Page 79 of Red Zone
I swing the door open, and there she is—hood up, red curls escaping in wisps around her face, cheeks pink from the cooler weather, or maybe from nerves. She’s holding a grocery bag like it might bite her.
“You came,” I say, stepping aside.
She gives me a flat look. “Don’t make it weird.”
I grin and take the bag from her, peeking inside. “Ice cream? I told you I’d cover the snacks this time, but I won’t complain.”
“Don’t push it, Hayes.”
I toss the ice cream and whatever other mystery snacks she brought into the freezer, then shut the door with my foot.
Turning to face her, I clap my hands together. “All right, Red. What do you want for round one?”
Her brow lifts. “Wow. Forward. No warm-up? No small talk?”
I smirk. “I meant snacks.”
She steps in closer, that wicked little glint in her eyes. “You sure about that?”
Jesus. My brain short-circuits for half a second.
I blink. “Okay, that’s…not what I had in mind, but—look, I’m not saying no.”
She laughs, all smug and amused, and grabs a bag of chips off the counter. “Relax. Keep it in your pants, quarterback.”
“Hard to, especially when you say shit like that,” I mutter under my breath, following her toward the stairs.
She glances over her shoulder. “You coming?”
I catch the double meaning. I know she knows what she’s doing.
Two can play that game.
“Not until you do,” I shoot back.
She snorts and nearly chokes on her laughter. “God, you’re exhausting.”
“And yet, here you are.”
“Temporary insanity.”
We head upstairs with snacks in hand, and I flip through the streaming apps while she tucks herself into the corner of my bed.
“What happened to me getting the remote?” she asks as she finishes making herself comfortable.
“Well, I figured since you ended up bringing snacks, that means I get the remote.”
She rolls her eyes, but doesn’t argue, that almost there smile ghosting her lips.
Eventually, we settle on a movie neither of us will probably remember—something with explosions and bad one-liners. But the snacks are good, and her knee keeps bumping mine.
She’s close enough that I can feel her warmth, hear her breathing shift when something in the movie makes her laugh.
It feels like something I could get used to.
She tosses a piece of popcorn at me, and of course, I catch it in my mouth like the elite athlete I am.
She rolls her eyes. “Show-off.”
