Chapter 02.8

It was late when I pulled into the driveway next to her little red car. She was locking the front door, wearing a loose sweatshirt and sweatpants, her coat unzipped—clearly heading out. Her hair was pinned up messily.

“Hey,” I said behind her.

“Uncle Steve’s not home,” she replied without turning around.

“I came to see you,” I said.

“I asked you never to speak to me again,” she said in a flat tone, then turned to face me.

“Where are you going, all dressed up?” I joked, eyeing her sweats.

“I’m hungry, and all the food’s upstairs,” she sighed. “Mom and Adam just got home, and I don’t want to disturb them, so I’m heading to Paul’s for something to eat.”

“Are you sure showing up like that won’t hurt Amber’s business?” I asked. “Might not be the best look.”

“I didn’t think of that,” she admitted. “I don’t want to cause any trouble for Amber.”

She looked stunning, even if she wouldn’t look at me.

“Come over to my place,” I offered suddenly. “We’ve got food, and no one’s home.”

“Why did you come?” she asked, already walking toward my house. I quickly followed.

“I know Dr. Cox gave you the car,” I said.

“I asked for something small and simple,” she smiled. “Easy to park.”

“Yeah, that’s important,” I said. That was the dumbest conversation I’d had in years.

“I picked the color,” she added, still smiling but not looking at me. “It’s got a bunch of buttons and gadgets, but I don’t really use them.”

“I could show you what they do,” I offered.

“Thanks, but it was already shown to me,” she said with a smile.

Obviously, her new guy.

We stopped in front of my house. I quickly unlocked the door. Jenny took off her shoes and coat, then headed straight to the kitchen. She opened the fridge and peeked inside while I sat down in my usual spot.

“I assume,” she said with a hint of sarcasm, “if you offered your parents’ food, you’re planning to eat some too.”

“Yeah, I’m hungry too,” I replied. I tried to think of something meaningful to say, but nothing came.

“So basically, you were just looking for someone to make you a sandwich,” she remarked.

“I can make my own sandwich,” I snapped.

Jenny slid the bread and Grandma’s cream cheese over to me with a knife on a plate.

“Let’s see it, then,” she said.

I spread the cream cheese onto my bread while she made a sandwich for herself. We ate in silence, neither of us saying a word. I kept thinking about how to ask her to forgive me—and maybe, just maybe, to leave her new guy.

After she finished eating, she set her plate aside and pulled out some sauces and vegetables, slicing them up with practiced ease to make a salad. I watched her in quiet admiration as she worked.

“So… you came just because of the car?” she asked calmly.

“Yeah,” I said, shrugging. “Didn’t see much point in coming for anything else.”

I wasn’t going to beg. If she expected some grand apology, she was going to be disappointed.

“A message would’ve been enough,” she said.

“You blocked my number.”

“If you’d actually deleted it like I asked, I wouldn’t have had to block you,” she replied.

“If you hadn’t wanted to wear the pants, I wouldn’t have had to delete it,” I said sarcastically.

“If I’d been with a real man, I wouldn’t have even thought about wearing the pants,” she said, without a hint of sarcasm.

“What’s that supposed to mean—‘a real man’?” I snapped, instantly irritated.

“You heard me,” she said, raising her voice slightly, still focused on her vegetables.

“This table,” I said, pointing at it.

“What about it?” Jenny asked, confused.

“If I remember right, just a few months ago, you were screaming on this table about how much of a man you thought I was,” I said bitterly.

Jenny paused her slicing, glanced at the table, and blushed. I hadn’t expected that.

Interesting.

“Either on my desk, or on the living room rug, or the couch,” I continued, growing more confident with each word. She remained completely silent, clearly flustered. “Or upstairs in the bathroom,” I added. “If I remember correctly, twice there.”

“Three times,” she corrected quietly.

“True,” I smiled. “That was the only place you had more than one—”

“Can we drop this?” she snapped, cutting me off. “The past is behind us.”

For a few moments, silence fell again. Jenny busied herself with the vegetables while I admired her—until Shannon’s words began to take shape in my mind.

“I suppose your new guy is a real man,” I remarked sarcastically.