AllFreeNovel
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His rational words pierced my chest a little. They shouldn’t because, well, they were rational. But honestly, not everyone treated my allergy like that.
“Some people think it makes me weak.”
“Those people would be douche canoes.”
“I don’t know what that means,” I told Jamie.
“Asshats. Idiots. No-good scallywags.” Jamie tried, then tilted his head. “You got pirates in Sweden?”
“Pirates,” I repeated.
“What he’s trying to say is we don’t think that.” Wes clarified.
“So, like, is it hard to eat and go places?” Kruger asked.
“Back in Sweden, it was okay because I knew the allergy-friendly places I could go. I knew the brands that were safe for me to eat. Here is a little harder,” I allowed.
Actually, it was a little more than hard. I hadn’t had much time yet to explore and really find the places that were safe, and there was no kitchen in my dorm room, which made cooking in hard. Because of that, I was hungry more than not. At least I still had coffee.
Ryan stepped back into the room, phone still in hand. “Pizza place says their pizza is safe.”
I frowned. Just because they said that didn’t mean it was. All it took was some cross-contamination or someone not familiar with the ingredients that went into their dough, etc., and I would end up in the emergency room.
I didn’t say any of that, though, because, again, this wasn’t their problem.
“Thanks for calling, Ryan. I appreciate that.”
He nodded. “For real, though, it’s safe. Apparently, the owner’s son also has a nut allergy. The entire place is nut free. There isn’t even a chance of cross-contamination. She orders everything from suppliers that are certified nut allergy friendly.”
“Really?” I asked.
Ryan held out his phone for me to see the screen. There was a large badge on the website of the pizzeria advertising it as allergy friendly.
“She also told me that the fast-food place right off campus is nut free too. She takes her son there sometimes.”
“That place has some good eats,” Jamie said.
Ryan nodded. “After practice one day this week, I’ll take you to the pizzeria and introduce you. She probably could tell you a few other places around that are safe.”
“Wow. Thanks.” I didn’t know what to say. These guys had been nicer to me in the past few hours than some people had been the entire time I knew them. “I really appreciate it.”
Silence draped the room again, not as awkward as before, and I found myself staring at the stairs Win had just disappeared up.
“So, ah, about you and Win…” Wes started.
My eyes ripped from the stairs. “There is no me and Win.” If my voice was an octave too high, well, who would notice?
Jamie made a sound. “Really? Because his utter meltdown about you touching a protein bar seconds ago screams something else.”
“Win usually is much more chill,” Wes allowed.
I couldn’t stand here and talk about Win when what I really wanted was to talktohim.
“Like I said, he saw me having a bad reaction. I never told him about my allergy, and he used some peanut butter protein powder to make a shake one day. He didn’t wipe the counter down, and then I made a sandwich. This probably just reminded him of that.”
“So you two…?” Ryan left his question open-ended.
“Were roommates in Sweden,” I said, succinct.Please don’t ask if we were more. Please don’t ask.
