Chapter 20 We Make A Good Team
WREN
When Tanner said he wanted to come with me to hang with Cody, I wasn’t sure.
The last guy I brought home was my ex, Chad, and after months of pretending like he cared about my brother and what my family and I was going through, he broke up with me so that he could experience college life to the fullest.
Fucking jackass.
I almost told Tanner not to worry about it when I got to the apartment after work, but when I walked in, he was on the couch petting Dolly, wearing a Captain America T-shirt, and the framed comic was already sitting on the coffee table ready to go.
He looked so excited that I didn’t have it in me to cancel our plans, and so here we are, about to walk into my childhood home, together.
He’s my friend, so this isn’t the same thing as bringing Chad around, but I also know that not everyone has experience with brain injury like I do, and I never know whether to over prepare people or just let it happen naturally.
The car ride has been interesting. I’m quickly learning that there is more to Tanner than meets the eye, and that terrifies the shit out of me. We also didn’t have time for my normal brain injury spiel because he distracted me with talks about our dreams.
“It’s very obvious.” I say, unbuckling and turning to face him. I push my glasses onto the top of my head. “As your friend, I think you should do what makes you happy.”
I don’t miss his jaw ticking when I say friend. His baby blues lock on mine, and I have to physically shake myself to break our eye contact.
“I’ll think about it,” Tanner says, offering me a small smile.
“Good. You ready to go inside?”
“Hell yeah, let’s go,” he says, climbing out of the car with his comic. We follow the sidewalk up to the front door, and I pause before opening it.
“I should’ve mentioned it before, but my dad was a little weird about us living together. He knows you’re coming, but please just ignore anything he says. Also, Cody likes to give me a hard time, so if you could just ignore everything he says too, that’d be great.”
Tanner laughs. “And your mom? Am I allowed to listen to what she says?”
“Best if you just ignore all three of them.”
“Ignore your whole family. Got it.”
“Good.”
I push the door open, and he follows me inside. “Anybody home?” I shout.
“In the kitchen,” my mom yells. We make our way down the hall, following the sound of her voice. My mom is at the stove stirring something, and my dad and brother are sitting at the table.
“You both look nice,” I say, walking in and over to my mom, who’s wearing a green dress that brings out her eyes. She wraps me in a hug, and I inhale her perfume, relaxing immediately.
“You must be Tanner,” my dad says, standing and shaking his hand. “I’m Paul, and this is my wife, Charlotte.”
“It’s nice to meet you both.”
Tanner turns to my brother. “How’s it going man? I’m Tanner.” He puts his hand out and shakes Cody’s.
My brother lets go and immediately begins to type.
To my surprise, Tanner takes a seat at the table and waits for him to finish.
He doesn’t look over Cody’s shoulder and try to read what he’s typing either.
He just sits there, still holding his framed comic, his ankle crossed over his knee, like this is the hundredth conversation he’s had with my brother and not the first.
“I’m Cody are you dating my sister,” my brother says in one long stream of text.
“Dude!” I shriek. “See, I told you to ignore everything he says.” I walk over and ruffle my brother’s hair. “Tanner is my roommate, and he happens to be a huge nerd like you. He found out we were watching Marvel movies tonight and practically begged me to come.”
Cody’s whole body shakes with laughter, and he begins to type again.
“I’m not a nerd,” Tanner argues.
“Says the man wearing a Captain America T-shirt,” I tease.
“Can we watch Iron Man?” Cody asks.
“Of course we can,” Tanner says before I have the chance. “I was telling your sister that it’s my favorite movie of all time.”
Cody nods and begins to type again. “What are you holding?” he asks after a few seconds.
“Oh, this?” Tanner flips the frame around. “It’s a framed copy of The Avengers #1 signed by… what did you call him Wren? Tanlee?”
Everyone laughs but me. Returning next to my mom, I steal a green bean from the pan, grumbling while I chew it.
“It’s not my fault the signature is hard to read,” I say, crossing my arms.
“You have a comic signed by Stan Lee?” my dad asks, walking over and looking at the frame. “Well that must be worth ten grand.”
“Dad!”
“What?” he asks. “Am I wrong?”
Tanner chuckles. “I’m actually not sure how much it’s worth. It was a gift from my grandad, and to me it's priceless.”
“He seems nice,” my mom whispers, nudging me with her elbow.
“He’s a really nice roommate,” I whisper back.
“Mmhmm,” she muses.
I’m in absolute awe of the man sitting next to my brother. I don’t know why I was worried for him to come. That feeling I’ve been pushing down returns to my stomach, and this time there is no weird chicken to blame. No alcohol either. Tanner Mitchell is giving me butterflies, and I don’t hate them.
