Page 56 of Muted

“Chocolate?”

Two squeezes.

“Seriously? Who the hell doesn’t like chocolate?” He sounds affronted, so I look up and glare at him. I don’t likeanyice cream. It makes my fucking teeth hurt. He’d know my answer if he didn’t ask me two questions at once the first time.

“You’ve got to like cookie dough then, right?”

Two. Squeezes. And this time, I do them pointedly while still glaring, and finally understanding crosses his face.

“Ahh, you don’t like ice cream?”

I squeeze his hand once,hard. He barks out a laugh and finally releases the hold he has on my arm without letting go of my hand. I try to stretch my fingers in his grasp, which he allows for only a moment before readjusting our interlocked fingers to be more comfortable.

“So un-American of you. Do you like any dessert?” He’s resumed his position where his head is leaned against his headrest with his head tilted toward me. I’m still glaring when I do another single squeeze.

“Huh. Well, this is sort of a fun game, don’t you think?” He opens his mouth again, but I answer his question anyway.

Two squeezes. I’mnotenjoying this.Lies, I secretly am, but I refuse to admit it to him right now. But Chester needs to be brought down a notch from his high-handedness. He also needs to realize that even though Idon’ttalk, it doesn’t mean I’m not going to be a snarky shit if he annoys me.

His laughter booms through the car right as the red haze from the taillights over his face flickers. We both look out the front window to notice that the car in front of us is rolling forward. Chester puts the car in drive, only for us to drive for about thirty seconds before we all stop once again.

He sighs as he puts it into park. Tugging at his beard, I know he’s thinking about his next pointless question. “Do you like cake?”

Sighing, I squeeze twice again. I’m really not a sweets person, to be honest. But there is one thing I do like.

“Cookies?”

Two squeezes.

“Comeon, Susu. Do you likeanythingsweet?”

One squeeze, and my lip ticks up before I rein it in.Okay, maybe this is a little humorous.He side-eyes me, probably catching my almost smile, but whatever. Let him play his games.

He thinks for a moment, then smacks his thigh. “Pie!”

This time, I do smile, but I look out the window to hide it. I feel him as he leans toward me, but when his finger hooks under my chin to turn my face back toward him, it falls away.

“It’s pie, isn’t it?”

Forcing down a gulp, I tighten my hand once, noticing that my palm is beginning to sweat slightly from the heat of his body. I attempt to stretch my fingers again, which he lets me do, but then he regains his hold.

“I’m not going to list out all the flavors because I feel like you probably only like one kind. Am I right?”

Yuuuuup. I squeeze, holding on a little longer this time.

Chuckling, he leans back, dropping his hand from my face, which disappoints me more than it should.Jesus. I’m on a fucking rollercoaster of emotions tonight.

Chester flashes me a soft smile, then puts his car back into drive because it looks like we might start moving again soon. Resting his free hand on top of the steering wheel, he thrums his thumb to the beat of the music, just now noticing he’s lowered in volume. Clearly, he’s thinking of his next question.

With a quick glance in my direction, he asks, “Are you from this area originally?”

I hesitate.Fuck. Today has been such a long day. I can’t remember what city I wrote on my application, but I’m almost positive it wasn’tthistown, so I squeeze his hand twice to tell him no. Then, before he asks his next, I grip his hand three times rapidly.

“What does three mean?” he asks, so I point to him and raise a brow in question. “Ahh, are you asking the same for me?”

One squeeze, because yes, I want to know if he’s from here as well. Tit for tat at this point. Why should I be the only one telling him everything about myself without getting his answers as well?

“Iamfrom the area. I left for a while after college but ended up coming back home after about five years to be closer to my parents.” He pauses a moment, and I shake his hand to get him to continue.

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