Page 40 of Come Find Me Tonight

She might somehow be even more twisted than I am. But I love it.

We picnic in her bedroom, lying out on her bed while we eat and drink our iced coffees. It’s not the best combination of flavors, but the coffee is rejuvenating after a draining night…and morning.

This girl’s going to be the death of me.

I pick up my half-eaten slice of pizza. “Good call,” I say to her.

“Aren’t you supposed to carb load after exercising?” Appa says.

“No, you have that backwards,” I lightly tease her.

She shrugs. “I guess we’ll be ready for tonight then…”

I swallow hard. “I can’t do Rook shit all the time.”

She looks straight at me and sucks red sauce off her finger. “I was hoping for just you tonight.” My shoulders drop in relief.

“Oh, anything in particular?”

She sips her drink. “Um, I don’t know. Maybe dinner? Watch a movie?” She seems just as awkward as I am about this sort of dating stuff. Could we be dating? Or starting to?

Let’s cut through the bullshit to save ourselves time later.

“Like a date?”

She lightly blushes. “Maybe. I was hoping to stay in, though.”

“That works for me. If I’d known we’d be doing pizza, I would have set up a build-your-own pizza bar with all the toppings.”

Her face lights up. “Really? That sounds fun, but isn’t pizza hard to make?”

“It’s not bad. I guess making sauce would take time. Anyway, it’s something to do another time,” I think aloud.

“Make a sauce? Jarred is probably fine, right?” Every ounce of my Italian heritage grimaces. “How do you know how to make stuff like that?”

“Because I’m Italian, Appa.”

“Is that why your dick is so big?”

I inhale my iced coffee and immediately cough. I feel the cold liquid go up my nose, and I try to clear my airways. She just giggles, but the sound is perfect enough to bottle. “What?” I laugh and cough again.

Appa laughs again, covering her full mouth with her hand. “Um, I swear I’ve heard my friends talk about that before.”

“I mean, I’m glad you think my dick’s big.” I laugh with her. “Anyway, my grandparents came here from Italy, and I grew up with them close by. My mom’s Polish, so I know a few Polish recipes, too.”

Appa smiles. “I love that, Robby. All I know how to make are biscuits and cookies, and I guess I can throw a salad together.”

“Your Southern mom probably feels like she failed you,” I tease again.

“How’d you know I was from the South?” she asks with wide eyes.

“Because when I met you at that party a hundred years ago, you had an accent, but you hide it now. Or you grew out of it. But I bet it still comes out when you get hyper,” I say.

Her jaw nearly drops to the floor. “You remembered that?”

I sit up, setting my empty plate on the nightstand and grabbing the coffee. I groan at the stomachache I know I’ll have later, but the caffeine is finally starting to work. “Of course. You’re unforgettable.”

“Then why didn’t you make a move that night? You told me to leave.” She looks away toward the windows. I’ve always regretted how that night went, but it wasn’t our time. We needed to grow individually before we could come back together. If this morning is any sign, that time is finally here.