Page 17 of Just My Puck
He rakes a hand through his hair.“Of course I did. It’s unsafe to be left alone without any means of communication.”
“This could have waited for after your practice, though. You’re the captain and judging from all the trophies over there, an important member of the team.”
He grins. “Oh, you looked at my trophies?”
“Well, they’re on display, aren’t they? Plus, you left me here all alone. I had to dosomesnooping.”
He chuckles, sitting down on the couch. “Fair enough.”
“By the way, do you build these yourself?” I point to the LEGO chess set on the coffee table. “I noticed a few around the house. They look cool.”
“Oh, you really went all in on the snooping, didn’t you?” he says, but there’s a touch of amusement in his tone.
“Don’t worry, I didn’t poke around your floor. Just the remaining eighty percent of the house.”
He laughs. “Phew. Thank you for leaving me some privacy. And to answer your question, yes, I build those. I love LEGO. You buy the box with instructions, and then put the whole model together. It’s incredibly soothing, taking something crumbled and making it whole again. Satisfying.”
I smile. “I think I could like that too.”
“You’re welcome to work on one, if you want. I have an unopened baseball field set in the first cabinet over there,” he says, pointing to one of the built-in closets.
“No, I wouldn’t want to steal your hobby. You obviously work a lot, and you need the down time,” I tease.
“Oh, come on, Jane. I can always just buy another set.”
I tense when he uses that name. Just when I was starting to feel normal, I’m reminded that I’m just another Jane Doe on this planet.
“What’s wrong? What did I say?” Caleb asks, as if picking up on my mood shift.
I twist my mouth. “It’s just that name—Jane. I hate it. It makes me feel trapped in this persona, the girl who’ll always be in limbo, unable to live her life.”
His mouth opens, then closes it. “I’m sorry. How about we brainstorm a new name for you? Something cool.”
I arch an eyebrow. “Can we even do that? Aren’t I listed as Jane Doe 3000 or whatever?”
“Maybe in the police system, but lots of people go by a different alias, both legally and with their friends and family.”
My shoulders relax. “Yeah, good point. I think I’d like that. But where do we even start? I have no idea how to pick a name. Maybe you should choose.”
“That’s a tough one,” he says, his gaze trapping me with a new intensity. Then, his eyes widen. “Oh wait, I have an idea.” He grabs his phone and types something on the screen. “Knew it. There’s an app for that.”
“Really? How does it work?” I ask, scooching closer to him to see the screen. His clean cotton smell, infused with a hint of citrus cologne, wraps around me, and just like that, my worries melt away. It’s crazy how Caleb has that effect on me. Especially since we’re both certain he’s been a stranger all my life.
“First, we click on a few of these adjectives to describe you, and then it will suggest names to pick from.”
I blow out a puff of air. “That’s easy. Is there one for scratched cornea? Or being of pirate descent?”
He turns to me, and a bright smile breaks onto his face. Oof. Maybe we should add “dimple lover.”
“No. Those are definitely unique to you.” His gaze intensifies again, sending tingles rippling through my belly, a feeling that’s both soothing and uncomfortable at the same time.
“Well, son of a barnacle!” I say instead, and his smile turns into a laugh.
“Let’s see.” He returns his eyes to the screen and picks a few adjectives—bright, cheerful, brave, strong, funny, kind, beautiful.
That last one makes my cheeks burn so hot, I don’t dare to look up.
“Okay, here are the results. Zaina, Audrey, Margot, Aria, Ellie, and Briana. First impression?”
