Page 11 of Room to Breathe

I shoved him, and so did Harper.

“What?” he asked in exasperation. “She’s the one who said it!”

“I’d be a hot dish,” Ava said.

“Like spicy?” I asked. “Or temperature?”

“Both,” she said.

“I’d be popcorn,” Caroline said thoughtfully. “Something everyone looks forward to.”

“But they only actually want on occasion?” I asked.

“Rude,” she said.

“Just kidding,” I said. “I want you all the time, my little snack.”

“What am I?” Beau asked, as if this was something he desperately needed to know.

“You’re a whole meal,” Harper said.

He laughed and said, “Thanks, babe,” but I could tell that wasn’t the answer he wanted. He didn’t want a compliment. He really wanted to know what he was, as silly as that sounded.

We scanned our phones at the booth and got our tickets, then walked inside.

“I hope your brother doesn’t hate me after our tutoring session,” I said. “For forcing him to learn.”

“Please, all the kids love you the best.”

“It’s because I bribe them with candy.”

“Do you really?”

“Yes. You don’t?”

“They told us not to,” he said. “They” meaning our bosses. But they only said that for liability. I didn’t give candy to the littles, only the older kids. And only after asking them if their parents were okay with it.

“It’s amazing the doors that a single Jolly Rancher or mint can open for you,” I teased.

“Do you have any right now?” he asked. “I’d like to see if your theory works.”

“Your doors are already wide open.” At least for me they were. There wasn’t much we didn’t tell each other.

We filed down the assigned row in the theater. I ended up between Ava and Beau, Harper on his other side, obviously. Caroline on Ava’s.

As the movie started, Beau leaned over. “Your toes are freezing, aren’t they? Like ice.”

“Shut up,” I said, and he chuckled. Why was the air-conditioning always on so high in the movie theater?

“You want me to go get Ava’s socks for you?”

I shook my head. Then after a few minutes I whispered, “You’re one of those Cinnabon balls from Taco Bell. Kind of crunchy on the outside but all soft and gooey and sweet inside.”

He rolled his eyes at me but then smiled.

Chapter 5

Now