Page 39 of Minor Trouble
The organizer called everyone to attention, and the trivia night started. For the next couple of hours, I was squashed between Lyla and Pepper as we tried as hard as we could to answer the questions. Despite having a broad range of knowledge between the six of us, we were at a loss every round—even the pop culture one. We finished a disappointing sixth place, and the mood around the table dipped, which was not helped when Seth announced it was time to take Pepper home.
“If I don’t get Pepper home by ten, Kaley is never going to speak to me again.” He stood up. “Come on, kids, shake a leg.”
“What about you, Ainsley? Do you want to stay for another drink?” Lyla held up the empty wine bottle.
I faked a yawn. “I’m pretty tired actually. Seth, do you think you could give me a ride home?”
“You got it.” He offered his hand to help me up.
The close contact I’d craved all evening warmed right through me. I’d missed seeing him, spending time with him, and all the feelings I thought I ought to suppress bubbled over when he released me. I needed to take Marlena’s advice and see if this could become anything.
“If you’re free over the weekend, maybe we could grab a coffee?” Lyla suggested.
“Sounds good. I can fill you in on the latest prom committee gossip.” I grinned as Lyla rolled her eyes.
“Come on, I don’t want to lose brownie points with Kaley.” Seth nudged my shoulder. “We should get going.”
I said my goodbyes to Lyla and Maddox and followed Seth into the parking lot. The four of us got into his truck, me in the passenger seat, Noah and Pepper in the back. The two of them chatted quietly as we drove back to Pepper’s place. Glad she’d had a good night out, I hoped she wouldn’t have any grief when she got home. The driveway held only one car, which I assumed to be Kaley’s.
“I’ll see you in school next week.” I turned to Pepper in the backseat. “But if you’re having a tough time, you know where I am.”
“Thanks, Ms. Coren.” She gave me a weak smile. “Have a good weekend.”
Seth went up to the front door with Pepper, leaving Noah and I alone in the car.
“How’s she really doing?” I asked him.
He shrugged. “She was pretty upset tonight when we picked her up. I think saying goodbye to her dad really hurt.”
It struck me that Noah may not have had the opportunity to say a proper goodbye to his mom, and Pepper’s experiences were dredging up memories he didn’t want to deal with. I made a mental note to talk to Seth about it to make sure he was dealing with it properly.
“Right, one last stop and then we can get home,” said Seth, getting back into the truck. “I promised Noah we could watchThe Matrixtonight, because he got an A on his latest science project? Did you know?”
“Really? Noah, that’s fantastic! Well done.” I was delighted to hear it. It looked like moving those classes around had paid off after all. “And that’s a good choice. I love that movie.”
Seth cocked an eyebrow. “The movie or Keanu Reeves?”
“What can I say? I’m a sucker for a guy in dark glasses and a leather coat.”
“Do you want to watch it with us?”
“I’d love to.”
Instead of going back to the garage to watch the film, I suggested they come to mine. It was closer, and I had a sofa and two armchairs. While the thought of snuggling up next to Seth was appealing, having his son on the same couch wasn’t.
As it was, Noah curled up in one of the armchairs, pretending to watch the film while simultaneously scrolling through his phone or falling asleep. Seth and I sat resolutely at each end of the sofa, sneaking glances at each other when we thought Noah wouldn’t see.
A guttural snore emanated from Noah’s chair. Seth got up and went over to him, gently shaking him awake. “Hey buddy, if you’re tired, we can go.”
Noah stretched and yawned. “I’m fine. I want to see what happens.”
I paused the movie. “If you want, the bed in the spare room is made up. You can have a nap there while we finish watching.”
He looked at his dad. “Can I?”
Seth shrugged. “If that’s what you want.”
“Cool.” Making sure he had his phone, Noah left the room, pulling the door shut behind him.
