“Any time,” I say, with a strange lilt in my voice. “I mean, whatever, dude,” I add, lowering my voice an octave.
God, what is going on with me today?
I follow Edward out toward the front door. As we pass the foyer, I can’t help throwing another glance at the artwork on the wall. It’s just a fraction of a second, but Edward catches me. His blue eyes sparkle.
“George Quaintance,” he reminds me. “I have a book of his artwork on the shelf behind the couch if you’d like to explore your curiosity further. Just please don’t get anything on the pages. It’s a very rare, out of print copy.”
“Oh, um, no,” I say, shaking my head and making some sort of weird huffing noise. “I mean...” Then I shake my head again and wave my hand dismissively. “I was just looking.”
“Which is why I offered to let you check out the book.” Edward smiles like it’s obvious.
We walk out to the porch, he locks the door behind us and hands me the key. “Oh, hey, what’s your cat’s name?” I ask.
“Mouse.”
“Mouse, the cat?” I ask.
“Mouse, as in Michael Tolliver.” He smirks. “Mouse is a character in one of my favorite books.”
“Oh.”
“There’s a lot I could teach you,” he says.
“I’m sure you could.” There it is again, that strange, flirty lilt in my voice that makes it sound like I’m delivering a line. I stuff my hands toward my sides, forgetting my stupid sweatpants don’t have any pockets. Instead, I just brush my slippery palms down my lap and have no way to come back from my humiliation.
Edward smiles, unflinching to my clumsy awkwardness. “See you later.”
“Uh-huh, yup.” I deliver my final cringe-inducing blow by raising my hand to my forehead and making a saluting gesture.
I just want to crawl into a hole and die.
CHAPTER 3
I spend the rest of the day up in my room trying to ignore how hot and bothered I felt in the presence of Edward. Playing games with my new game controller provides a momentary distraction, but my mind keeps wandering to him.
Outside my bedroom window, I can see Edward’s side yard. It's partially obstructed by trees and a brick wall that's overgrown with ivy. I can only see a little through the leaves. Then it dawns on me that my phone makes a better telescope than my eyes.
I open the camera app and focus on the bare spots between the vines. When I zoom in, I find a pair of frosted windows. That must be his bathroom. Following my line of sight, I see white curtains that are partially drawn. On the window sill sits Mouse, the cat. He's the color of dark ashes, curled up with his eyes closed, napping in the sun.
Just behind Mouse must be Edward’s bed. I think of the smooth ‘stress reliever’ gadget I saw on his nightstand and feel curiosity stirring.
Damn, what’s going on with me?
I don’t know why, but I want to go over and explore. I try to hold off. It takes all my self control to make it until five o’clock. By then, I figure it’s justifiable to go over. Edward told me to check in tonight.
I’ve showered but I’m still in my usual loungewear. The day grew even hotter so I’ve changed from my sweatpants to a clean pair of basketball shorts and a comfortable tank top. I slip on some sandals and head downstairs.
Cole and David are in the foyer getting ready to head out. They’ve cleaned up and look surprisingly decent.
“You sure you don’t want to come with?” Cole asks.
“Nah, I’m about to head over and check on the neighbor’s cat.”
“How long does that take, five minutes?” David says. “C’mon, we can wait for you. Check on the cat, change your clothes, and we’ll head out.”
The thought of going to a loud beer bash doesn’t appeal to me. Besides, I really want to spend some time snooping at Edward’s place.
“I’m good, thanks,” I say. “I just wanna play video games and relax.”