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Before I had a chance to ring the doorbell, Seth yelled, “Come in! I’m in the kitchen.” Nervously, I walked in, unsure of what to suspect. He said it was going to be a quiet night of whatever I wanted, but how could I know what that would involve when I didn’t know what I wanted.
The kitchen was straight ahead. Seth was there, humming as he stirred the beef. He already had a pan set up, holding double decker tacos. All he had to do was add the meat and cheese, and pop in the oven.
“You do well in the kitchen,” I said as I leaned against the counter that divided the kitchen from his dining room. It had chairs set up around it, so I knew the others spent more time eating here or at the back deck than at the table. Proof was also all the paper strewn across his dining table, looking more like a workstation than anything else.
He turned to me with a smile. “I had a lot of time to practice.”
“Tell me about it? What made Seth such an amazing cook?”
“Oh, interested in me?”
My face heated, and I looked down at my hands.
“My parents worked a lot. Nothing devastating or bad. They just worked and once I was old enough, I wanted to be helpful. Here.” He handed me a bowl with tortilla chips and then a small bowl of salsa. “Homemade.”
“Thanks.” I scooped up a bunch of salsa and then shoved the whole thing in my mouth. It was the best freakin’ salsa I had ever tried.
“How?” I asked around the mouthful.
He chuckled. “Years of practice. Food to me is something to bring people together.”
Was it okay to call a man adorable? That explained so much, like the Sunday dinners. “So you began cooking to make sure your parents had supper to come home to?”
Seth stirred the meat. “Yeah. Like I said, I wanted to be helpful and at the time, that was the only way I knew how.”
“Where are they now?”
“They moved to Portland. My dad got a huge promotion. I talk to them every few days.”
I smiled, liking that he seemed to have a normal family. “Didn’t want to go with them? Explore the world more?”
“I like it here, and I never got the travel bug. I’m a town boy, and I’ll stay like that. Done.” He scooped the meat into the shells, topped it with cheese, and then popped the pan into the oven. “Now, what do you want to do?”
“You mentioned movies? Or games?”
“I have a bunch of PlayStation games, what are you in the mood for?” He motioned for me to go into the living room. We got settled down and Seth showed me his large collection, half of them the scary kind. We ended up becoming ghost hunters, trying to determine what kind of haunting different locations were experiencing. It was freaky as hell, and I loved it.
Seth jumped a few times, and I teased him for it. After the first round, we munched on tacos. We didn’t talk about anything deep, and he didn’t question me about today. It was low-key and fun.
And I was enjoying Seth’s house. While he was cleaning up the kitchen, I took the time to poke around. His hallway was full of pictures. I got to see him with his parents. He looked like his dad, down to the way his eyebrows arched and his lips curved into a smile. And there were tons of photos of him and the others. They really did all grow up together. I followed the journey of their childhood until it ended by the first-floor bathroom.
“Having fun?” Seth asked, making me jump. I was so engrossed in his past that I didn’t notice that he stood in the hallway, leaning against the wall as he watched me. Seeing him like that made it easy to talk to him.
“It’s different for me,” I said and touched one of the dark brown frames wrapped around a photo of Seth with Toby and Paxon out on the river in canoes. It looked recent, like this past summer. Toby was trying to shove Paxon in the water, and Paxon was using his oar to keep his friend back. Toby normally kept his hair on the shorter side, but it was longer when this photo was taken, almost unruly. It was impossible to not feel jealous. While they were out on canoes, I was stuck in a hospital bed most likely.
“What do you mean?” Seth came to my side and looked at the photo I was staring at. His smile widened, humor lighting his eyes as he fought to keep his laughter to himself. That one look from him helped rid me of all my dark thoughts.
“Seeing your family dynamic. I like it. I don’t know what that’s like, and it’s nice to see what normal is like.”
“Normal, huh?” He rubbed at his jaw. For a moment, I thought he was going to feel offended but he chuckled instead. “That’s true. The stereotypical lower middle-class household with both parents working. They worked so hard for me growing up.”
“And you want to return that favor.”
“I’ll never be able to return the favor. They were good to me. I know that, and I’m thankful for it every day.”
“You’re a good son. They’re lucky to have you.”
Seth puffed up his chest, obviously proud. “I know. And I’m lucky to have them.”
He grabbed my hand, playing with my fingers briefly. His touch was playful and sweet, his smile warm as he watched me.
“You’re a sweet girl, you know that, Cadence?”
My face warmed at his compliment, and I looked away, unable to handle the intensity from his attention. For some reason, I had to blink back tears. That was not the kind of compliment I was expecting, and I didn’t know what to do with it.
He chuckled. “Come on. I need to defend my manhood with another round of ghost hunting.”
I giggled. “I think it’s a bit too late.”
He laughed as he led me back into the living room, still holding on to me. He only released my hand when I sat down.
