today. "What are you saying?"

"Uh, what I'm saying is..." I gulped at his expression but forged ahead anyway, crossing my arms over my chest. "Well, there is no way in hell I can eat popcorn, peanuts, and hot dogs every game for the rest of the season."

His narrowed eyes studied my face as he thought, and I wondered what on earth was going to come out of his mouth. The ticking of a clock filled the tense, silent air. Even Magic stopped panting to stare at us. The only thing missing was a tumbleweed rolling past us as we faced off like two gunmen in an old Western flick.

"Fine," Josh grumbled. "But if they lose today, it's one-hundred percent your fault."

"They—they won't lose," I said, barely audible.

"Oh, my God! You just totally jinxed it. I mean, we might as well not even watch it at this point," a cranky Josh said as he stalked to the kitchen.

Why had I said that? He was completely right. You could never say shit like that. Maybe I couldn't blame my stupidity on lack of sleep. Maybe I was just plain dumb, period.

They had to win today. Or I'd be stuck eating Josh's food for the next several months.

I heard the sound of plates clattering in the kitchen. "All right," Josh said. "Bring it here and I'll warm it up."

He sounded a little more relaxed. Maybe the idea of some genuine food had softened him a bit.

A few minutes later, we sat on the couch, popcorn, peanuts, and Pacificos in front of us still, both of us with plates in our hands. I watched as Josh ate a spoonful of gnocchi, and his eyes closed as he chewed. Smiling, I couldn't help noticing how cute he was, how happy and blissful he looked at the moment.

Those bright blue eyes opened and met mine. "That's the best damn thing I've ever eaten. My God."

I laughed. My grandma would have blushed at the praise. "She's pretty amazing in the kitchen."

Josh didn't answer, just inhaled his food like he hadn't eaten in days. When he was done, he eyed the rest of my plate. I was still kind of full from lunch. "You gonna eat that?" he asked.

"I can't eat another bite honestly. You want it?"

He didn't even say anything as he took my plate from me and promptly devoured what was left of mine. I thought about taking a video to send to my grandma, but that would have been kind of weird.

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