Page 28 of Left on Read
“It paid off. I met up with this guy and bought the tools. He was nice, and he cut me a huge deal, so I hooked him up with those shelves.” I glanced at Quinn.
“That was for him?”
“Hayden. Yeah. Anyway, I helped him install the shelves, and we had dinner after. I expected him to block me or whatever, but he didn’t. And he keeps messaging with me. I don’t really know why because he’s smart and successful and nice, but he’s really easy to talk to, and he hasn’t gotten sick of me yet.”
Gray and Quinn exchanged a look I couldn’t read as Nick scrunched up his forehead like he was trying to solve the mysteries of the universe.
“What?”
“You met him on a buy and sell app?” Gray asked slowly.
“Nope, on Singles.”
“The dating app?” Quinn asked.
“Yup.”
They exchanged another of those looks.
“What?” I asked.
“What?” a voice echoed.
“Jesus!” I jumped and whipped my head around. Zane stood behind me, a smirk on his lips.
He crammed his ass into the small space beside me on the bench. I had to shift and squish into Quinn so he could fit.
“What are we talking about?” he asked.
“Just telling them about Hayden.”
“You still hanging out with him tomorrow?” Zane asked.
“Yeah.” I turned back to the others. “I guess I’m just waiting for him to figure out I’m not the kind of guy he wants to be friends with.”
“Did he say something?” Zane asked, his voice taking on a hard edge. “Did he make you feel like less?”
“No, nothing like that,” I assured him. “It’s a me thing. He’s just so different from the rest of my friends. Like, he’s got degrees and a good job and a house, and he reads, so he knows a ton about a ton. Then there’s me, the guy who barely finished high school and spent ten minutes looking for my phone under my bed last night while using my phone as a flashlight.”
“None of that matters if you click with someone,” Quinn said simply. “Everyone gets different opportunities and has different strengths. That has no bearing on who they are as people.”
“I guess.” I nodded slowly, my mind spinning as my phone vibrated in my hand. “I’m just so used to people getting sick of me or getting creeped out because I tend to be too much for them. It’s been a long time since I met someone like Hayden. Like, we message every day all day. I can’t remember the last time that happened. It’s only been a week, but it feels different this time.”
Zane slung his arm over my shoulder and pulled me into a one-armed hug. “What does your gut tell you about him?”
“That he’s a good person.”
“And what do the facts tell you?” he pressed.
“That he wants to be my friend for now.”
Zane squeezed my shoulder.
“That he wants to be my friend,” I corrected.
“So, what are you going to focus on?”
“That he’s a good person, and he wants to be my friend.” I smiled at my brother, feeling ten pounds lighter.