He grinned. “You were a bitch sometimes back then.”
“I was not!”
He nodded. “When you talked about Rhonda—” He stopped and shook his head. “I’m really sorry. That was a shitty thing to do. I was so mixed up. I felt miserable, but I thought our parents were smart, you know? And Rhonda, she was a real bitch. She kept trying to say bad stuff about you, so we left that Valentine’s dance early and I took her home. Then I went driving for a while, just trying to clear my head.”
That memory still stung. Especially when Rhonda had hinted, oh so snidely, that she and Josh had left early and gone to her home.
Josh was staring now at the empty donair bag. “I think…I think I kinda knew I’d messed up, and that it had been the wrong thing to do. But I knew you wouldn’t forgive me anyway.”
I swallowed a noise in my throat. That anger and hurt back then had been the only thing that got me through.
Josh shook his head and looked back at me. “I’d really like it if you’d give me a chance to be your friend.” He gestured at the wrappers. “We can do things like this, stuff from home. And…”
“And?”
His grin was back. I shouldn’t have given him that inch.
“Maybe watch some Star Wars stuff? Have you kept up with that?”
I crossed my arms. “What if I have?”
“And that new Lord of the Rings series. I bet you’ve watched it at least twice.”
Three times, actually. “Maybe. Did you watch it?”
“Yeah. We have time to kill when we’re traveling. What do you think about that Sauron guy?”
I frowned. “That’s not what’s in the books.”
“No?”
“I know you didn’t read them, but in the Silmarillion…”
An hour later, Josh left. After he’d suckered me into expounding on my favorite TED Talk, we’d discussed TV shows. And then what it had been like for him in Nashville before he was traded to Toronto. And I finally made him leave because I had homework. I’d totally forgotten about the upcoming confrontation with my parents and just gone with the flow. He’d always been good at that—untangling my worries by just being him.
I still had to work out what I was going to do about my parents, but I wasn’t as tense now. My head was clearer. That was thanks to him.
I guessed we were friends now. Were we? He’d kind of Joshed me into it, and I’d given him my phone number.
But without him distracting me, was that what I wanted?
Chapter 7
You Have Much to Learn, Padawan
Josh
I was in a great mood when I got back to my condo. Katie was talking to me, the donairs had been spectacular, and Fitch was making a late dinner. Two donairs didn’t fuel a hockey player, so this was excellent.
“Hey, you got extra?”
He rolled his eyes as he turned down the heat. “Of course I have extra. But didn’t you say you were picking something up when you were out?”
I opened the cupboard to get out the plates. “Yeah, but it was just a couple of donairs. I’m still hungry.”
“What are—never mind. Let’s eat.”
He plated the stir-fry he’d put together. He was an awesome cook. When Cooper had asked if I wanted another roommate after Bongo got his own place, I’d said yes immediately. I liked people, got along with almost everyone, and didn’t like being alone. Once I found out how well Fitchy cooked, I made a deal where I’d get the groceries and clean up if he’d prepare the meals. Even though he was ten years older than me, we were working out great as roommates.
