Lip Service (Private Relations 2)

Chris stared at her for a moment, and then shook his head.

“I’m going to try not to find that statement really offensive,” he said, reaching into the fridge.

Chris put the six-pack inside, grabbed a Coke, and passed it to her, along with the pizza rolls.

“Thanks for the pizza rolls,” he said.

Grabbing a beer for himself, he twisted off the top then he turned and walked back into the living room without another word.

Chloe blinked a few times, completely unsure about what just happened. He seemed pissed at her. What had she said?

Chloe put the pizza rolls back in the freezer, then grabbed some nachos and headed back to the living room. Deacon had sprawled out on the recliner, and Sara had commandeered the love seat. Moving to the far end of the couch where Chris sat, she set her beer on the coaster, and balanced the nachos on her lap.

As if immediately sensing the presence of food, Smitty, Sara’s cat, scurried out from his hiding place beside the couch and stood there expectantly. He hopped up on the couch, leaned forward to sniff the food on her plate, then gave a displeased yowl and ran into the bedroom.

She was really not having any luck with guys today.

She was feeling incredibly uncomfortable by this point because Chris hadn’t even looked at her since she’d come back in the room. Taking a bite, she said, “Shit. These are really good, Sara.”

Stretching her arm out, she passed her plate to Chris, trying to break the tension.

“Want some?”

He looked at the plate and then slowly raised his eyes to hers. He paused for a moment, considering, and then said, “For me? You shouldn’t have,” as he yanked the plate out of her hand.

“Not all of them, jerk. Just a few!”

Grinning, he said, “You probably shouldn’t have handed me the whole plate then.”

Her voice laced with sarcasm, she said, “No, no. You keep that. I’ll go get more.”

Walking back into the kitchen, Chloe grabbed another plate for herself, adding a quesadilla this time.

Moving back to her spot on the couch, she realized that Chris had turned his body sideways, and was looking a lot less angry with her now, which was a relief.

Still. What the hell had that been about?

The next two hours of football were uneventful. It was a preseason game, though, so it was essentially meaningless. About three quarters of the way through, she looked over at Deacon and he was asleep. Looking back at Sara, she was texting. Chris was playing with his phone.

She took a few impromptu photos then decided it was time to go.

Chloe stood up and said, “Preseason games blow. I think I’m gonna get going.”

Chris looked up at her and said, “You’re right. I think I’m gonna head out too. Deacon is napping like an old man. Sara looks bored to tears. I’ve been playing trivia for an hour. My battery is running low. I vote that we adjourn Sunday Football meetings until regular season.”

Deacon continued to nap, and Sara stood up and said, “Thank god, I can finally turn off this game. I love you guys, but I really want to nap. I’ve been dying over here.”

Laughing, Chloe said, “It was lovely to see you too.”

Walking into the kitchen, she tossed her empty Coke and the paper plates into the trash. Calling out to the living room, she said, “Do you want me to help put away the food?”

Sara called out, “Nah. Just leave it. I’ll put it away in a minute.”

Walking back out to the living room, she lingered for a minute, then grabbed her purse. Giving Sara a hug, she said, “Tell Deacon I said bye whenever he wakes up.”

Chris snorted and said, “You must be wearing him out, Sara.”

Flushing, she grinned and said, “See ya, guys.”