“Hey,” I say, walking in his direction. I fumble with the cuffs of the sleeves as they hang over my hands.
“Hi. I’m sorry to show up like this.”
“It’s fine. I’m a little surprised. After last night, I thought…” I shake my head deciding not to finish the thought.
“Last night I messed up. I wasn’t thinking. Koa said he would check on you and take you home and I accepted it. I should have been the one doing that. I’m a day late but I’m checking on you now. I’ve brought breakfast and an apology.”
“Tell me what you have in there and I might consider forgiving you.”
“I got Nash to help me. He said you really loved the chopped smoked salmon bagel from The Round Table,” he says, lifting the brown bag.
I stack our mail and a few books I’ve left covering the small breakfast bar in our kitchen and push the clutter to the side. “Have a seat.” I gesture toward one of the bar stools.
He digs two bagel sandwiches out of the bag while I get us both a glass of water.
“Your brother knows you well,” he says, watching me savor the first bite of the delicious bagel.
“He does. But you didn’t come over here to talk about my brother.”
“I didn’t. I handled everything wrong last night. I’m really sorry. When Nash explained why you were so upset, I realized I should have done more. You were joking about the incident from your childhood. If I had known how hurt it made you, I would have told them to cut it out.”
“I appreciate it. To be honest, I didn’t expect to panic like that either. It kind of came out of nowhere.” I probably wouldn’t have if Koa wasn’t there. He is the catalyst for most of my emotions.
“Are you doing okay now?” He wipes the corner of his mouth with a napkin and crumples it in his hand.
“I am much better. I don’t think I’ll be going bowling for a while, but I’m good. I’m sorry for leaving the way I did. I was embarrassed.”
“I understand but your gutter ball was long forgotten when Trevor got a little overzealous and threw the ball so hard he slipped and fell flat on his back.”
“He didn’t?” I gasp.
“Oh he did. I think Julia has it on video. I’ll ask her to send it to you.”
“Poor guy. But also, please do,” I say, making him laugh. When I take a bite of my bagel, too much tears off forcingme to lean forward to avoid a mess. I attempt to gracefully chew the oversized bite.
“I will.” He glances at me. “You have…” He points to my face. I wipe at the cream cheese or whatever it is on my face with my finger. “Let me,” he offers when I miss it.
His thumb tenderly grazes the corner of my mouth. My eyes stay locked on him and the way he stares at my lips. He lifts his eyes to mine before dropping back to my mouth.
“What did I tell you about locking the door?” Koa scolds, barging into the dorm without knocking and startling me.
“Got it,” Joe says, ignoring Koa’s presence.
“What’s going on here?” Koa asks, his eyes bouncing between me and Joe.
“I brought Sydney breakfast. What are you doing here?” Joe counters. “I didn’t realize you two were the type of friends who had an open door policy.” His tone is laced with irritation.
“We aren’t,” I say.
“I don’t know about that. Not too long ago you let yourself in my house and were waiting for me to get home,” Koa says.
“That is not what I was doing and you know it,” I seethe. Koa smirks and that angers me further. “Besides the fact that he lives with my brother, my roommate is dating Hart,” I explain to Joe. “I was there with Lauren helping her make dinner.”
“You helped? If that’s the case, why didn’t the house catch fire? She struggles making toast. Good thing you decided to order in this morning.” Koa reaches across the counter andtears a piece of my bagel in half and stuffs it in his mouth. “This is good,” he says, licking his thumb.
“Room. Now,” I demand. I am beyond livid with him. He’s trying to make me look bad. I wish I knew why. “I’ll be in there when I’m done.” I glare at him.
I expect him to be mad that I’ve sent him away. Instead, he smiles and slips off his shoes. “I’ll go make myself comfortable. Enjoy the rest of your breakfast.”
