“Yeah. I haven’t actually done it too much, but I kind of enjoy being in the kitchen and fooling around with spices and stuff. It’s fun.”

I’d like to fool around with you.

“What?” he asks, smirking. “Your face just turned red.”

“Nothing.” I clear my throat. “Cooking. What else?”

He narrows his eyes like he’s not going to let it go. Slowly his features return to normal, and I’m able to exhale.

“I like teaching,” he says. “I thought at one point in my life that I might be a teacher if the whole pro ball thing didn’t work out.”

“I could never do that. I don’t have the patience.”

“I’m not saying I could actually be a teacher in a classroom, but I find it calming to break down a bigger task—like hitting a ball—into smaller, more manageable chunks.” He rolls his tongue around his mouth. “Okay. What about you? What do you like to do?”

“Oh, I got this.” I move onto my side, facing him. “I like sleeping. Taking long baths without answering questions. My favorite thing of all is not doing a science project the night before it’s due. You haven’t lived until you still have twenty-four hours left, and it’s sitting on your kitchen table, completed.”

I clutch a hand to my heart and close my eyes, relishing the one time that actually happened.

Cole chuckles. “Wow. What a life.”

“I know. Be jealous.”

When my eyes open, Cole is looking into them. A softness radiates from the watery blues, and I feel myself drifting away on the current.

“Would you believe me if I said that I am a little jealous?” he asks.

“No.”

My voice is barely above a whisper. If I speak too loudly, he might flinch and the moment between us could be lost. Although I’m not sure why that feels like it would be a loss, it does.

“I’ve lived a big, bright adventure,” he says, his voice just loud enough for me to hear. “Not a day goes by that I’m not humbled and appreciative of the opportunities I’ve been given and for the hard work that my parents put in to get me where I’ve been.”

I nod, not sure where he’s going with this.

“But my life and all of its dazzle hasn’t had any of the things you’ve talked about,” he says.

“So you’ve managed to sleep, and you’re complaining?”

He grins. “I meant more of the interpersonal connections. The relationship that you have with Ethan. Your relationship with Jared, even though I don’t really know what that entails.”

“No. My relationship with Jared, or a lack thereof, doesn’t deserve an honorable mention in this conversation.”

“You’re missing my point here,” he says.

“Well, you had to go start taking turns and falling off of bridges. Stay on track.”