Page 40 of Absolute Certainty
She nodded rapidly. “Yes! Next one, a whodunnit. Please and thank you,” she declared.
A slow, sweet smile rose along his lips. “Okay,” he said.
Sahar tilted her head to the side. “And maybe a romance sprinkled into it?”
She caught him trying not to roll his eyes.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
“Hater,” she mumbled, putting the last of her salmon roll into her mouth.
Jay grabbed a piece of calamari and leaned closer to her. “What was that?”
She chewed. “You heard me.”
“I’m not a romance hater, sunshine.”
There it was again—that endearment.Sunshine.
No one had ever called her that before. She thought he was joking when he first said it. But this was now the third time Jay had called her that, shortly after he’d deemed her someone who brought some sort of light to people.
Was he like this with everyone? Why did it make her insides feel all mushy—rearranged and right?”
Stop being such a hopeless romantic. He’s just being nice. It doesn’t and shouldn’t mean anything.
Sahar dismissed the unwanted thoughts. “I’m teasing. I know you’re not. Plus, you’re giving me what might be my favorite romantic relationship in a while, so thank you for that.”
“Henry and Katherine?”
“Mhm,” she agreed.
“You really care about them that much?” he asked.
She took another sip of her water. “I really do. I’m a big romance reader, but I haven’t been able to read for the past three months, so they’re currently filling that void in my heart.”
She couldn’t tell him that the reason she’d stopped reading was that, instead of making her happy, romance novels were now making her feel weird and more dejected. They were a reminder of the fact that all her previous beliefs about love were untrue and unattainable.
“Why haven’t you been able to read?”
Sahar thought of ways to dodge the truth, but Jay was looking at her as though he knew there was a legitimate reason behind her reading slump.
“For starters, I tried playingHalo 2again because Ethan and Dec got backinto it,and I hate it. I don’t know why I keep trying.”
“I’ve never even tried,” he noted.
“You’re better off. It drives me bonkers. I’d much rather go back toDread Quest. Speaking of, is there an official release date yet?”
She briefly recalled the moment he’d first shared theDread Questcode with her a few months ago, telling her about how his friend developed it, and how he was certain she’d like it. She hadn’t thought of it as a big deal then, but now, she wondered if his decision to share the game with her meant something more.
His eyes lit up a bit. “Yeah, September 27.”
“Ooh, excellent. I’ll have to tell the boys and Naomi. She’s also into gaming.”
Jay glanced at her for a beat, took a sip of his water, and then spoke. “Gaming, soccer, movies, TV, romance novels…what are you not into?”
Sahar mulled over the question. “Camping. I love the outdoors temporarily, but I need a clean bed and bathroom at the end of the night. Gambling makes absolutely no sense to me. I spook easily, so no horror or anything with legitimate jump scares. Though I’ll watch a slasher film occasionally if I know what’s coming.”
He dipped his chin up and down, taking in her words. “Same to all of that, though I don’t spook easily. And now we need to discuss knowing what’s coming. Sahar, that ruins the whole purpose. You might as well not watch,” he rebutted.
