Page 490 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
He smiled and went to the freezer, where he pulled out a frozen bag of sourdough bread. Without asking, he went about removing a slice from the bag and dropping it in his toaster. While it was down, he finished his smoothie.
I grimaced at the thought of drinking something so hideously green. “What the heck is in that?”
He held up his now empty cup and smacked his lips together. “Lots of good stuff. Spinach, kale, protein, pineapple, banana, matcha.”
“Gross.”
He bent over to rest his arms on the edge of the counter. “Are we going to talk about what last night was all about? You were going pretty hard on the Manhattans.”
I hated the way my cheeks betrayed me and burned with embarrassment. I couldn’t look at him, so I busied myself with picking at the edges of my nail polish. “I guess I didn’t expect to feel so, I don’t know,” I paused, trying to get my bearings. How could I explain this properly?
Hey Chadwick, I know I said I needed space, but as soon as you gave me what I asked for I immediately felt insecure and un-special and like nothing between us mattered to you.
No.
I couldn’t say that.
Could I?
He waited patiently for me to find my words.
“I didn’t expect to feel so far away from you so suddenly,” I said, hoping that made sense. “We spent two solid weeks together, day to day, back to back, and I don’t know… I don’t know what I expected when I told you I needed space. I just wanted time to wrap my head around everyone knowing about us. I was overwhelmed.”
My toast popped.
I jumped.
He chuckled and pushed off the counter, putting his back to me while he grabbed a plate and buttered my toast. He brought it over to me and sat down on the stool to my right.
He nodded pointedly at the toast. “Eat. It will help to have some carbs in your stomach.”
“Who are you, my mom?”
“If I have to be, sure.”
I rolled my eyes. “She’d like you, you know.”
“Obviously,” he said dryly. “Everyone likes me, Tinsel. Haven’t you been paying attention?”
Relief flooded through me. We were joking, just like how we always used to. With ease seeping into my bones, I picked up the toast and took a bite.
Chadwick nodded his approval. “Have you spoken to Aleena?”
I paused with a mouthful of toast and shook my head.
“She sent me an email,” he said.
I swallowed hard. “What?”
“Yesterday morning,” he said. “She explained how she was the one to let it out of the bag that you and I were, well, whatever it was we were doing. She apologized.”
“Oh.”
“Are you going to forgive her?”
I shrugged.
Chadwick leaned back on his stool and rested his arm on the back of mine. It was a familiar position, and I sat back on purpose just to feel his wrist and forearm against my back. I craved closeness like a child with a fever craved hugs from her mother.
