Page 209 of On His Team

“The new household structure.”

I shrug. “Nothing changed.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.”

Blue walks into the kitchen behind him wearing sweats. He looks half asleep, opens the refrigerator, then pauses long enough to glance between us.

“What changed?” Blue asks.

Stanley twists around in his seat. “Laurens has a girlfriend.”

Blue stares at him for a second. “We were all there.”

“I’m still processing.”

“Process quieter.”

Stanley ignores him and looks back at me. “So how long have you known Gianna?”

“Two years.”

“No.” He shakes his head. “How long have you known Gianna?”

I stare at him.

His smile gets wider.

I reach around him for the eggs. “Move.”

He shifts just enough to let me past, still watching me like he’s waiting for something. “Did she stay over?”

“No.”

“Would she stay over?”

“Her brother lives here.”

“That was not the question.”

Blue shuts the refrigerator and looks over at him. “Why do you care?”

“I don’t. I’m interested in the logistics.”

“You’re interested in being annoying.”

“That too.”

I crack the eggs into the pan and turn the heat down. Stanley goes quiet after that, which is usually the first sign that underneath all of this he actually wants an answer.

“You like her?” he asks.

I look over my shoulder. The joke is mostly gone from his face now. “Yeah.”

“No, I mean actually.”

That stops me for half a second, not because I don’t know the answer, but because I know exactly what he’s asking.

I set the eggshell down and look at him properly.