Page 53 of The Liar in Room 5

Drew gave me a curious look but otherwise let my inability to speak clearly pass without comment.

“I’m gonna regret another piece, but I’m gonna do it anyway.”

Drew put down his own pizza, grabbed the pie server, and slipped another slice onto my plate. In the grand scheme of life, it wasn’t a blip in the universe, but for us, in that moment, it felt like more. Domestic and caring, and I liked it. I wanted more of it.

“They have a new convert.”

We were back to looking at each other like fools.

“Big plans for tomorrow? Since you conquered preschoolers, gonna tackle world peace?”

“I have no plans tomorrow,” Drew admitted.

The buzz of the restaurant made it hard to hear him, so I was forced to move closer until we were right next to each other instead of across the table. Since I was already there, taking him by the hand was the most reasonable thing in the world. I ran my thumb across his and traced the tendons on the back of his hand. High school was the last time holding a guy’s hand gave me a semi, but Drew’s presence changed that.

“Would you like some?”

“With you?”

“I mean, I hope, unless you think you’ll get a better offer,” I said with a smirk.

Drew smiled and slowly shook his head.

“I had this plan for how I hoped tonight would go, and studio jackass ruined it.”

“Oh yeah? What was your idea?”

“We were going to have a lovely dinner…”

“Which we are…”

“Agreed. So check off excellent dinner, and then I was going to take you home.”

Drew gave a lopsided grin. In that moment, he looked so boyish and happy. Pride fueled my ego that I’d somehow been the one to help bring that happiness out in him. Every layer he showed me of himself sent me a little more head over heels for him.

“To Halo House?”

“No, smart aleck, to my house. And, most importantly, I was going to convince you to stay over so I could wake up with you too.”

“You wanted me to stay over?”

“Got you a new toothbrush and everything.”

“Oh. Well…”

Drew sat back but didn’t pull his hand away. We both knew that it was more than just staying over. The deal with Halo House was that we, the patrons, were expected to be gentle with anyone we might come across there. No one got there because things were great, and Phoenix expected us to be mindful of that. We had to be accountable for our intentions, and I knew, and Drew did too, that it was more than just a sleepover. It was intention.

“I’m sorry that it can’t happen now.”

“But it still can.”

“I thought you were going back to work?”

“Yeah, but I’m not going to sleep there. Instead of Halo House, you could go back to my place. If you have the door and alarm code, that’s all you need.”

“You’d be okay with that?”

“Yeah, I would.”