Page 32 of Chasing Home
“Not in the slightest.”
The second office chair—the one Wade occupies during the long nights Eliza’s holed up in here working—is tucked beneath the opposite side of the L-shaped desk. I snag it by the back and drag it toward Rory. The wheels are stiff as I sit and roll closer.
“Anything else you don’t like?”
She twists in her seat and looks back at the computer screen. “If you’re going to eat in here with me, you’ll need to be quiet.”
“You don’t mind if I eat in here?”
“Not as long as you aren’t a gross eater.”
“What makes someone a gross eater to you?” I ask, continuing to dig, knowing already that I’m not a bad eater. My mom used to threaten to glue our mouths shut if we chewed with our food showing.
Aurora sighs before turning her head to give me an up-close view of those gorgeous eyes that I can’t get enough of.
She taps the fingers of her left hand over the keyboard keys. “Chewing with your mouth open. Talking with your mouth full and spitting little bits of it out all over everything. Sucking your fingers clean and making that loud smacking noise.”
“Well, I don’t do any of those things. I’m the politest eater you’ll ever see,” I declare.
“Alright.”
Returning to her work, she glides the mouse over the plain black pad beneath it and clicks on something on the screen. I rest my forearms on the edge of the desk beside her and grab one of my quesadillas, the smell of the cheese making my stomach grumble.
With it raised in front of my mouth, I say, “Please eat, Aurora. I’ll leave you alone once you do if that’s what you want, but you need brain food.”
A twitch of her brow.[SD1] “I thought nice guys weren’t supposed to be demanding.”
“You think I’m a nice guy?” I ask through a wide, split grin.
“You’re helpless,” she mutters, but I see the way the right side of her mouth tugs despite her best efforts to keep it straight.
“What kind of music do you like?”
She doesn’t give a reaction to my question this time. Is she getting used to them?
“Pop. And I don’t want to hear any judgment on it.”
“You won’t find any from me. I have three sisters and am quite a pop connoisseur. Especially if we’re talking boy bands.”
Her eyes grow as round as buttons as she stares at me and blurts out, “You have three sisters?”
“Yep. I have a twin and then two older sisters. Daisy and me are the youngest of the bunch.”
Setting my quesadilla back on my plate, I slip a hand into the pocket of my jeans and snag my phone. Opening up my music app, I click on a pop playlist and keep the volume soft as I set my phone on the desk. The upbeat song that plays covers the upcoming sound of my chewing as I take a big bite of my food.
Aurora glances at the phone for a moment before blowing out a long breath, nearly whistling. “That’s . . . that’s a lot.”
I swallow and nod. “Yeah. There has never been a quiet moment in our house ever. Even after my oldest two sisters, Giana and Josette, moved out.”
“When was that?” she asks softly while picking up a carrot stick and swirling it in ranch before biting into it.
“Giana moved out about . . . ten years ago now. And Josette half of that. Daisy, my twin, is still at home when she’s not in school, which seems to be all the damn time now.”
“What’s it like? Having sisters? Siblings in general?”
The question hardly sounds louder than a whisper but is sharp with something similar to sadness. It gnaws on me, making me move quickly to help dissolve whatever it is upsetting her.
“It was annoying when I was younger. With so many kids in the house, it was always loud and crowded, and I didn’t get my own room until I turned thirteen. But it has its benefits. Like never being alone when you’re sad and having someone that has to love you even when they hate you.”