Page 35 of Let's Talk About Love

“Ah,” she said to fill the awkward silence. “It’s the deck, isn’t it?” She pointed to the cards, wanting to change the subject. “The deck is rigged?”

He shrugged. “Or maybe I’m a magician.”

The elevator dinged. They both turned their heads toward the door. Busted—too late to run, too late to pretend like they had been working.

“I leave for ten minutes and you two startplaying cards?”

CHAPTER

13

Ryan didn’t speak when Alice entered the kitchen. He pulled her arm, tugging her toward him, and placed his head on her shoulder. She rubbed the back of his neck. He had used the same cucumber-melon shampoo since middle school. Nothing smelled more likeRyanthan that.

“Tired?” she asked.

“Exhausted. Tell me why I agreed to do this again?”

“This” meaning his overwhelming summer schedule. He had explained his plans to Alice right after the previous semester had ended. She had kept her incredulous face in check in order to appear supportive, but she knew this was coming.

Ryan had attended Bowen only because he was wait-listed for Dennard University. He received his formal acceptance with some bad news: some of his state-college credits wouldn’t fully transfer to the university. Two summer school classes to catch up plus regular morning shifts twenty hours a week at a small, nearby pastry shop, and to top it off, he had regular volunteer shifts at a hospital.

“Because you love helping peopleandit’s going to look amazing when you apply for medical school. Best of both worlds. Want me to sing the song?”

Ryan laughed. “Maybe some other time.”

“Why don’t you go lie down? I’ll bring you your food when it’s done.” A pot of potatoes boiled on the stove. Mashed potatoes with sweetened yellow corn on top was his favorite comfort food, thanks to Feenie’s influence.

“Sure you can handle this?” He eyed her skeptically. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

“Yeah.” She smiled. “This is perfect Alice-level cooking. There’s nothing sharp around, I can handle a can opener, and I’ll be careful when I drain the potatoes.” She gave him a thumbs-up.

“Okay. Yeah. Thank you,” he said on his way out.

“Oh, um, hold on.” Alice glanced at the calendar they kept on the fridge with all their work schedules. That Friday had a giant red heart around it for Family Night. It had been a tradition for years—they almost never missed a single date. At first, they called it Horror Movie Saturday, then it changed to Dorm Room Dinners—now it had a simpler title. Something it should have been from the very beginning. “You’re free tomorrow morning, right?”

“Free to sleep in.”

“Sleep is for the weak,” she joked. “You know you want to go to a law seminar with me.”

“That sounds like the exact opposite of what I want to do.”

She began to open the can of corn. “Oh, come on, please? I’ll make my mom pay for you.”

“It sounds awful, though.”

“No argument there.” The lid popped open. She drained the excess water and dumped the kernels into a glass bowl. “It’s going to be dry and boring and I don’t want to go by myself. Please? It’s only three hours.”

“Did you miss the bit about me being tired?” He leaned against the refrigerator.

“She’s being unreasonable and has recruited my sister to browbeat me. I need support. And love. And affection. Please? Also, do I put extra sugar on this?”

“No. It’s naturally sweet. Just microwave it.” He sighed. “Maybe you should tell your parents the truth.”

“I already did. I’m going to again when I figure out what I want to do instead. Adam is helping me stall.”

“Any leads?”

“Not a one.” She set the bowl inside their microwave and started it. Two minutes to be safe. Or was that too long? If she managed to burn the corn—