Page 4 of Reckless Hearts

He’d reached down to quickly gather the scattered cereal.

“Froot Loops can be sneaky bastards. You’ve got to watch out for them,” I said to fill in the silence.

The guy opened his mouth to reply.

“Argh…” he managed.

“I think it’s the cornflakes you’ve got to watch out for, actually.” Saskia’s voice came from the doorway.

I glanced up to find her leaning against the open French doors, watching us.

“I hear cornflakes can be very flakey once you get to know them,” I replied.

Saskia strolled into the room. “What happened here?”

“I…ah…dropped it. The box,” the guy said.

He picked up the last errant Froot Loops and threw them into the waste disposal unit before sneaking another glance at me.

“I’m Marcus. What’s your name?” I asked.

He stood there blinking furiously at me like he was desperately trying to remember his own name.

“Seb,” he replied finally, just when the silence reached the excruciating level.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

Seb made some kind of noise that sounded vaguely affirmative as he fled toward the hallway.

I turned back to find Saskia smirking.

“Looks like you made quite an impression on my little brother. Normally, nothing can shut him up. You’re a Seb muter. It’s like a superpower.”

I gave a nonchalant shrug. “Not sure if that was the superpower I asked the gods for, but I guess I’ll take it.”

That made her laugh.

I basked in the golden sound of her laughter.

“You have any siblings?” she asked.

It was like someone had applied a vice to my chest.

I had to look out the window while I struggled to compose myself. On the back lawn, I could see the remains of an abandoned bird nest that had fallen from a tree, being nosed at by their golden retriever. Her parents stood by the pool shed, laughing together.

“Nope. No siblings,” I replied.

“Lucky,” she’d said.

From then on, it had become an in-joke between Saskia and me, the way her brother always got so flustered around me.

Sure enough, Little Kleggs spots me across the kitchen, and his face heats up. It always fascinates me how quickly his pale skin can change color.

I plaster on my flirting smirk and head over to him.

“Hey, Little Kleggs, having a good night?”

A garbled noise comes from Seb’s mouth that sounds like he’s vaguely replying affirmatively.