“Hey now. Let’s not get too hasty.” Grant said with a hint of humor in his voice. “I don’t want you to go. I’m just confused.”
That makes two of us.
She kept her eyes shut and nodded.“Me too.”
Grant was silent for a long time. Em wasn’t sure what happened next. Were they going to have an awkward talk about defining their relationship? Was he going to tell her he’d changed his mind, but they could still be friends?
The knots in her stomach from earlier returned with a vengeance. They twisted tightly and just when Em didn’t think she could stand it anymore, she heard Grant push off the wall. Her breath caught when he walked over to where she still stood next to the food. She opened her eyes and looked up at him.
He had a warm smile on his face. “I was going to eat a bowl of cereal for dinner. Tacos sound much better.”
That was not the reaction she was expecting, but it was exactly what she needed after the difficult day she’d had. How did Grant know that she wasn’t ready to work out the details just yet?
Em let out a relieved breath and shook her head. “You’re such a helpless bachelor.”
“Not anymore.” He jerked his chin at the food. “A pretty girl who likes me brought me food. I’d say I’m living the dream.”
“You’re the worst.”
His brows lowered. “You say that, but you just admitted your gigantic crush on me. I’d have to question if you even know what that word means.”
Em’s face felt like it was on fire, but she giggled and lifted one of the lime slices and squirted it over her tacos. If he wanted to keep things light, then so could she. “I don’t remember using the words ‘gigantic crush.’ Must be your male ego inflating things.”
“Probably.” He popped a stray piece of chicken into his mouth and leaned against the counter.
“So whatwereyou planning on doing before that pretty girl showed up at your doorstep? Other than eating cereal.”
He shrugged as he followed her lead and grabbed a lime of his own. “I was going to watch the game and feel sorry for myself.”
“Ooh. Sounds exciting.”
He lowered his voice to whisper. “Very.”
Em’s entire body shivered. “We can still do that, you know. The game starts in fifteen minutes. Just enough time to eat and get comfortable before kickoff.”
“Sounds good.” Grant grabbed his tray and walked out to the living room. In it was a sofa with a small coffee table. On the opposite wall there was a TV on top of a simple stand. The only piece of art on the walls was a generic ocean scene.
Just another empty, boring room.
Em had never stopped to think about how strange it must feel living in a house that wasn’t really yours—knowing you wouldn’t be there longer than the season. There was no reason to make it feel homey, and yet it made her sad to think that this was where Grant spent his days.
They both sat down on the sofa and put their trays on the table in a choreographed way like they’d been doing this together for years. Tacos on the couch while they watched a game. Is this what Friday and Saturday nights would look like if they were dating?
No, because he’d be playing again soon. But maybe it would be the latest episode of their favorite show when the season was over. She pushed the thought down, still unsure of what to make of the feelings building between them.
Grant sat on the end of the couch and lifted one of the tacos. “Here’s the moment of truth.” He leaned forward and took a bite. His eyes closed when he started chewing, and Em swore she heard a moan from the back of his throat.
Is he for real?
“Wow.” He opened his eyes and looked at Em. “These are reallyyummy.”
That was the word Frida had used to describe Grant in the school cafeteria. Even though Em had just admitted that she liked him, she was still embarrassed that he’d picked up on Frida’s not-so-subtle comments from that day. A blush crept up her throat, and she turned and took a bite of her taco in an attempt to hide it.
“Aw, don’t be embarrassed,” he teased. “You can’t help it if you have good taste.”
Em swallowed her bite. “You really are in love with yourself, aren’t you?”
He shook his head. “Not really. I just like the way you look when I say things like that.”
