Page 18 of Reverse Pass

“It’s fine. I’d planned on covering it anyway, so you pitching in is better than what I expected. And you cook and bring us bakery goods. Even if they are ill gotten gains,” she teases me.

“Ugh.” I scrub a hand over my face, the creep of embarrassment coming in again.

“Does that happen a lot?”

I shrug one shoulder. “Sometimes.”

She looks me over and gives me a warm smile, her eyes drifting over me for a minute before she turns abruptly and flips on the show. The eerie music starts up, and we don’t say another word before we start watching together.

SEVEN

Violet

The next nightI’m stuck at the gallery with Joss working on a new installation. The exhibit opens in three days, which means I have to get a bunch of the artwork up on the walls today. And day has quickly turned into night, and I’m wondering if it might even turn into tomorrow at this rate. Joss is thankfully here helping, but I can tell that even she’s getting tired. I wouldn’t blame her for bailing as this is one of my projects for my independent study, and she’s just a volunteer for the gallery.

As I work to set another French cleat on the back of one of the paintings, my phone buzzes in my pocket and I pull it out. It’s a text from Ben.

Ben

Are you guys going to be home? Dinner’s almost ready

“Shit,” I curse, remembering that he’d mentioned this morning he was going to cook. I’d been optimistic as hell at that hour, thinking this installation would only take maybe the morning to complete. Then everything had gone wrong.

“What?” Joss looks up from her spot at the table across the room where she’s covered in polyethylene dust as she works to create a mount for one of the textile pieces.

“He’s making dinner, and there’s no way I’m making it back in time. You should go and maybe you can make it before it’s cold.”

She looks around the room and gives me a doubtful look.

“No way I’m leaving you here with all this by yourself.”

“But I feel bad.”

“Just tell him to put the leftovers in the fridge and we’ll eat them when we crawl back in in the middle of the night like vampires.”

I laugh and turn my lower lip under. I was looking forward to the pasta he was making and desperately wishing for a shower and my bed right about now.

No. Unfortunately, we’re stuck working in one of the galleries. I don’t know if we’ll even be home before midnight. I’m really sorry. Put it in the fridge, and we’ll eat it when we get back?

I was really looking forward to it too!

I send a little sad face emoji and then try to ignore the bit of guilt I feel that he was trying so hard to be a good roommate and we weren’t even there to appreciate it.

Ben

Which gallery?

Scotland. Why?

I’ll pack it up and bring it to you guys. You need to eat before midnight

Um. I think you are my hero

Anything else you want?

Any cookies still left? Need the morale boost around here

You got it. Be there as soon as everything’s ready