Chapter 6 #2
“I know you said that earlier, but I want to be respectful.”
“Seriously, have over whoever you want. I don’t care. This is your place too.”
“Thank you.” I lean against the counter, enjoying this early morning chat with him.
Perry used to wake up and start working so early that I’d always drink my coffee while scrolling through social media.
It’s nice to have someone to talk to while my body wakes up.
“I’m excited to catch up with her. It was funny, Huxley was trying to get Kenzie to convince me to take his job last night. ”
Halsey pauses from lowering his mug and asks, “Did she convince you?”
“She barely said anything about it other than we would live near each other again. So I guess that answers the question of if I’d have to move.
Either way, it would be fun to be near her again.
We were each other’s lifelines in college.
Not sure either of us would have made it out of there without each other.
I was wild and she wasn’t. She helped ground me, and I helped her, for lack of a better term, blossom. ”
“Sounds like a good friend,” he says while setting his mug down.
“She is. With our busy lives, we sort of lost touch, but she came back at the right time. I can’t wait to catch up.”
“Well, I hope you have a good time.”
“Thank you.” I nod toward his room. “Are you all packed for your away trip?”
“Just need to add a few things, but yeah, pretty much packed.”
“Do you take anything on the plane to do?”
“Books,” he answers.
“Oh duh, that was a dumb question. What are you taking with you this time?”
“Finishing up a thriller and bringing along the two others in the series.”
“Carrying around three books? You know, that’s what they make e-readers for.”
“I have one, but I tend to feel less anxious about flying when I’m holding a physical book.”
“You get anxious when flying?”
I see the regret in his eyes from divulging what seems to be a secret.
“Oh, yeah . . . just don’t like not being in control.”
Makes sense, given that his brother was out of control when he died in a car accident. God, this man, the demons that must rest inside him. And how sweet is it that a book is what calms him.
“Have you always been a reader?”
His hands rub over his legs, a telltale sign that maybe he’s getting uncomfortable, but instead of shutting down, he stays with me emotionally and physically. Makes me feel like he sees me as a possible safe space. I don’t know why that sends a surge of pride through me, but it does.
“I’ve picked up reading ever since I lost Holden,” he answers. “Books have been my escape when I feel the world closing in on me.” He tugs at his hair. “Sorry, didn’t mean to make the moment sad.”
“Oh my God, don’t apologize. I’m the one who asked. I can’t imagine going through what you went through, so I’m glad you found books.”
“Me too.” He hops off the counter but doesn’t leave. He just leans against it while resting his hands on the edge behind him. The position makes the muscles in his chest flex differently, offering me an even better view of the work he does in the weight room.
Dragging my eyes away, I ask, “Have you had breakfast yet?”
“No, I actually ordered some egg sandwiches. Wasn’t sure if you’d want one or not, but I got one for you.”
“Really? That was nice. I’d love an egg sandwich.”
Just then, the doorbell rings.
Great timing.
Pushing off the counter, he walks over to the front door and opens it, where he picks up a bag from the ground.
“Do people know they’re delivering to you?” I ask as I pull out a plate for each of us and take them to the table along with my cup of coffee.
“No. I use a fake name.”
“Really?” I smile. “What is it? Wait . . . let me guess. What does it start with?”
He sets the bag on the table and grabs his coffee from the counter. “F,” he answers.
“Hmmm.” I tap my chin while he sets a sandwich on the plate in front of me and takes a seat. The sweet smell of a fresh bagel combined with egg and cheese wafts into the air. Yup, this is exactly what I needed. “Frederick?”
His brows rise. “Did you read that on the bag?”
“Wait.” My palm falls to the table. “Did I really just guess that correctly?”
“You did. Frederick Garrlo.”
“Garrlo?” I chuckle. “Where the hell did you come up with that?” He takes a seat, and we both unwrap our egg sandwiches. It was so nice that he thought of me.
“I wish I could tell you it’s a famous writer or character I loved, but it was a drunken decision.”
“Ooo, tell me more,” I say as I unwrap my bagel.
He does the same and lets the steam escape.
“You know when we check into a hotel, we use aliases, right?” I nod as I take a sip of my coffee.
He clears his throat and says, “Well, when, uh, when Holden was still around, we came up with our names together.” His eyes drift to the side, remembering.
“He was Frankie Garrlo, and I went with Frederick. I’ve never changed it. ”
And just like that, he mentions his brother again.
