Page 64 of The Friendly Fall

I raise my brows in surprise. “You really think so?”

No one has ever thought my nerdy family was anything other than, well …nerdy.

“Yeah, come on!” He grabs my hand and whisks me away to the living room—in order to keep up, I have to jog. Nick plops down onto the end of the couch, and in a moment of pure clumsiness, I landrightin his lap.

Ifreeze, our gazes locking as the warmth of his body encompasses mine. I try to ignore the way my heart’s pounding. My hands are trembling, and my stomach is swirling…

He’s so close, his face only inches from mine, and Iwanthim even closer.

What’s happening?

“Sorry,” he mumbles, releasing my hand.

I shake my head, not letting his eyes go. “Don’t be. I’m just a klutz.”

He chuckles, a smile tugging at his lips. “Well, for the record—”

“Aw, look at you two.” Granny’s voice interrupts the moment.

My eyes go wide as my face heats up, and I slide to the side of Nick, disappointed and confused. I look up at Granny, who’s got the most curious look on her face. She’s probably wonderingwhywe were sitting like that when there was no one to pretend in front of. Nick’s eyes are on his hands, and I can’t seem to catch them before my parents join us.

The game of charades goes just as smooth as dinner did. Nick iskillingit, and I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard in my entire life. The man has no shame, and no problem acting like a total goof—even in front of my entire family. The sincerity in the way he does things is just …amazing.

“Okay, last one, here we go.” Nick takes a deep breath, before beginning to act out the word he drew from the bowl. He starts wobbling and jiggling, his body contorting in exaggerated movements.

He looks like a melted candle, and I can’t help but burst into uncontrollable laughter. His efforts are so over-the-top, it’s impossible not to be entertained at the sheer ridiculousness of his performance.

“A seizure!” I yell out, trying to guess the word.

Nick shakes his head, dissatisfied with my answer, and switches tactics. Now he is scooping his hand in an imaginary jar and running it through his hair, attempting to mold his locks into a mohawk shape. He points to the imaginary jar.

“Hair gel?” I suggest, earning a nod from Nick before he continues with his performance.

He holds his arms high above his head in a circular motion, causing my mom to shout out her guess: “The sun! Bleaching your hair in the sun!” She applauds herself proudly as Nick squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head, unable to contain his laughter now.

But still determined to get us to guess correctly, he starts the circular motion again and throws in some ridiculous body shakes for good measure, all while laughing uncontrollably.

“Ooooooh! It’s Jell-o!” I squeal out, finally guessing correctly and adding to the chorus of laughter filling the room.

“Yes! You got it!” Nick nods triumphantly amidst his chuckles, happy that we have all been thoroughly entertained.

Granny claps her hands together with a big grin on her face. “That was a spectacle!” she exclaims, wiping her tears from laughing so hard.

Nick takes a small bow while still grinning widely. “Thank you, thank you. I’ll be here all week.”

“You’re good at this, Nick,” my dad says to him as the game ends. “You belong at our Thanksgiving charades. You took it up a notch.”

“Thank you. Hopefully, I’ll be back for many, many more to come.” His gaze clicks with mine for a split second, but not long enough for me to read his expression. “But, um.” His eyes drop to his watch—hisnon-smart watch. “I probably should get going. It’s getting kind of late, and the store has its Black Friday sale tomorrow.”

“Oh,” Mom says in a disappointed voice as she fixes her hair up into a ponytail. “Well, I hate to see you go already, but we sure are glad you joined us tonight. I couldn’t be happier about you and Eliza.”

He nods. “Thank you. I’m happy too.”

Everyone says their goodbyes, and I get up to walk him out. Granny, however, grabs him before we make it to the door.

“Nick, you did really great tonight.” Granny’s expression is soft, and almost…sympathetic?

“Thanks, Ms. Marilyn,” Nick replies, his voice dropping down a few notches. It’s a notable change, and it hits me as a sobering reminder…

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