I lean in and kiss his cheek. “Thanks, Milo.” I get off the couch and move back toward the bedroom. “Good luck getting him back to sleep.”
He watches me from the back of the couch. “You’re leaving?”
I pull the door behind me and say, “If rom-coms have taught me anything, it’s leave them wanting more.”
Twenty
Electricitybuzzesundermyskin as I lie in bed this morning. Flashes of midnight kisses on the couch with Milo flicker through my mind. I rub the goosebumps from my arms and pull down the bed covers. I rock my jaw, feeling the stretch from too much grinning during my sleep. From the way my smile muscles ache, I’m guessing I was grinning all the way through my dreams until my alarm woke me up.
I sit on the edge of the bed and smooth back my wild bed hair. I giggle, remembering Milo’s adorable face as I walked away in the middle of the night. How will we act around each other this morning? Will it be awkward? Oh man, what if everyone can tell we’ve kissed? Will my face give it away?
Maybe I should avoid eye contact with Milo altogether. I’ll at least keep our communication to a minimum. While it’s still unexplored territory, I want to keep this a secret from Kai. He can’t handle me being platonic with his brother. I have to keep this thing between me and Milo on the down-low until I can fully comprehend and explain it.
Me and Milo. It’s surreal I’m even contemplating something romantic with this boy. Yet, it’s beyond that. We’re affectionate, close, and he makes me grinlike a total goofball. How in the world does Milo Nelson have this hold over me?
I scuff across the bedroom, slip into a fluffy pair of slippers, and make my way to the bathroom to get freshened up for my workday. As I reach for the bathroom door handle, it turns. The door swings open and I’m face to face with Milo.
My insides melt down to goo, and I lean to the side. “Hi,” I whisper pathetically.
His teeth graze his bottom lip as he smiles. “Hey.”
I run a hand through my hair and my body temperature sizzles. “How are you?”
“I’m good, considering I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“Gandalf kept you up?”
He folds his arms and looks down and to the side. Nervousness twitches the corners of his smile. “Ah, more like thoughts of someone else had me up all night.”
Self-consciously, I tug at the neckline of my pajama shirt. “Oh. Umm. Okay.”
Milo puffs a murmured laugh, smoothing down his t-shirt and fidgeting in his stance.
While my mind blanks on anything to add to the dwindling conversation, Kai’s bedroom door bursts open beside us.
Kai walks out and double-takes at us. “Milo, grow a brain. Get out of Jamie’s way.”
As Kai cuts through the upstairs living room and then makes his way downstairs, Milo and I awkwardly pass each other in the bathroom doorway. We mutter nonsensical things, trying to act cooler than we are. I wave goodbye and close the door. The silence in the cream-tiled bathroom allows my heart to pound in my ears.
That was torturous.
Kai’s interruption sent my head spinning. My heart can barely keep up. I exhale a steadying breath, pull a towel from the cupboard and rest it by the bathtub. I run the water in the shower and peel off my pajamas. Once steam billows off the water, I jump in, ready to wash off the awkwardness so I can get to work with a refreshed mindset.
After my shower, I make my way downstairs with my laptop bag. Last Sunday, all I could think about was leaving work so I could hang with Kai at the skatepark. This Sunday, I’m taking my homework with me so I can work on it during quiet periods during my shift. The likelihood of that is low, considering Pancake Stacks Sunday is our busiest day of the week, but you never know. I’d rather feel prepared.
Yeah, seriously, who am I?
Chirpiness bounces off the walls as family members move about the kitchen, dining, and living areas. Not only are Kai’s parents driving me to work, they’re taking their family out for breakfast at our cafe.
Grandma Nelson wraps me up in a hug the moment she sees me. While she squeezes and sways me, I spy Milo chatting with his grandpa. Gandalf’s baby carrier is slung over his forearm. I peel myself away from Grandma and clutch the handle of the baby carrier.
Milo gives me a questioning look, and I say, “I’ll take him from here. You look like you could use a rest.”
Milo smiles, rubbing his red-lined eyes as he lets me take possession of the baby carrier. “I don’t know how parents function,” Milo says, yawning.
Grandpa chuckles. “This fake baby is a miracle worker. Gives kids appreciation for their parents.”
“He means parents of newborns,” I say. “Once kids can walk and talk, they’re not as much effort.”
