“No,” she said, looking at him. “I think there’s something really beautiful about your art being temporary. Like this might be the only time I ever see these drawings. It makes me want to look longer.”
His pale green eyes held her gaze for a moment like he was trying to figure something out, then he smiled. “Well, you can pick your favorite and take it with you when you leave.”
“Oh, no, you don’t have to do that,” she said, shaking her head.
He tucked his hands in the pockets of his hoodie and leaned in a little. “The only payment required is that you promise to get rid of it at some point. Leave it somewhere.”
The door shut, startling O’Neal from the quiet moment with Lennox, and Auden joined them, carrying three pizza boxes. “Y’all ready to pick a movie?”
O’Neal eyed the stack of food in his arms and laughed. “How many people did you invite over?”
Auden gave her an innocent look. “Wait, are you planning to eat pizza too?” His lips curved. “Kidding. Top one’s yours. Pepperoni and all the olives.”
The spicy scent of pepperoni wafted her way. “A pizza a person? Are we having some sort of eating contest?”
“We’re growing boys,” Lennox said, taking the boxes and heading to the couch.
She huffed. “It’s exceptionally unfair that you guys can eat like this and still look…” She realized she’d walked herself into awkward land a few words too late.
Lennox grinned and set the boxes on the coffee table. “Still look like what?”
She glanced back and forth between the two of them and then rolled her eyes, trying to play it off. “Like the freshman fifteen is a myth.”
“I swim for hours every day,” Auden said with a shrug. “I’m almost obligated to eat a whole pizza.”
Lennox sank into an armchair and propped his feet on the corner of the coffee table. “And I just wake up this way.”
“I hate you both,” she declared.
“Don’t know why. Your body’s perfect,” Lennox said matter-of-factly.
She made a choked sound.
“Len,” Auden said, annoyance edging his tone.
Len shrugged. “What? Just stating a fact. You’ve got a great body. And it’d still be great with the freshman fifteen or twenty or whatever. Thinness is a social construct. Enjoy food for the sensual pleasure that it is.”
Her face was getting hot. She knew Len was making a point, not flirting, but she still didn’t know what to do with the comment. She jutted her thumb toward the kitchen. “I’m going to grab the drinks. What do y’all want?”
“I’ll come with,” Auden said. “Since we have a lady present, we should probably break out the paper plates and some napkins and not lick grease from our fingers.”
“How civilized,” Lennox said. “I’ll take a water.”
O’Neal followed Auden to the kitchen, which was through a door past the dining table. The space was small but functional, clearly added after the original house had been built.
“Sorry about Len,” Auden said as he opened a cabinet. “He says stuff sometimes that…well, he just doesn’t have much of a filter. He didn’t mean anything by it.”
“It’s fine,” she said quickly. “I mean, it’s kind of…nice. The thought that everyone’s body is perfect however it is. You think he really sees people that way? Or is he blowing intellectual smoke and only dates supermodels?”
Auden looked over, his gaze flicking down the length of her so quickly she almost missed it. He turned back to the cabinet and cleared his throat. “Len’s much more interested in what makes people tick than their body type. That’s what flips his switches.” He sniffed and shook his head. “And why the hell am I telling you this? Don’t worry about what Len likes or doesn’t like. Remember what I said.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she said with a flick of her hand. “I wasn’t fishing for dating advice. Just curious.” She opened the fridge to grab the drinks. On the top shelf, there were three kinds of soda, bottled waters, the tangerine LaCroix she’d brought in with her groceries, and beer. She glanced at Auden. “What should I grab for you?”
“Water’s fine.”
She straightened, her hand braced on the fridge door. “You know, if you guys usually drink beer with your pizza, you don’t need to change that because I’m here. I’m not going to like, tell on you or something.”
He frowned. “I don’t think that.”