Covet

I had no problem helping Tess cook dinner, but she insisted that I was the guest, and the guests don’t help.

I leaned against the counter, careful to stay out of her way, and ate a slice of French bread, tearing off bite-sized bits with my fingers.

“Tommy seems on the edge,” I commented, causing her to laugh. I raised my brow at her.

“He hated and resented me for years,” she replied. The blonde was grating cheese for baked ziti. “I think he’s okay with me now, though,” she continued.

“He doesn’t seem like the type of guy you’d want to hate you,” I said, more so to myself than Tess. I saw her smile, but didn’t say anything.

Rosie came running into the kitchen then, and tugged at the hem of my shirt gently.

“I’m bored,” she complained. Emily had gone over to a friend’s house for the night so she was by herself.

“Want to play a game?” I asked her, to which she smiled broadly and nodded her head. I threw a glance at her mom, and Tess nodded.

“You guys can play Hide and Seek?” Tess suggested, making Rosie’s smile grow.

“I’ll hide. Count to 30!” Rosie exclaimed before dashing out of the kitchen. Tess and I smiled to each other and I counted to thirty, loud enough for her to hear, wherever she was.

“Ready or not, here I come!” I shouted. I know how lame it sounds but I missed this game a lot. I felt like I was five years old again as I looked through the living room, looking behind the curtains, couch, and under the table. Even for her young age, Rosie was tiny. I was sure she could fit into spaces I wouldn’t otherwise think to look.

I walked down the hallway just as Tommy was standing next to the hallway closet, his eyebrows furrowed and his full lips pressed into a hard line as he stared at the closed door.

“Is she in there?” I asked him. He looked up at me for a moment, thinking, then turned back to the door and opened it. Rosie stepped out of the closet, her obscenely curly blonde hair sticking out everywhere from the friction between it and the coats hanging in lowly in the closet. She looked up to glare at Tommy, sticking her tongue out and crossing her arms.

“Meanie,” she called him, making him stick his tongue back out at her. “You weren’t supposed to tell her where I was!” she whined. Tommy bent down to be closer to her height.

“Well, technically I didn’t tell her, Rosie," he explained with his thick accent coming through. "All I did was open the door. You’re the one who came out and showed yourself.” The two had an odd glaring contest, which Tommy won after Rosie stomped off into the kitchen.

“Count to 30!” I called out to her, smiling to myself. I normally didn’t really like kids, but Rosie was the cutest thing to me. Tommy and I looked at each other for a few very long seconds before he, too, stalked off, leaving me alone to hide.

*

Dinner that night was how I expected it to be: awkward. However, once Rosie went to bed Tess decided to bring out the wine bottles, resulting in me having to sleep on the couch because both Brendon and Tess were way too drunk to drive me home and I was too lazy to walk. As alcohol was passed around the tension eased, and Tommy’s edginess began to simmer down as well. He told us stories from El Paso and talked about the blistering heat and the “even hotter Mexican food” that his roommate and her family made for him. I could tell from the way he spoke that he missed it a lot and I wondered why he would willingly come here to stay with Brendon when he had such a great life there; I didn’t buy him coming all the way to the Burg just to meet Brendon’s family. I obviously had no right to ask such personal things, especially to someone who seemed to think so bitterly of me right away.

After what seemed like hours of tossing and turning, I gave up sleeping and turned on the television, channel surfing on mute to ensure that I wouldn’t wake anyone up. A few minutes later Tommy walked in. He moved the blanket sprawled out on the other side of the couch where I was sitting and sat down.

“Can’t sleep either?” I asked. He didn’t respond; the answer was obvious. “Thanks for helping me find Rosie earlier, by the way,” I said lamely. “She’s a tiny one. I was half-expecting her to give up on me finding her on my own.” This made him smile and let out the smallest chuckle.

“Yeah, she’s little,” he slurred, keeping his eyes on the screen.

He never looked over at me. I bit my lip, fighting to look at the screen too. But, my mind was fuzzy and my drunken brain couldn’t resist wanting to look at him every once in a while. Even if he was an asshole to me right off the bat, he was gorgeous and there was no denying that. He came out wearing a white tank top and shorts, and the TV light extenuated the muscles of his body and the tattoos placed over his chest and biceps. I bit my lip harder, so much harder that I could’ve swore it was bleeding, and curled up against the arm of the couch to lay down.

Eventually, Tommy’s presence drifted away from my mind and I could hardly keep my eyes open. I saw him turn off the TV and place the blanket back on me, muttering a good night before going back down the hallway.