Page 26 of Carter

Chapter eleven

Nash

I take off my coat and look around for a place to put it.

“Sorry,” Carter says. “I, uh… usually put all my stuff in the bedroom.”

“It’s fine,” I say. “Is it okay if I leave it here?” I gesture to the recliner.

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

I lay my coat over the arm of the chair and lay my bag on the cushion as Carter heads down the hallway and turns into his bedroom. He returns a moment later with his coat off.

“Do you want something to drink?” he asks.

“What do you have?”

He goes into the small kitchen and pulls open the fridge. From here, I can see it’s mostly empty. A container of ketchup, mayo,and BBQ sauce are on the door, and there is a takeout container on the middle shelf and a few bottles of something on the top.

“Milk or room temperature water. I could make coffee or tea?”

“Water is fine.”

He glances at me, his cheeks slightly pink. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. I’ve had enough caffeine for the night.”

He nods, closing the door and grabbing two bottles of water from a case on the floor on the other side of the fridge. He hands one to me. “We can sit at the island or on the couch?”

“Couch is fine.”

I stop at my bag first, opening it up to pull out a pen and a white legal-lined notepad. We sit on opposite ends of the couch, but it isn’t big, so there isn’t much space between us.

“How are you feeling?” I ask.

“Nervous. Embarrassed,” he mutters.

“Why embarrassed?”

He gestures around. “This place is embarrassing.”

“It’s your home.”

“It’s pathetic.”

“I’m not judging where you live, Carter. You shouldn’t worry about it too much. Honestly, mine doesn’t look so different. In fact, it’s probably worse because it’s bigger with less things in it.”

“Yeah, but you canaffordsomething bigger.”

“Doesn’t make it better.”

“I just…” He blows out a breath. “Never mind.”

I set down my pad and pen and give him my full attention.

“No, go ahead. Tell me.”

Sighing, he scratches the back of his neck, his hand lingering there for a moment before it drops back by his side.