go through. I turned to look at him. My irritation must have
been clear on my face, because he held up his hands right
away as though I meant to punch him. 'My mother told
you where I lived?'
'Your mom always liked me.'
I blew a sigh that fluttered the fringe of my bangs off my
forehead and then pushed through the door. I left it open
behind me, as much of an invitation as I could bear to give.
He folowed and shut the door. Softly, with a click, not a
slam.
I put my bags in the kitchen and kicked off my shoes.
Austin stood stil and watched me without making any
Austin stood stil and watched me without making any
move to sit. He looked around the apartment with interest,
then shoved his hands deep into his pockets and rocked
on his heels while I took my time unpacking and putting
away my groceries.
'Can I sit down?' he asked finaly, when I'd made it clear I wasn't going to offer.
'Do you have to ask?' I kept my back turned as I sifted
through the change from my walet. I found a Wheatie
penny and set it aside to put in my colection, then washed
my hands thoroughly with soap and hot water. Money is
one of the filthiest things a person can touch.
When I turned to look at him, he was stil standing. We
stared at each other across the expanse of my unimmense
living room until I nodded. He sat the way he always had,
legs sprawled, taking up as much space as he could.
I took my time cleaning the kitchen, wiping the counters
and scrubbing the sink with bleach-infused powder. I even
emptied the garbage pail and took the trash out to the
chute at the end of the hal. I expected Austin to be
restless or irritated by the time I came back, but he'd
found a copy of a Robert Heinlein novel inside the pile of
found a copy of a Robert Heinlein novel inside the pile of
books and magazines thrown into the straw basket next to
the couch and was flipping through it.
'It doesn't have any pictures,' I said from the doorway.
Austin put the book on the coffee table. 'This is nice.'
He hadn't risen to the bait, though I'd made a point of
pushing one of his buttons. 'The book?'
'The coffee table,' he said, stil not rising.
'It was Stela's.'
Austin nodded, like that made sense. 'Glad I didn't put my
feet up on it.'
It took me an actual five seconds before I realized he was
trying to tease me without pissing me off. He was actualy
just…kidding. I knew how to handle him trying to seduce
me or piss me off. I didn't know how to take that.
'I miss you,' Austin said.