Sure, he had to clear his throat and his voice softened when speaking about him, but I’m truly surprised.
I wouldn’t have expected Halsey to open up to me like this, to even bring his brother into the conversation because he’s always so quiet.
Maybe I’ve been looking at him completely wrong.
Maybe he doesn’t mind talking about his brother but waits for the right moment.
“Where did Garrlo come from?”
Halsey shakes his head. “You don’t want to know.”
“I do . . . unless you don’t want to tell me.”
“It’s really fucking stupid and immature.” His eyes lift to mine, his unkempt hair flopping over his forehead. “You’ll judge me.”
“Um, are you forgetting how I flashed you my loincloth just yesterday? Pretty sure we established a judgment-free zone in this apartment. So please, regale me with the origin of Garrlo.”
He wipes his mouth with a napkin and rests both arms on the table.
“It was when Holden and I were in college. We talked about how when we made it professionally, we would need aliases. We started spitballing names back and forth, names that worked with each other because well, we were those set of twins that enjoyed dressing like each other, having similar names, you know, that shit.”
“I think it’s cute.” And I can picture it. Holden and Halsey walking around in matching striped shirts while eating the same ice cream and trying to deceive people into who is who. I could imagine that side of Halsey.
He endearingly smiles at me. “He chose Frankie because there was this one place we went in Chicago called Frankie Donuts, and he was obsessed with it. I mean, like half a dozen donuts a day. The kid pounded them down. He would follow them on Instagram and drool all over the pictures, itching to see what special flavor they came up with for the week. So it was an ode to his favorite donut, and I needed a similar name, so Frederick it was.”
I bet Holden was a good time. The picture Halsey has painted in my head has led me to believe exactly that.
“And what about Garrlo?”
He visibly looks uncomfortable. “This is where it gets really immature.”
“Ooo, I can’t wait.” I gesture for him to go on. “Please, do tell.”
He looks so uncomfortable as he says, “Garrlo is the last name of a girl who flashed both of us back in high school at the same time. It was our first time seeing boobs in real life.” Halsey’s face flushes to a beet-red color as he looks away.
A loud, obnoxious, and wet snort pops out of me right before I cover my mouth.
“I told you, it was stupid.”
I shake my head, giggles falling past my lips as I think about two guys in college, looking back on their days growing up and coming up with a name that meant something to them.
Garrlo and an ode to her naked breasts. If only she knew.
“That’s one of the best things I’ve ever heard,” I say. “Donuts and boobs. I don’t think I could have asked for a better connection. These egg sandwiches were delivered to a teenage boy’s memory of donuts and boobs. I don’t think I’ll ever stop smiling about that.”
“Glad I could make you smile,” he says before taking a bite of his sandwich.
“You did, Halsey, and I appreciate it.”
“This is . . . not what I expected your place to look like,” Kenzie says as she looks around the apartment.
“Oh yeah, I’d probably never choose an apartment like this. Too much concrete for me. This is actually Halsey Holmes’s apartment.”
“Halsey, as in the guy who scored two goals last night?” Kenzie pushes up her glasses on her nose, looking cuter than ever in a pair of leggings with books on them and a white crop top shirt.
I’ve always thought of her as eccentric.
It’s one of the reasons we got along so well.
I was obsessed with her polymer clay earring collection.
We’d spend weekends not studying, coming up with new designs.
I still have some. We went through a real pizza earring phase there for a second.
“Yes, that Halsey.”
“Oh, I didn’t know you were friends.”
“Well . . . sort of.” We take a seat on the couch after I got us both drinks.
Orange soda, thought I’d throw it back to our college days.
“I didn’t know much about him other than he’s quiet, plays hockey, and likes to read, but my apartment flooded, and I was desperate for a place to stay.
I think I had a momentary lapse of judgment when his place was offered to me, but you know me, I just go with the flow. ”
“You do. I never would have been able to say yes to living with a stranger, let alone a man who was a stranger or one that attractive.”
I chuckle. “But look at you now, dating someone. Let me see a picture.”
Kenzie pulls up her phone and flashes me her screensaver. It’s a picture of her being kissed on the cheek by a very attractive man with dark hair and a solid jaw full of scruff.
“Oh my God, Kenzie. He’s hot.”
“He is, so not someone I thought I’d end up with, but here I am.”
“What do you mean by that?” I ask.