shape, but nobody was in
that
good a shape. Things would fold over other things. Pieces of her would bulge unattractively. Butthey would do it underneath a T-shirt, as nature had intended.
When she reemerged, Caleb disappeared into the kitchen, saying, “I’ll make some coffee.”
Left alone with Granite Man. He handed her a stack of papers bound with a black clip.
“What’s this?” she asked, flipping through the pages as she collapsed onto Caleb’s beat-up leather chair opposite Sean, who took a seat on the matching sofa.
“A report,” he said.
Katie’s head snapped up. “Whoa. Did you just talk to me? Voluntarily?”
Sean said, “Yes.”
She had no idea what he was doing here, she didn’t know why he’d started talking to her, and she didn’t know why it made her happy. But it did.
This didn’t bode well for her ability to forget he existed.
“Will wonders never cease?”
“Juh-just read it.”
She did. She stopped wondering soon enough, distracted by the document. “This is all about Judah?”
He didn’t answer.
She read. Caleb brought two cups of coffee and left them alone in the room. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she registered the sound of the shower coming on in the master bath off his bedroom.
“How did you get this stuff?” she asked after a few minutes.
“Hacked it.”
That got her attention. “Hacked it, as in the computer kind of hacking?”
“Is there another k-k-kind?”
“You’re a hacker.” Now she was just repeating herself like a moron, but it wasn’t as if she’d ever met a hacker before. She felt like she’d dropped into a movie.
Of course, she was also being charm-stalked by a celebrity. Her life had taken a turn toward the surreal a few weeks ago. Sean turning out to be the sort of computer genius who could do shady code-slinging things probably shouldn’t surprise her. Wasn’t that what geeks did in college? Flirt with the dark side?
She could see him in her mind’s eye, hunched over a keyboard in the dark. Totalconcentration. Ruthless determination.
“I
wuh-was
a hacker,” he clarified.
“Until when, a few hours ago?”
Sean shrugged. One corner of his mouth curved up into the closest thing to a pleasant expression she’d ever seen on his face. He looked almost human.
She turned her eyes to the papers he’d brought again, but her concentration wasn’t all it should be. His voice was wrong. He sounded nervous, but he didn’t look nervous. He looked … well, she wasn’t going to think about how he looked. Not nervous, anyway.
“Why do you sound so worried when you’re not?”
The line between Sean’s eyebrows deepened into a crevasse. “I sss—” He stopped, closed his eyes, and sighed. “I have p-p-problems t-talking.”
“No, you don’t,” she said automatically.
Sean didn’t open his eyes. “I have problems t-talking to ssssome p-p-people,” he clarified.
He stuttered. That was what he’d tried to say.
Sean stuttered, but only in front of some people. “Including me?” she asked, knowing even as she said it this was a worthless question, a filler while her brain took a few more precious seconds to decide what to think about what he’d just told her.
Because she’d heard him talk to quite a few people. A dozen or more. And she’d never heard him stutter before.
When he nodded, the furrow between his eyebrows was so deep it looked painful.
“I’m sssorry,” he said. “I sh-should have t-told you.”
She wanted to ask him why.
Why didn’t you? Why do I make you stutter?
Or
Why didn’t you just say so to begin with and save me all the wondering?
It wasn’t as if she would have cared.
Stutter away!
she might have said.
Just fucking
talk
to me
.
But then he opened his eyes, and everything about him was wary, his shoulders tense and his jaw tight and storms flashing in his blue irises.
He didn’t like this. He didn’t like being here, he didn’t like talking to her, and he especially didn’t
that
good a shape. Things would fold over other things. Pieces of her would bulge unattractively. Butthey would do it underneath a T-shirt, as nature had intended.
When she reemerged, Caleb disappeared into the kitchen, saying, “I’ll make some coffee.”
Left alone with Granite Man. He handed her a stack of papers bound with a black clip.
“What’s this?” she asked, flipping through the pages as she collapsed onto Caleb’s beat-up leather chair opposite Sean, who took a seat on the matching sofa.
“A report,” he said.
Katie’s head snapped up. “Whoa. Did you just talk to me? Voluntarily?”
Sean said, “Yes.”
She had no idea what he was doing here, she didn’t know why he’d started talking to her, and she didn’t know why it made her happy. But it did.
This didn’t bode well for her ability to forget he existed.
“Will wonders never cease?”
“Juh-just read it.”
She did. She stopped wondering soon enough, distracted by the document. “This is all about Judah?”
He didn’t answer.
She read. Caleb brought two cups of coffee and left them alone in the room. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she registered the sound of the shower coming on in the master bath off his bedroom.
“How did you get this stuff?” she asked after a few minutes.
“Hacked it.”
That got her attention. “Hacked it, as in the computer kind of hacking?”
“Is there another k-k-kind?”
“You’re a hacker.” Now she was just repeating herself like a moron, but it wasn’t as if she’d ever met a hacker before. She felt like she’d dropped into a movie.
Of course, she was also being charm-stalked by a celebrity. Her life had taken a turn toward the surreal a few weeks ago. Sean turning out to be the sort of computer genius who could do shady code-slinging things probably shouldn’t surprise her. Wasn’t that what geeks did in college? Flirt with the dark side?
She could see him in her mind’s eye, hunched over a keyboard in the dark. Totalconcentration. Ruthless determination.
“I
wuh-was
a hacker,” he clarified.
“Until when, a few hours ago?”
Sean shrugged. One corner of his mouth curved up into the closest thing to a pleasant expression she’d ever seen on his face. He looked almost human.
She turned her eyes to the papers he’d brought again, but her concentration wasn’t all it should be. His voice was wrong. He sounded nervous, but he didn’t look nervous. He looked … well, she wasn’t going to think about how he looked. Not nervous, anyway.
“Why do you sound so worried when you’re not?”
The line between Sean’s eyebrows deepened into a crevasse. “I sss—” He stopped, closed his eyes, and sighed. “I have p-p-problems t-talking.”
“No, you don’t,” she said automatically.
Sean didn’t open his eyes. “I have problems t-talking to ssssome p-p-people,” he clarified.
He stuttered. That was what he’d tried to say.
Sean stuttered, but only in front of some people. “Including me?” she asked, knowing even as she said it this was a worthless question, a filler while her brain took a few more precious seconds to decide what to think about what he’d just told her.
Because she’d heard him talk to quite a few people. A dozen or more. And she’d never heard him stutter before.
When he nodded, the furrow between his eyebrows was so deep it looked painful.
“I’m sssorry,” he said. “I sh-should have t-told you.”
She wanted to ask him why.
Why didn’t you? Why do I make you stutter?
Or
Why didn’t you just say so to begin with and save me all the wondering?
It wasn’t as if she would have cared.
Stutter away!
she might have said.
Just fucking
talk
to me
.
But then he opened his eyes, and everything about him was wary, his shoulders tense and his jaw tight and storms flashing in his blue irises.
He didn’t like this. He didn’t like being here, he didn’t like talking to her, and he especially didn’t
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