This feels more like normal times, and I slump back in my chair, mock-glaring at my friends, feeling more relaxed than I have in ages.
Not having my family at home sure helps, too, but I’m not gonna think about them, not now. Instead I grab the coffee pot and pour myself a full mug.
Here’s to the weekend.
“I’d better get going.” Kash stands up, grabs his black jacket from the back of the chair and shrugs it on. “Thanks for the food, Weston.”
“Call me West,” I mutter.
He nods at the table at large and turns to go. Right before he reaches the door, he stops and says, “Why do you two spar?”
Okay… Welcome to Saturday: the day of random questions.
“To build stamina and focus,” I say.
“To learn to fight back,” Nate says.
“They’re just nutjobs,” Sydney says, and grins at him. “West could teach you, though, if you wanted.”
I open my mouth to rib her about offering my services without asking first, and I really don’t expect him to reply, but he looks over his shoulder at us, his face almost… apologetic.
“Nah,” he says. “I wouldn’t wanna hurt you guys.”
What? Is he for real?
Chapter Seven
Nate
“Ignore him,” I tell West who still staring at the closed door, long after Kash went through it. “He’s kinda strange.”
“Really. Does he do martial arts?”
“No clue. But come on, man, how good could he be, anyway?”
West shrugs, jaw tense. Probably annoyed at the possibility of someone being better than him at something.
“He’s not strange,” Sydney says, stabbing at the pancake on her plate.
“You have a crush on him, Shortcake, so your opinion doesn’t count,” I snap.
“She does?” West’s neck flushes red. He turns to Sydney. “You do?”
“No, of course not.” But she won’t look at him, or me.
Dammit.
“You don’t know anything about him,” I say, not sure why I feel the need to be mean. “You only met the guy once before.”
“Twice,” she says stubbornly, pretty mouth set.
“Whatever.”
“At night. Out, on the front steps. We talked.”
My stomach twists at the thought of them talking quietly in the night while I lay in my bed, oblivious to it all. “Talking, right. What else did you do? Did you kiss him?”
Her mouth opens and closes, brows arching. “We just talked.” Red spots bloom on her cheeks.