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Almost instantly, the dots dance across my screen as he types his response. I lean back, waiting. A confused, lopsided grin floats to my face as his next text comes in.
I saw a sock puppet in a store today and it made me think of the legendary performances we put on as kids. Thought you should know.
I pull my feet up on the couch, tucking them beside me as I type back.
Legendary? You and I remember them very differently. :P
When we were seven, London and I started putting on short sock puppet shows for our parents. I have no idea which one of us started them—probably him.
However, if there’s one thing I’ve come to understand by attending a weekly book club, it’s how story structure works. London and I had no clue how to create a cohesive story when we put those shows on.
Naturally, our parents thought they were the funniest things ever. So they became a weekly occurrence for a while.
Come on. They were epic. Ooohhh… Should we add a sock puppet show to our event? LOL!
Relief floods through me. He still expects me there tomorrow. Shaking my head, I giggle out loud. Then, type back quickly.
Oh, yeah. That’s definitely what we need to get everyone in the mood.
His response dots appear, then vanish.
My eyebrows tug in as I watch the screen, waiting for him to continue typing.
When they start and stop again, my insides feel like a live wire.
Did I say something wrong?
I go back and reread the messages. They were all fun and light-hearted until I brought up the reason for the event.
Way to go, Lily.
I swallow hard, wondering if I should text him again to try to diffuse the tension. If I was reading him wrong, then he’s probably trying not to lead me on.
Stupid.
“What are you doing in the dark?”
I yelp, throwing my phone over my shoulder. It bounces off the wall and ricochets off my ankle before landing face-up on the floor.
“Dammit,” I mutter, groping my ankle with one hand and a fistful of my shirt above my heart with the other. My eyes sting with the sharp pain that shoots up my leg.
Seth chuckles from the doorway. “Dang, I wish I’d been recording that. It would have made a great TikTok.”
I narrow my eyes and glare at him. The throbbing in my ankle is anything but funny at the moment.
He shakes his head. “Sorry, I thought you heard me come in. I was talking to you from the kitchen.”
I blink at him, still holding tightly to my ankle. “No, I didn’t.”
My phone lights up and buzzes with an incoming text. Swallowing hard, I glance at it and back to Seth.
“Do you need to get that?” he asks, tipping his chin to my phone.
I shake my head, feeling the roar of my pulse in my ears. “No.”
Get it together, Lily. There’s nothing wrong with what you were doing. You were just talking to your old friend about sock puppets. No funny business there.
I reach down, snatch my phone from the floor, and set it face down on the coffee table in front of me.
