Page 65 of Ask No Questions

He nodded, urging me to continue.

“The only time I’m completely happy is when I’m dancing. I want to focus on that. I want it to be my future, in college or maybe I’ll join a professional company.”

“I understand that. I admire you for finding something you’re passionate about. So you’re not that into Luke?”

“He’s so nice and I always have fun with him, but I feel like he’s holding back. I don’t think he wants to be with anyone besides Marley, his surfboard.”

We both laughed, and I knew he understood.

“Come on, let’s go in. I’m buying.” I followed him in and told myself he was just being a friend. There wasn’t anything else going on with him.

I pushed open the front door and stopped when I inhaled the aroma of real food. As in homemade, not from a restaurant, food. I peeked into the kitchen and saw Brandon standing by the stove, glaring down at a pan.

“Hey, everything all right?”

He spun around looking embarrassed. “No, I ruined dinner.”

I crossed the room and looked down at the disaster. There was a charred-looking lump in the center with burned sauce sticking to the pan. Yikes.

“What was it?”

He sighed again and shrugged. “It was supposed to be chicken Parmesan. I wanted to cook for you since I don’t think we have had anything homemade since you moved here.”

“Don’t feel too bad. I get a good meal every time I go to the Pages’ house.”

I smiled, but he just sighed again.

“I have an idea. Let’s order food from Chen’s, and we can use our plates and silverware. No one will ever know the difference.”

He rolled his eyes but agreed.

Once we had our food and settled on the couch–because that was where you ate dinner when you lived with your brother–Brandon turned on the TV but left it on an infomercial. I should have known then to run.

“We haven’t really caught up lately. How are things?”

Was this an attempt at a parental discussion? Fail.

“Things are fine. How’s Liv?” Ha! We’d see how he liked having the table turned in his direction.

“She’s good. We haven’t been able to go out for a few days, but that’s all right. We’re not here to talk about me, though. Are you still having those dreams?”

“I was doing really well until the night I thought I saw Morgan. But I’ll take a few bad dreams as the only scars from everything that happened. I guess I’m lucky that’s all I have to deal with.”

“I wish there was more I could do for you.”

I smiled and shrugged. “You’re already more than I could ask for.”

That came out pretty cheesy, but I meant it. He just laughed. “Aw shucks, Aubrey.”

“Now, if you’re interested in helping me out in the boy department, we could be here for hours.”

He quickly picked up the remote and found a football game. “Nope! Sorry, I don’t talk about that stuff with my baby sister.”

I laughed, and we finished eating without me bringing it up again. I loved how simply and easy things between us were, if only more of my relationships could be like this.

Twenty-Seven

I wasn’t expecting Luke to be so cold toward me, but now it was day three of nods and small waves. I planned on cornering him at lunch, but he mysteriously disappeared. I asked some of his friends if they had seen him, but the stupid loyal jerks wouldn’t tell me anything.