Cody begins to type once more, and we all wait for him to speak. Tanner’s eyes find mine, and I offer him a thankful smile.
“That’s fucking awesome,” Cody says.
“Language,” my mom scolds. “We have a guest.”
“Oh, I’m not offended,” Tanner assures her. He turns back to Cody. “And that’s what I tried to tell your sister, but she wasn’t impressed.”
My brother laughs again, and I honestly don’t know the last time I saw him this happy.
“Dinner is ready,” my mom says. “And we need to get going, honey.” She checks her watch.
“We’re just going down the street, so if y’all need anything, call us,” my dad says, grabbing his sports coat off the back of the chair.
“Y’all have fun and enjoy yourselves,” I urge. “Cody, Tanner, and I have everything under control. Isn’t that right boys?”
Both men nod, and my mom wraps me in another hug. “Thank you for this, sweetheart,” she says, squeezing me. “It means a lot.”
“Don’t mention it.” They leave, and Tanner immediately jumps up to help me plate the food. I remove Cody’s tray table, moving him as close to the table as I can, and then I set his iPad within his reach.
“Looks like your mom made chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans,” Tanner says. “You want a little bit of everything, man?”
Cody taps the screen and says, “Yes.”
“Here,” I say, handing Tanner a divided plate with built up edges for my brother. He spoons out the portions and then turns to walk the plate over to Cody.
“Oh, actually, can you hand it to me? I need to cut up the chicken.”
“Shit,” he says rather discouraged, turning back around. “I’m sorry.”
“Why?” I ask.
“Because I talked to Poppy, and she said that sometimes people with brain injuries might need help cutting up their food, but I should ask, and I forgot to ask, and then I tried to give him a whole piece of chicken, and I should’ve asked,” he rambles quietly and a little panicked.
I stare at him, speechless. “You talked to Poppy?” I whisper. Those butterflies swoop low in my belly, and my heart skips a beat.
“Well, yeah, I figured I’d eventually meet Cody, and I just, I don’t know. I messed up, and I’m sorry. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t fuck up his first impression of me I guess.”
“You didn’t fuck up,” I say, giggling at how flustered he is. “He does need help cutting the chicken, but I forget sometimes too.”
Cody begins typing on the screen on his iPad. Tanner sets the plate back on the counter, and I hand him a fork and a knife.
“She does forget,” Cody says.
“Well, I’m glad I’m not the only one,” Tanner says, nudging me with his elbow. He begins cutting, and then when he’s done, he looks at me.
“Is this okay?” he asks, nervously.
“It’s perfect.”
He walks the plate over to Cody, and places it on the table in front of him.
“Utensils?” he asks, flipping back and looking at me.
“Top drawer on the left. He uses the spork with the fat gray handle.”
“Got it,” Tanner says.
“Thanks,” Cody says, before taking the spork and digging into dinner. I fill his special cup with water, and then once he’s settled, I serve myself. Tanner is leaned up against the counter holding a plate, watching me.
“You gonna get some food?” I ask. “I promise my mom is a better cook than I am.”
He laughs and shakes his head. “I have no doubt. I was letting you go first.”
“It’s okay. Dig in.”
He walks over, invading my space, and we both reach for the mashed potato spoon at the same time. Our hands connect, and I do my best to ignore the surge of electricity that shoots up my arm.
“Oh, sorry,” he says.
“No, go ahead.” I release the spoon and move towards the table. It doesn’t dawn on me that I walked away without getting any potatoes until I’m already sitting down.
Dammit.
Tanner joins us and eyes my food. “You didn’t get mashed potatoes?” he asks.
“Changed my mind,” I lie, still trying to ignore the feeling his touch left me with. A smirk spreads across his face, like he can read my mind, and I quickly shove a bite of green beans into my mouth to hide my reaction.
Throughout the rest of dinner, I watch as the man across from me continues to make my brother laugh, and I’m a little jealous at how good he is at it.
Once we’re done, I help Cody navigate his chair into the living room to get ready for the movie, and Tanner tackles the dishes.
“We’re all set for the movie,” I say from the entry to the kitchen. “You didn’t have to clean all that up. I could’ve done it.”
“It was no problem,” he says, drying his hands on a dish towel and then walking towards me. “We make a good team.”
My breath catches as he passes me, and I swallow hard when the mix of woods, amber, and the slightest hint of something floral overwhelms my senses, causing my knees to buckle.
Does he always smell this good?
“I’ll be right back. Gotta pee. Y’all good?” I stammer.