Chapter 6 Jack
JACK
Bunny starts in on me before we’ve even left the parking lot. “They thought you calling me Bunny was cute,” he says.
I exhale a harsh sigh as I head towards home. It’s later than I expected. Even though the days are long this time of year, just the red glow of late dusk lingers above the horizon.
“Jesus Christ. I don’t know why all of you made such a goddamn big thing of it.”
Bunny bites his lip. “Um, I don’t think anybody said anything but you.”
“They didn’t have to,” I tell him. “I could see it all pretty fucking clear on their faces.”
“Is that why you didn’t hang around with us after that? Because you were embarrassed?”
“I wasn’t fucking embarrassed,” I snap. It’s close to the truth.
“It’s alright,” he says. “I just told them you were a little shy, and they totally understood.”
“What?” Bunny’s words hit me like a shock of cold water. “The fuck! I’m not fucking shy.” When I take my eyes off the road long enough to look at him, I think I see him hiding a smile. “Jesus Christ — shy?” I repeat, my brain toggling between furious and flummoxed.
The cab of my truck suddenly feels twenty degrees hotter. I turn the air-conditioning up to full blast, aiming a scowl at Bunny as I blow out a long, aggravated sigh. “I almost don’t want to know, but what the hell would ever give you the idea that I’m fucking shy?”
When he doesn’t say anything after a few seconds, I shoot another glance in his direction.
He looks like he’s weighing his words carefully.
Biting his lip, he pulls out his ponytail and runs a hand through his hair.
Guess my outburst caught him by surprise.
But how the hell did he expect I’d react to a pronouncement like that?
“It took me a while to realize,” he says slowly. “I mean, I don’t see you interact with a lot of other people on a regular basis.”
“That’s because I don’t,” I mutter.
Bunny huffs out a laugh. “I’ve noticed. Who do you even have in your phone contacts, anyway?”
“People I need to get in touch with,” I say, maybe a little stiffly.
“But what about like, you know, friends?”
My fingers tighten around the steering wheel. “What do you care? I’m not shy. I’m just not a fucking people person. You knew what you were getting into with me,” I admonish him.
“But how —” Bunny frowns. “What do you think the difference is between that and being shy, then?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” I challenge him with a scowl.
“No — and I’m not saying that to be mean or bratty. It’s not. What’s the difference?”
I huff out a sigh. Haven’t I spent enough fucking time out of my comfort zone tonight? I’d really been looking forward to a quiet ride home, not a psychology quiz.
“Shy is, like, being afraid of or uncomfortable around people. I’m not afraid of people, for fuck’s sake. I just don’t like them.”
“Mm-hmm.” When Bunny doesn’t say anything else, I take my eyes off the road long enough to look at him. He’s staring out into the dark with a thoughtful look on his face, twirling a lock of hair around one finger absently.
I consider the conversation over, so I’m surprised when Bunny pipes back up a few minutes later. “But you like people once you get to know them.”
I scoff. “What do you mean? Like who?”
“Well, me, for one.”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
It’s like I can feel my last nerve snapping. “Jesus Christ. What’s with the twenty questions routine?”
Bunny’s shoulders slump with his sigh. Shit. I was supposed to be going to this damn book thing to tell him how proud I was of him. I wasn’t trying to get into — much less start — an argument.
“I’m sorry,” I say. I try to hold it back, but it comes out anyway. “But I’m not shy.”
“OK,” Bunny says in a quiet voice.
“And I really am proud of you. I’m impressed by your talent, and I’m glad other people recognize it, too.”
“Thank you,” he mumbles.
I reach over and give his thigh a squeeze. “I mean it. That seemed like a big crowd.”
“Yeah, it felt like it,” he says, perking up a little. I breathe an inward sigh of relief.
“I don’t think you needed me there.”
“But I’m glad you came,” he says quickly. “Thank you. Was it as bad as you thought?” he adds after a pause.
“You’re welcome. And no — it was definitely worse.” Ugh, that did not come out in the sardonic tone I intended. Christ, that’s fucking awkward.
I quickly change the subject. “How did it feel to have people asking you to autograph shit?”
He grins. “It was wild, actually. Like, whoa — how is this real life?”
I remember what I wanted to ask him. “Hey, what did that one woman who took a selfie with you ask you to draw?”
“Oh! I didn’t know you saw that.”
I chuckle and give his leg another squeeze. “I wanted to stay out of the way, but yeah — of course I was keeping an eye on you.”
“She didn’t ask me to draw anything specific. She just asked if she could watch me work for a few seconds.” He falls quiet for a minute. When I look over, I can see a smile playing on his lips.
“Huh. That’s pretty cool.” I bring a hand to my chin and rub my beard as a thought comes to me. “Maybe you could make that a thing on social media. You know, film a time-lapse video of you drawing.”
“Ooh — that’s a good idea!” He pulls out his phone. “I’m gonna set a reminder to message Gina and ask if she has any tips. Olivia calls her a marketing genius.” He laughs a little. “I’ll be curious to find out if she’s already made plans to hang out with Sarah.”
“Sarah?” This doesn’t compute. “My sister?”
“Yeah! Sarah and Gina got on like a house on fire — didn’t you notice? They talked pretty much the entire rest of the time we were there, exchanged numbers and everything.”
“Nope. I was just looking at you,” I admit.
“They were talking about getting coffee some Saturday morning when Rosa has gymnastics.”
“Huh. That’s… unexpected.”
“I’m glad she kind of came out of her shell tonight,” Bunny says, sounding contemplative. “I know she hates most of what she calls the ‘mommy mafia’ at Rosa’s school, so I was happy she and Gina hit it off.”
I snort. That does sound like something my sister would come up with. Guess she and Bunny talk more often than I realized.
“Didn’t see that coming,” I admit. “Sarah’s not really a people person.” At the risk of poking a sore subject, I add, “Kind of runs in the family.”
Bunny makes a sound that’s almost a laugh. “I’ve noticed.”
“Sorry I bit your head off before.”
“It’s alright.” After a pause, he adds, “I appreciate the apology.”
I pick his hand up and land a kiss on his knuckles. After that, I go to release his hand, but Bunny keeps his grip tight. We don’t say much else for the rest of the ride home, but it’s a comfortable silence, at least.