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“Sure,” I say into the phone, to Holden, slumping back on the couch and staring at whatever show is on.
“Cool. I’ll be there within the hour. I was thinking about starting a new project. Making something functional and shit, like a chair.”
“Really?”
“Really. I don’t know, I guess going with you to Lexi’s has given me a fixer-upper bug or something. Like the wood is calling to me to make something through my blood.” He laughs.
Damn Lexi. The one person I don’t want to think about he has to bring up. Not that I was doing a particularly stellar job of not thinking about her. She’s all I can think about. I still can’t believe how things ended. A week later and I’m still in a stupor over that night. I sigh, blowing a noisy breath I can’t hold back.
“Are you okay?”
“Fine,” I lie, hoping he’ll believe me and ask no more questions.
“You don’t sound it. You don’t sound like your usual encouraging annoying self.”
“Then it’s your lucky day.”
“Now I know something is wrong. Sarcasm from you…is like me rolling up to my old detention center and tap dancing in a top hat and cane across the room. That shit just wouldn’t be right.”
“Well, I don’t know what to say to that.”
“Yeah well, I’ll be there within the hour to get the drill.”
“Okay.” I drop the phone back down on the couch next to me and resume trying to empty my mind of all things Lexi. Once again failing miserably.
I don’t know how long after, disorientating, loud banging jars me up and out of the couch followed by offending noises. God, if this is what it sounds like when we knock on doors, no wonder we don’t get a better response. Right now I feel like taking the person's head off.
“Knock, knock open the door, bro. You have company.”
“Unless you have a search warrant I suggest you knock that off. I have a gun and I know how to use it.” I open the door, letting him in.
“Somebody is in a foul mood. Good thing I didn’t come empty-handed.” He holds up a bag of food with the name of the fast food place not too far from here and a six-pack of beer. “It sounded like you needed one of these.”
“You’re right. I do.” I take the six-pack and bring it back to my spot on the couch.
“Are you going to tell me what has you acting like me on a family road trip with Dad?” He sits on the other end of the couch and rests the bag of greasy food on the floor between us.
“Nothing’s wrong. It was just a long day at work.” I pop open the can and take a long drink, welcoming the burn going down. “Nothing was going right, and I almost got my ass chewed out by my superior for something that wasn’t my fault.”
“Hate when that happens. Usually, I’d tell my bosses to go fuck themself and feel better about it. But I guess you like your job.” He shrugs, plucking off a beer and opening it.
“Yes I do, most days.” I grin for the first time today while taking another drink from my can.
“I’m surprised you’re not at Lexi’s hanging out or fixing something.”
“We don’t do that anymore.”
“Do what?” He stares at me with the can to his lip.
“Hang out.”
“Do you mean hang out orhang out,” he says, making quotation marks with his fingers.
“Neither one.”
“Why the hell not? You were all over each other the last time we were all hanging out. I got that guy's number. His friend looked like she wanted to give me hers too but I thought it would be a dick move to ask her for it later.”
“Great, that was then, this is now. Things change, and it would have been a dick move.”
