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“Mom.” I sigh and stare at my feet as an orange leaf blows past in the cool breeze.
“It’s just…” She doesn’t say anything more and my gaze lifts to look at her. “Nothing.” She shakes her head. “You’re right.” She cradles my cheek as she often does when she wants to convey her love for me. “This is your life, and you need to live it. So… please tell Van that I’m sorry if I came off harsh, I was just surprised. But if you need anything, you call.”
“Are you going to tell Dad?”
She purses her lips. “I have to, but I’ll try my best to convince him to stay out of your business.”
I wrap my arms around my mom, and she holds me just as tight.
“Thank you,” I say.
Her hand runs up and down my back. “It’s going to be in BuzzWheel though, with you two parading around the grocery store.” She draws back and puts her hands on my cheeks, staring into my eyes. “People want you to be happy, so they’re going to convince themselves things are developing between the two of you even if they aren’t. You should prepare him for that.”
The town’s anonymous gossip app will probably have a picture of us within days if it doesn’t already.
I nod even though I’m not sure I want to say anything to him about the app. Maybe it’s better if he never discovers it and sees what people say about us on there.
She kisses my forehead. “Well, go on in there, sweetie.”
My mom is the one who usually calls the shots on what we do with our lives, so I’m not sure why she’s being so easy on this one with me. I’m surprised she didn’t call movers right away and have me moved out.
“Also, expect a visit from your dad,” she says, climbing into her SUV. “Love you, Brin.”
“Love you, Mom.”
She shuts the door and starts the SUV while I walk toward the grocery store. I could easily get myself out of this situation, but I don’t want to. It’s time to reincorporate myself into the world of the living.
Van is in front of the meat section, his cart filled with a mix of junk food and healthy food, not much in between.
“So, what are you making me for dinner?” I ask, surprising him as he pulls a pack of chicken from the bottom of the stack.
“You mean your mom hasn’t hired someone to evict me?”
I shake my head. “She’s fine, just needs to remember that I’m an adult.”
He laughs. “She’s protective. She’s your mother. She’s supposed to be.” He pushes the cart to the freezer section, grabs a container of Ben & Jerry’s Netflix & Chill’d, and drops it in the cart.
“Ice cream?” I glance in his cart. “Three different kinds of chips, cookies, chocolate milk?”
He stops and stares at me with a really mean look. “Are you judging me?”
“No, not at all. I’m just surprised because you’re so…” I motion down his body with my hand. Jesus, Brinley.
“What?” He smirks and widens his legs without removing his hand from the cart.
“Just so… oh, come on, you know you’re in shape. I figured that was the byproduct of protein shakes and a million sit-ups a day.”
He laughs and pushes the cart again. “The sit-ups are real, push-ups too. But I don’t have to be so strict with my diet right now, so I’m going to take advantage.”
My head tilts. “Why’s that?”
He stops again as though I’ve caught him off guard. “Let’s talk about it when we get back to the apartment.” He glances around.
Now I’m worried about what he has to tell me. “Okkkaaayy.”
He chuckles. “Stop thinking I’m going to say something bad. I promise you the background check was on me even though you thought I was a woman. I’ve never been in jail for more than a night.” He winks, suggesting what you’d assume—that a big guy like him has gotten into a bar fight. “My credit is good.” He squeezes my shoulder and a million butterflies set off inside my stomach. “You have nothing to worry about.”
I step away from him and his hand drops.
