Page 38 of It Was Always You

"Let's teach you a new life skill, okay?" Lexi said. She taught me how much detergent to use, and then showed me the little compartment to put it in.

"It's probably a good thing I didn't try going to the laundromat today. I probably would've broken all the machines."

She smiled and pushed the detergent compartment shut, her shoulder brushing against my chest with the movement.

I stilled, not used to my body having a reaction to her. I wasn't supposed to feelactualsparks with Lexi. She seemed to notice something too, because when she moved back she was careful not to touch me again.

She laughed awkwardly. "I don't think even you could mess it up that bad."

I chuckled uncomfortably, suddenly aware of how small their laundry room was and how close we werestanding to each other because of it. Was she wearing that pomegranate and mango bodywash I'd used earlier?

I shook my head—I couldn’t be thinking about this right now. "You'd be surprised at how good I am at messing up things." I was about the last person who would ever have the Midas Touch. Pretty much everything I touched turned to mud instead of gold.

"Now you just separate your clothes into different loads and shut the door. It's not too difficult."

"Separate them?" How? Like all my pants in one pile and t-shirts in another? Or was it more like all the blue-colored shirts went with my green ones because they were kind of close to the same color? Did it matter if I put stripes in with the solids?

When I just stood there paralyzed by the task, she put her hands on her hips. "Just put all your colored clothes in one pile and any whites you have in another."

I dug through my duffel bag. Everything in there was pretty dang colorful, so I just shoved them into one load and wiped my hands together. "Well, that was easy."

Lexi chuckled and pushed a couple of buttons on the machine. Before I knew it, I had washed my first load of laundry.

I followed her back into the kitchen. "Is that really all there is to doing laundry? Am I, like, a pro now?" I sat on the barstool in the center of their kitchen. I loved the feel in their home. Even though it was run by a former drillsergeant, it was still a homey place. I felt welcomed there.

"Just wait till you have to fold the laundry and put it away. That's when the real work starts. Anyone can just drop a load in the washing machine."

I shrugged. "Lucky for me I'm living out of a duffel bag, so I can pretty much just shove it in there and call it good. Bet you wish you could do that."

She rolled her eyes and opened the fridge. "Maybe I should try out this whole sleeping-in-your-car thing. Just think of all the time I could save."

I laughed. "Yeah, wouldn't that be a great addition to our scheme. Raven and Harrison would go crazy if they found out we were sleeping in my car together."

She turned back to me and gasped. "You know that's not what I meant."

I winked at her, unable to resist a chance to make her squirm. "Yeah, but just think how much warmer I'd be with you close by. I'd even be a thoughtful boyfriend and let you share my sleeping bags."

She shook her head and turned back to the fridge. "Onlyyouwould dare suggest a thing like that."

"Well, at least you know that if you were to ever get stranded with me in the middle of a blizzard, I've got you covered."

13

LEXI

Easton,Noah, and I had all been sitting at the kitchen table for a couple of hours after dinner when my brother stretched and yawned. Easton said, "Well, I think I'm gonna head to bed."

Noah checked the clock on the wall behind him. "It's only eight-thirty. You're really going to bed this early?"

Easton shrugged and slapped his book shut. "I'm going to try to turn into an early bird. Mercedes was just talking to me about this book that she was reading about how much more productive you are when you wake up early. I figured I'd give it a shot."

"Like one of those self-help type of books?" Noah asked, disbelief written all over his face.

"Aren't those, like, old people books?" I asked.

Easton scooted his seat away from the table. "They'refor people who care about their future. And I care about mine."

"You sure it’s not to just impress your almost-girlfriend?" I asked skeptically. Easton was always doing things like that to impress the girl he liked.

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