Page 34 of The Roommate Game

That was new.

“Thank you.” I picked up the mug and sat across from him, resting my lower lip on the rim as I studied him. “How’d you sleep?”

“Meh. Okay, I ’spose. You?”

“Same.”

I sipped my coffee, aware of the growing uncomfortable silence.

“I was?—”

“What are you?—”

We chuckled awkwardly.

“You first,” I insisted.

“I was gonna ask what you’re doing today.”

“Oh,um…I have an errand to run.” I fluttered my hand and proceeded to info-dump. “A costume I had repaired. The beading was coming off and while I can do simple sewing, this was more involved and I may need it this summer. The seamstress lives in Hamilton. It’s a schlep, so I’ve been putting it off and today is the day. I have weight training later and…that’s it.” I hid my beet-red face behind my mug like the coward I was, adding a quick, “You?”

“I can drive you to Hamilton. I’ve got practice this afternoon and nothing much going on. I have a paper due Monday, butit’s half done and I can finish the rest tomorrow. What do you think?”

I furrowed my brow so hard my glasses slipped down my nose. “You want to come with me?

“Sure.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “Why not? It’s something to do, and that new Costco is in between Hamilton and Smithton. We can hit it on the way home for kicks.”

Okay, I was confused.

“Is this about last night? If you want to talk about it, I’d rather do that here and get it over with. Tear off the Band-Aid, as they say.”

Gus gave a lopsided smile. “There’s nothing to talk about…unless you want to do it again.”

Oh, wow.

Yes, please, I thought, but I said, “Pfft.Yeah…right.”

“Hey, we both agreed it was hot.”

“Stop teasing me. This is embarrassing enough as it is,” I grumbled into my mug.

He kicked my ankle gently. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. We said we were cool last night, remember?”

I held up a finger like an old-fashioned schoolteacher. “This might be a minor detail, but I’m not cool. Not even a little.”

“Well, I think you’re cool,” he assured me matter-of-factly. “The truth is…I need a little distraction today. I could go see my friends, but Ty’s with Walker, which leaves Brady and Regan, and they’ll ask why I wasn’t at Cassie’s after the game last night, and I don’t feel like being interrogated.”

“Ahh, and why weren’t you at Cassie’s party?”

“Who else was gonna wait up for you and make sure you got home safely?” Gus jumped to his feet and tousled my hair. “Let’s do this, Rafey.”

And that was how I wound up in the passenger seat of Gus’s truck, cruising the interstate toward Hamilton. The drive was a peaceful, if somewhat monotonous landscape of imposing trees along a black ribbon of highway. It was nice to have company, odd though the circumstances might be.

I was still curious about him avoiding a party with friends last night. And again this morning.