“Uh… I… didn’t want to disturb you if you were still… You know?”
I tilt my head. “No, I don’t?”
“Well, if you don’t want people to hear, then maybe don’t be this loud.” Her voice is dripping with disappointment.
Sam turns to me with wide eyes, his eyebrows almost disappearing under his hair. He nods. “I’m locking my bedroom door.”
I shake my head and decide to ignore whatever is happening here. “Did you need something, Ashley?”
“Your next appointment is here,” she says and walks out without another glance at us.
I watch her go. Do I care enough about this to clear the air? Nah, she deserves it for the Ellick thing. So, I’m going to let Ashley play out her interesting soap opera starring me in her head. Besides, she’s not really going to hurt Sam… probably.
I nod at myself and send the email we just drafted.
***
Nicholas: Still stuck at work, won't make it today
I see the text notification on my phone, which is on my coffee table, along with a thousand containers of Chinese food.
I pick it up and open Nicholas’s text chain.
Great, I don’t have a ton of time to sit around and watch goofy shows either.
Nicholas: Can u pick Mickey up from Matt’s? Pretty please?
Nicholas: I’m driving to Long Beach tomorrow morning
I stare at my phone, messages coming in one after the other. Why can’t he just send one text with all theinformation?
Nicholas: and they both have shifts
Nicholas: If ur busy I can ask Bree
Maybe he should just do it. Why even ask if he doesn’t want my help? I don’t care. Would I love more Mickey time? Of course. But maybe it’s healthier for him to not get too attached to my place if Nicholas is planning to stay away permanently.
“Why are you glaring at your phone?” Sam asks between orange chicken and rice. Not leftovers, fresh order from the same restaurant because, in his words, ‘why would I pretend to want to eat something else when I know exactly what I want? My personality is adventurous enough, I don’t need to pretend to like new food every time to add another layer.’
I glare up at him. “I’m not glaring. This is my neutral expression.” I shove another dim sum into my face. Unlike other people, I did not order the same food I had for lunch. I do miss egg rolls, though.
“Hate to tell you, buddy, your neutral expression is a lot scarier than the one you make when you’re really angry.”
I frown. That can’t be right. I practiced it and everything. Back to the drawing board we go. “At least I can scare people.” I snort.
Sam smirks over his container. “You don’t need to scare anyone when you’re as charming as me.”
“Talk to me when they start giving you free coffee every week just to get you out of the store.” I pop the last dim sum into my mouth. The salty bite settles my nerves.
“You were probably driving other customers away.”
“Exactly.” I nod.
Sam shrugs, then piles up all the empty containers on the table. I leave him to it and pick up my phone again.
Me: I can drive over right now.
Who am I kidding? I’d love some Mickey time.
