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CHAPTERFOUR
KYLER
“Thanks for coming overand meeting my mom,” I chuckled nervously as I let Ian into my house. “I know it’s a little old-fashioned.”
“Your mom wants to know who you’re going to be with on Saturday. I get that,” he said, handing me a café vanilla Frappuccino. “And it’s quieter here than at Starbucks anyway.”
“You still went to Starbucks, though,” I said, unable to keep myself from smiling.
That was turning into a thing with him. Smiling. But for some reason, I just felt comfortable around him, and he was slowly starting to chip away at the wall I’d carefully constructed around my heart.
If I was being honest, there had never really been a time when Ihadn’tfelt comfortable with him. Not even before I started tutoring him. Even when he’d tried to talk to me during class, I hadn’t been afraid of him. Not really. I’d just been afraid of the unknown.
“Why mess with a good thing? It’s clearly working for us,” he chuckled. “Um, are we studying out here or…?”
“Actually, I usually let Cosette out to play while I’m studying. She lives in my room. Or is that too weird for your first time over here?” I wondered.
I didn’t want to mess with Cosette’s schedule if I didn’t have to. Rabbits liked familiarity and routine. I’d just have to remember to put her back and open the door before my mom got home. She’d have a conniption fit if I had my door closed anda boywas in my room.
“Nah, it’s not too weird,” he said. “I’d like to meet Cosette.”
“Come on,” I told him.
I led Ian back to my room and went over to the rabbit cage in the corner. The black and white ball of fluff with floppy ears who I liked better than most humans was sitting there chilling, but perked up when I opened the cage. She got up on her hind legs, putting her front paws on the bars.
“Hey, sweet girl. You know what time it is, don’t you?” I chuckled as I picked her up.
Cosette snuggled into my arms and licked my forearm.
“This is going to sound weird, but it doesn’t smell as bad as I thought it would. The cage, I mean,” Ian said.
I laughed. “I thought the same thing when I first got her. But bunnies don’t smell. They’re actually pretty clean animals. The only time they smell is if you forget to change their litter. Their pee is what stinks so bad because they’re so good at extracting all the nutrients from their food.”
“Oh, that makes sense.”
“You can pet her if you want,” I told him. “She’s kind of shy, but she’s sweet. She won’t bite you.”
“So when you said you let her out to play…?” he asked.
“I close my door and let her hop around in here. It’s how she gets her exercise,” I explained.
“Now I feel stupid for not figuring that out by myself,” he chuckled, reaching out to pet her. “Hey, Cosette. Your mom’s told me a lot about you. It’s nice to finally meet you. Wow, she’s so soft.”
“Do you want to hold her?”
“Is it okay?”
“Yeah. She might squirm a little, but she’s not a biter,” I assured him as I handed Cosette to him. “Just make sure you support her back legs.”
Ian went and sat on my bed with Cosette in his arms. He was actually smiling as he held her and petted her, and I couldn’t help pulling my phone out and taking a picture. He looked up when he heard the click of the phone’s camera.
“Sorry. I couldn’t help it. You looked too cute holding her. I mean…” I trailed off. “I’ll just delete it.”
He chuckled. “Did you just say you think I’m cute?”
I felt my cheeks heat, and a glance in my mirror told me I was the color of a lobster. Lately I’d been developing verbal diarrhea when I was with him. Just saying whatever came to mind. And of course, the color my cheeks turned made him laugh again.
“I’m just teasing you, Ky. If it makes you feel better, I think you’re cute too.”
