Page 27 of Broken Pieces

I let him take my hand as he pulls me out of the chair. We walk to his truck and jump in. As he starts it, a talk show comes on the radio. It sounds like something about a government conspiracy, but before I can hear the rest, he changes the station.

“What was that?”

“Nothin’.”

“No way. That was totally something.” I toggle the radio back as he tries to swat my hand away. It fades back into his previous station and talk about a government conspiracy on 9/11.

“Oh my god. Are you listening to a talk show on conspiracy theories?”

“No,” he bluntly states as he flips the channel back.

“You totally are!”

“Why does it matter?” he asks as he pulls out onto the road.

“You are a nerd!” I squeal. “I heard rumors, but I didn’t realize they were true. Oh my god, this is too good. Flip the station back!”

“No way.”

“Don’t deny it. You have been caught in the act.”

“Why do you care?”

I can tell by the way he asks the question that he truly is concerned about my opinion on the matter.

“I don’t really care at all. But to see this big guy who fancies himself shirtless listening to conspiracy theory podcasts…” I can’t even finish the sentence, I am laughing so hard.

“It’s not funny.”

“Yes, it is,” I laugh. “Is this what you listen to as you plow the field?”

He turns toward me as he shuts the radio off. “Who cares?”

“Oh my god, you do!” I exclaim. I don’t even know why this is so funny, but I can’t stop laughing.

“I don’t make fun of you for spending ten hours a day in a kitchen listening to One Direction, you don’t need to make fun of me.”

I look at him and can tell he seems offended. I calm down and stop laughing. “I am not making fun of you. You can listen and believe whatever you want. But picturing you riding a tractor with no shirt on listening to the Roswell crash cover up conspiracy is like picturing a linebacker performing Swan Lake.”

He glances between me and the road. A smirk barely making its way to his face. “Don’t get me started on Roswell.”

I laugh so hard I snort and soon we are both laughing hard together. All the things that were said the other day leave my mind as I find out another thing about Brooks that makes me change my opinion on him more. Maybe he isn’t as bad as I thought he was.