Page 79 of Healer's Call

“Then don’t,” he says without skipping a beat.

I sigh. “Anybody ever tell you how difficult you are to get along with?”

“All the time.” I huff out a laugh and make my way over to his bed carrying my plate and water bottle. I stare at his bed for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to get on the bed without spilling my plate everywhere. “It’s really not that complicated,” he says in a dry voice, but he puts out his hand and takes my plate from me.

“Thank you,” I tell him as I kick off my shoes and climb onto the bed. I move a few pillows around to make it work and then turn to him.

“No, please continue. I’d love to hold your food for you all night.”

I shake my head and reach out and take my plate. “Thank you,” I say in my most pleasant voice.

“You ever get cranky?”

I choke on the water I just sipped. “What?”

“It’s not that hard of a question, Healer. You ever get mad? Irritated? You seem to only have two settings. Nice and crying.”

“I’m irritated right now,” I tell him.

He glances at my face. “Nah. You’re not. You’re trying to be mad but failing terribly.”

I shake my head and grab the controls for the tv. “You ready to see what we’re watching tonight?” I push play, and the movie starts right at the beginning because I got it all set up. I take a bite of chicken and sigh as I lean back against the pillows. I watch Maverick stop with his fork halfway to his mouth.

“No. Absolutely not.” I start laughing; it just sort of slips from my mouth. And then I can’t stop because of the expression on his face. “I’m glad you think this is so funny.” He looks so pained, I laugh again. He lifts an eyebrow. “Twilight? Really?”

I grin. “I can’t believe you actually recognize it.”

“Something else. Anything else,” he demands. “Give me the controls.” I move them to my other side, out of his reach. He narrows his eyes at me. “They’re my controls.”

“And you told me to pick something to watch.” I motion to the tv. “I picked. If you don’t like it, go somewhere else.”

His eyes narrow even more. “It’s my room.”

“I know.” I grin. He looks away, shaking his head. I grab the controls and hand them to him. “Here. I’m just messing with you.” He reaches out and plucks them from my hand.

“Payback is coming,” he mutters.

I take another bite of food. “This is really good.”

“Of course it’s good. You would know that if you ate more meals in the dining hall instead of skipping meals all the time.”

I concentrate on my food and wonder at the fact that this feels so easy right now. I’m actually having a good time with him. I almost choke on my food at that revelation. My eyes bounce over to his side of the bed for a moment and then back to my food. I wonder what things would be like if he actually chose this.Not gonna happen,I remind myself and force my thoughts tosomething else. I look back down at my plate, but my appetite is gone. I put the plate on the side table. “You done already?”

“I’m full.”

He shakes his head. “You don’t eat enough.”

“I’m fine. I’m not a wolf, remember?” Silence falls between us, and awkwardness descends for the first time tonight. I try to think of what to say to bring back that easy comradery.

“Okay. Ready for this?” he asks, shattering the silence.

I face the tv. “For what?” I ask. He starts it, and I get comfortable against pillows. We’re less than ten minutes into it when I turn to him. “Is this scary?” I whisper.

“Shh.”

“No, seriously. Is this scary? Because I don’t do scary movies,” I tell him. I watch the tv but keep a hand on the throw pillow next to me in case I need to cover my eyes. Creepy music starts to play, and I grab the pillow and pull it halfway to my face.

“What are you doing?” he asks, and I can hear the humor in his voice.

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