I step through the door. “He called us oil and water.”
Korie grimaces. “Yikes.”
“In his defense, he wasn’t wrong.” I hold the box out for them.
Korie hesitates. “What is this?”
“Leftovers.”
They snag it before I can say more, rushing to the kitchen for a fork.
Loosening my shirt, I follow them, taking a seat at the tiny dining table. It’s covered in blots of old nail polish.
“Oh. My. God,” Korie exclaims through a mouthful of food. “This isdivine.Where did you take him?”
“Fujiyama.”
They narrow their eyes. “Never heard of it.”
“I hadn’t either, but he suggested it.”
Korie pauses. “Wait.Hechose the restaurant?”
I frown. “Is that a problem?”
Korie sputters a laugh. “Oh, Holden. Yes, it’s a problem.”
“Why?”
“Because you asked him out, not the other way around.” When I still seem confused, they add, “You took initiative, and then failed to follow through.”
Failed to follow through? Is that why Gage was so confused when I asked where he wanted to go?
I don’t reply.
Korie’s gaze drifts down my body. “Is that what you wore to dinner?”
I look down, palming the front of my shirt. “Yeah. Why?”
“Oh, you sweet man,” they say, sweeping a hand across their forehead. “No wonder you’re struggling.”
“What?”
“What do you mean,what? You’re kind of a mess, Holden.”
I tug at the shirt. “It’s not that bad.”
Korie scoffs. “Are you serious? Oh my god. You’re serious. No, hon. It’s bad. That shirt is wrinkled and too big for you.”
I blink. I knew it was wrinkled, but too big? “I like this shirt.”
Korie shakes their head. “It doesn’t fit you. It’s baggy in the shoulders. And like I said, wrinkled. Did you take it to work with you or something?”
I don’t answer.
Korie snorts, making a very clear I-seeface.
Annoyed, I turn to see his bird snoozing on a nearby bookshelf, beak tucked under one wing. She’s actually kind of cute when she’s not trying to nip my fingers off.