“Are you cold?” he asked.
“Only when a ghost is in the room,” I said, trying to use a spooky voice.
He shuddered. “Don’t joke like that.”
“But it’s true. I feel fine, but if you’re feeling cold, you can wrap up. It still won’t keep you safe from the ghost though.”
“Cadence!”
I laughed as he threw a throw pillow at me. I tossed it back. “Please tell me you haven’t noticed at all.”
“What do you mean?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Really? Come on. You have to have notice by now. I knew it the first time I walked into the house.”
“Cadence...” he warned.
“I’m serious. You never saw him? He’s kind of cute.”
Seth’s eyes widened. “Stop. Please, just stop.”
It was so hard to not grin. He truly did look a bit scared as he scanned the room, trying to pick up on whatever I was hinting at. To think Seth believed in the spooky. I pictured little Seth asking his dad to check under his bed and in his closet before bed each night.
It made me crack up laughing. “Oh, wow. You’re really freaked out.”
“You would be too if you lived alone.”
My smile tried to drop, but I held it firmly in place, remembering he probably figured I was living with my mom still.
“Thank you, Seth,” I whispered.
“What?” he asked.
“I don’t know about me being a sweet girl, but I know for a fact you’re a good boy. I’m an only child and music keeps me busy enough. I didn’t know what friendship was until this past week or so. Or at least, I hope this is what friendship is. If I’m overstepping, then I’m sorry.”
“Stop, Cadence.” Seth scooted closer and rested his hand on my knee to keep me from ranting, which I was totally about to do. “Yes, we are friends.”
“Can friendship really happen this fast?” I asked. “I don’t really have any experience.”
“Does there need to be a specific timeline for people to create relationships?” he asked. “There is no cookie-cutter answer. You like spending time with us, and I know for a fact we all like to spend time with you. So yes, this is friendship, even if you think it happened too fast.”
“I don’t know what I think.”
“Good thing we’re young. You have time to figure it out.”
“Oh? Time?” I mulled that over. My life had always been jumping from one crisis into another without any breaks in between. But being with the guys, it felt like time slowed down. Almost too peaceful to bear, but addicting too. I wanted time to keep going like this. “I like the sound of that.”
After that, Seth popped in a cute animated movie about a little girl who made friends with a bunch of animals as she traveled around the world. I tried to get comfortable, but kept shifting around. Sitting still for so long for a movie had always been a bit hard for me. Playing a game was easier with the amount of focus it took.
“Come here.” Seth paused the movie.
“What?” I asked.
“Come here.” Seth grabbed my arm and carefully pulled me until I was pressed against his side with his arm wrapped around my shoulders. He had me stretch my legs out across the couch, which forced me to lie on him more.
He didn’t seem to mind as he started the movie again and stared at it. My heart pounded heavily as my nerves skyrocketed. It was weird cuddling a guy. Or anyone really. His body was firm, his scent intoxicating. His warmth became mine.
Focusing on the movie became impossible. I kept counting Seth’s breaths, all too aware with the way it felt as his chest lifted and fell. If I closed my eyes, I swore I would be able to feel the beat of his tune. The kind that kept his life going. To me, it became music, each breath a steady rhythm. It was entrancing, and slowly, the movie no longer existed. Only Seth and the kind of music I imagined came from him. He was an old country kind of guy to me. A traditional working man, wearing boots, carrying heavy things, building with his hands. Rough, but also completely aware of his strength. In control. Respectful. A dutiful son.
Seth grabbed my hand and held it, shifting my focus to that simple touch. His large hands were callused, but his touch was gentle. The stark contrast between his black skin and my light skin fascinated me. He ran his thumb along the back of my hand in slow, lazy circles, and I watched the movement.
“Cadence?”
“Hmm?” I asked.
“Time to wake up?”
“What?” That confused me. I was awake.
Then I realized my eyes were closed and I was completely stretched out against Seth’s body. What the hell? I pushed away from him, but that was a bad idea, and nearly toppled over off the couch.
Seth wrapped his arms around me, catching me. “Whoa, careful there.” He held on until I found my balance again.
“That surprised me.” I tried to laugh it off.
“Me too. The, uh, movie ended.” He smiled shyly. “I figured you’d want to go home.”
“Oh.” I wiped at my face, pretty sure that there was drool at the corner of my mouth. My face grew hot. Did I really drool all over Seth? That was a bit mortifying.
“Come on. I’ll walk you back.”
“You don’t have to.”
“But I will.”
And that was exactly what he did. He brought me home, Bebe trailing along, waited until I was safely inside with the door locked, then he walked back. Everything about him had been perfect and he did give me a nice relaxed evening without any stress. For those few hours at his side, I never once thought about my mother and how shitty my day had been.
Was that what magic truly was?
