nature. Give me a page full of numbers and a problem to solve and I’m good. Don’t ask me to paint or draw or God forbid, dance.”
I leaned closer to Grant. “Want to learn how to crochet?”
“I’m pretty sure that’s a skill I can live without.”
“When the zombie apocalypse comes I’ll have scarves and blankets. You’ll be dependent on whatever is already in your house.”
“That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
“Are you sure?” I held out the six inches of multi-colored scarf I’d crocheted so far. “I think you’d look lovely in a sweater made from this yarn.”
“Nope. It’s against guy-code to wear that many colors at once.”
I laughed. Hanging out with Grant like this was fun. He may not be boyfriend material, but he was entertaining.
When the conversation slowed, Delia stood and grabbed her painting. “I’m going to put this back on the wall for someone else to finish.”
I looked at my off-kilter scarf.
“Shouldn’t each row be the same width?” Grant asked.
“I prefer a free-form method. Besides, someone can unravel it and fix it if they want.” After putting my project in the yarn area, and returning to the table, I said, “This was fun.”
“Sorry about the time mix-up,” Grant said.
“It all worked out in the end,” I said. And it had, in a non-date way, which was the way it was supposed to work. “See you guys later.” I headed for the door, leaving Delia to say her goodbyes. She joined me before my feet hit the bottom step of the front porch but waited until we were in my car to speak.
“That was fun in a weird platonic sort of way.”
“Yeah, there was a definite lack of flirting this evening.” It was like Grant had pitched camp on the other side of the dating line and he didn’t want to cross it.
“I guess we’ll just wait and see if anything interesting happens,” Delia said.
Chapter Nine
Zoe
I spotted Aiden and Delia drinking coffee together on the quad. Delia held two coffees, one of which should be for me, so she maintained her status as my best friend. Grant wasn’t in the immediate area. Not that I was looking for him, but I thought it was a good idea to keep tabs on him to avoid any awkwardness.
Delia toasted my approach with one of the coffee cups and stepped away from Aiden. “Wait until you try this.”
“As long as it’s coffee, I’m good.” I took a sip and tasted hot cocoa with a hint of coffee. “What is this?”
“It’s the only way I drink coffee,” Aiden said. “Half cocoa half coffee. That way it kills the coffee flavor.”
“It’s good.” The downside to this concoction…did it only have half the caffeine? Because I was pretty sure I’d miss the normal amount.
The tone for first hour sounded. I shuffled along with the horde of half-awake students to first hour, congratulating myself on not asking Aiden where Grant might be.
Lena seemed half asleep during class, which was fine by me. Delia and I ate lunch together sans any males, friend or otherwise. And then it was off to Foods. Grant came to class late looking like he’d just rolled out of bed. I’d never seen him looking less than stellar, which made me think something had to be wrong.
Grant gave Ms. Ida a note and came to sit at our normal table.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
He nodded, but didn’t say anything. I recognized his expression. It was the same one Jack had worn after my dad and grandfather passed away. His lips were tight. His eyes were narrowed.
I reached over and squeezed his forearm. “I know something is wrong. You don’t have to share details, but I can listen if you need to talk.”
He nodded, but didn’t meet my gaze. Ms. Ida sent us back to our kitchens with instructions to measure out ingredients for mac ’n cheese. Not difficult. I filled the Ziploc bags and passed them off to Grant so he could write on them with a blue sharpie.
We were cleaning up when his cell beeped. He pulled it out and read a text. His
I leaned closer to Grant. “Want to learn how to crochet?”
“I’m pretty sure that’s a skill I can live without.”
“When the zombie apocalypse comes I’ll have scarves and blankets. You’ll be dependent on whatever is already in your house.”
“That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
“Are you sure?” I held out the six inches of multi-colored scarf I’d crocheted so far. “I think you’d look lovely in a sweater made from this yarn.”
“Nope. It’s against guy-code to wear that many colors at once.”
I laughed. Hanging out with Grant like this was fun. He may not be boyfriend material, but he was entertaining.
When the conversation slowed, Delia stood and grabbed her painting. “I’m going to put this back on the wall for someone else to finish.”
I looked at my off-kilter scarf.
“Shouldn’t each row be the same width?” Grant asked.
“I prefer a free-form method. Besides, someone can unravel it and fix it if they want.” After putting my project in the yarn area, and returning to the table, I said, “This was fun.”
“Sorry about the time mix-up,” Grant said.
“It all worked out in the end,” I said. And it had, in a non-date way, which was the way it was supposed to work. “See you guys later.” I headed for the door, leaving Delia to say her goodbyes. She joined me before my feet hit the bottom step of the front porch but waited until we were in my car to speak.
“That was fun in a weird platonic sort of way.”
“Yeah, there was a definite lack of flirting this evening.” It was like Grant had pitched camp on the other side of the dating line and he didn’t want to cross it.
“I guess we’ll just wait and see if anything interesting happens,” Delia said.
Chapter Nine
Zoe
I spotted Aiden and Delia drinking coffee together on the quad. Delia held two coffees, one of which should be for me, so she maintained her status as my best friend. Grant wasn’t in the immediate area. Not that I was looking for him, but I thought it was a good idea to keep tabs on him to avoid any awkwardness.
Delia toasted my approach with one of the coffee cups and stepped away from Aiden. “Wait until you try this.”
“As long as it’s coffee, I’m good.” I took a sip and tasted hot cocoa with a hint of coffee. “What is this?”
“It’s the only way I drink coffee,” Aiden said. “Half cocoa half coffee. That way it kills the coffee flavor.”
“It’s good.” The downside to this concoction…did it only have half the caffeine? Because I was pretty sure I’d miss the normal amount.
The tone for first hour sounded. I shuffled along with the horde of half-awake students to first hour, congratulating myself on not asking Aiden where Grant might be.
Lena seemed half asleep during class, which was fine by me. Delia and I ate lunch together sans any males, friend or otherwise. And then it was off to Foods. Grant came to class late looking like he’d just rolled out of bed. I’d never seen him looking less than stellar, which made me think something had to be wrong.
Grant gave Ms. Ida a note and came to sit at our normal table.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
He nodded, but didn’t say anything. I recognized his expression. It was the same one Jack had worn after my dad and grandfather passed away. His lips were tight. His eyes were narrowed.
I reached over and squeezed his forearm. “I know something is wrong. You don’t have to share details, but I can listen if you need to talk.”
He nodded, but didn’t meet my gaze. Ms. Ida sent us back to our kitchens with instructions to measure out ingredients for mac ’n cheese. Not difficult. I filled the Ziploc bags and passed them off to Grant so he could write on them with a blue sharpie.
We were cleaning up when his cell beeped. He pulled it out and read a text. His
Similar Books
