Page 22 of No Place Like Home
“Well, of course. Everyone needs their veggies,” he said.
“Where’s Summer?” my mother grumbled.
Just then the door opened, and Summer walked in. “Hey everyone.” She briefly caught my eyes before she turned away, but enough tension passed between us that I knew we were on shaky ground. Great. Our friendship will forever be screwed up because of that almost-kiss.
My mother placed salad on Summer’s plate. “Well, I’m glad you’re here, Summer. I was worried you wouldn’t be coming. I’m guessing you’ll take salad?”
“Of course,” she said as she sat down. “Everyone has to have their veggies.”
I glanced around the table. “All of you? Really” I asked.
Three pairs of eyes looked at me, with questioning.
My mom used the dressing and passed it to Summer. “Here you go.”
“Thank you, Tonya,” Summer said.
I watched the interaction between the two of them while I slowly ate my salad. They both poured dressing the same way and started eating their salad after cutting the leaves into smaller bites. Their actions were so much alike. I glanced at Terry, but he was too busy eating and wasn’t paying attention. Suddenly they both looked up and their eyes made contact with mine.
“Need something?” my mother asked, brows raised.
“Got a problem?” Summer asked at the same time. I tried to hold her gaze, but she looked back down at her food.
My mother glanced between the two of us while I sighed heavily. “Am I missing something?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. “It’s suddenly pretty damn chilly in here.”
Summer shook her head and looked at my mom but blatantly ignored me. “Nope. Not missing a thing, Tonya.” She put her fork down. “That lasagna smells amazing. What are you waiting for? Get it cut. I can’t wait any longer.” Summer raised her empty plate, and my mom looked between us once more.
I huffed and fixed my stare on my salad, stabbed my lettuce and shoved a forkful into my mouth. Frustration filled my gut. I didn’t know why I was thinking everything would be like normal when I saw Summer again after what happened this afternoon. I knew her like I knew the back of my hand. I shouldn’t have been surprised that she was acting cold and aloof. I took some deep breaths. Maybe I should practice the Shit-nee, or whatever the hell it was my mom was doing earlier.
My mother filled our plates with large slices of lasagna. I thanked her and ate. The three of them held the conversation while I chewed and swallowed. Summer was avoiding making eye contact with me, and the longer we sat at the table, the more irritated I became. I stabbed at my lasagna and scraped my fork with my teeth. Summer hated that grating sound. Maybe I could force her to acknowledge me.
Another forkful—scrape. I glanced at her. She wouldn’t be able to ignore this forever. I knew her too well. She kept her headdeliberately turned in Terry’s direction, but I could swear I saw her side-glance toward me.
Again, scrape. Okay, maybe I was being childish, but . . .
That one did it.
Her head whipped around, and her eyes met mine. I gave her a half-smile, the one I used for a silent question. Her gaze was unreadable, but I knew her well enough to be aware that what happened earlier was bothering her, and the fork-scraping was the last straw.
“Do you mind?” she muttered.
“So, youcantalk to me.”
She filled her mouth with a forkful of lasagna and stared at me.
Damn, she was hot when she was irritated.
“Well, I have no clue what’s going on here,” my mother said, as her head bopped back and forth between me and Summer before she turned her attention to Terry. “Sorry, Terry. These two have always been close, but it seems like something has gotten under their skin. If I didn’t know better, I’d think there was unspoken sexual tension between them. Seems nothing has changed.”
Summer and I both jerked our heads toward my mom.
She chuckled. “I know y’all don’t like to hear that, but it’s true. It was true when you were in high school, and it’s true now, as far as I can tell.”
Terry laughed softly, a resonant and clear sound, which contrasted his rough appearance. “Oh, yeah, it’s still true.”
“Be quiet, Terry, and eat,” Summer said in a chopped tone. Then she turned her glare on me—but it was a normal Summer glare.
There she was. The tension she brought in the door with her was gone. Summer was back—the Summer I knew and loved.
