The Summer I Became a Nerd - By Leah Rae Miller Page 0,47
to look at her. “I’ve heard it does wonders for lost teeth.”
Her eyes almost pop out of her head. “Yes, please!”
I can’t help but smile at this. Mom and Dad always wanted a third child, but it just never happened, so they make a point of spoiling every kid they come in contact with.
I tap Logan’s shin with my bare foot when his sister runs off with Dad. “I just need to get my bag and shoes. You wanna see my room?”
He runs a hand through his hair, bringing it closer to the messy style I love. “Sure.”
My room is pretty boring. I have a vanity with a mirror on one wall. I’ve shoved pictures into the mirror’s frame so when I look at myself I see Terra and the rest of my friends. Thankfully, I took down the ones of Eric and me the night I called him, my attempt at being brave and deleting him from my life. It wasn’t as tough to do as I expected.
Logan sits down on my bed and bounces. He looks around at the cream-colored walls. “Nice. Very…girly?”
“Thanks.” I sit down next to him. There’s that electricity again. That feeling of just being near him that makes goose bumps dance over my arms.
“Sorry I had to bring Vera with me. Dad is looking for new clients for his web design business, Jonah is at a friend’s house, and Mom has Moira at the shop. Vera could have stayed with Mom, but she hates hanging around the shop, gets bored with it. She’s not really into all that stuff. I tried to tell her no, but she started crying, and well, I’m a wuss, basically.”
So this is a date. A rush of relief washes over me at the thought. “Don’t apologize, she’s so cute. And you’re such a good big brother to bring her with you. My brother would never have done something like that.”
It’s quiet for a second. Logan plays with a tassel on one of my throw pillows. I debate how to broach this next subject.
“I…” I’m suddenly nervous about telling him about this next little piece of my soul.
“What?” he prods. When I don’t answer, he reaches over and turns on my radio that I’ve moved from the top of my dresser to my bedside table. Of course, it’s already set to the college station, which makes him smile.
I close my eyes and focus on what I’m about to reveal. “I wanted to tell you a secret. It’s kind of really, really secret so you can’t tell anyone. And I mean no one. If you do, be prepared for backlash.”
He holds his hands up in surrender. “I promise not to tell anyone.”
I take his hand and pull him over to my closet. The door to my room is open so I close us in the closet by pulling the fold out doors shut. My thought process is if someone peeks in, they won’t be curious enough to check out the closet, they’ll just see an empty room.
There are other benefits. Like, there’s barely enough room for us both to fit inside, so we’re pressed against each other. Which isn’t such a bad thing, in my opinion. I pull the chain above us to turn on the light. “See that stack of sweaters?” I swallow hard and glance above us at the top shelf.
He doesn’t take his eyes off mine as he nods.
“Put your hand under the third one.”
Again, he doesn’t look away as he reaches for the sweaters over and behind my head, which just means he has to lean even more into me. I don’t back away because, honestly, this is amazing, having him this close after those couple of days of not seeing him. The smell of his cologne or soap or whatever it is fills the tiny space as he makes a cute effort to put his lips closer to mine. My tongue darts out of its own volition to wet my suddenly dry lips.
I reposition my feet so I can lean closer to him, but wind up tripping over one of the pair of shoes on the floor. I stumble into him, and his arms wrap around my waist, steadying me.
The spell is broken as I curse the bottom of my closet and get my balance back. “Damn shoe!”
He laughs, reaches back up into the pile of sweaters, then gets a questioning look on his face. He pulls down the innocent-looking notebook and holds it between us.