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Mmm.
She knocked four times on the wall that connected the kitchen and the hallway, and a few seconds later, Aimee and Diane ran into the front room. “Oh, you’re here?” Aimee asked, smiling at them.
“I called them over for chocolate-covered strawberries.”
Eric glanced at Holly who was smiling brightly. “Awesome.”
She smiled. “It was easy. Now let me see if I have some pretzels.” Before she even opened her cupboard, he already knew the answer. Unless she’d gone to the store, he expected to see only a few packs of ramen and cereal.
He craned his neck to look around Justin, and sure enough, the cabinet was emptier than the last time. The cereal was gone.
“I have some,” Diane said, running to her cabinet. His mouth dropped open as he saw food items stacked on top of each other.
“How do you have so much, and Holly has...” He dropped off his sentence, giving away that he’d been staring—even interested—in the fact that Holly was eating too little. But that was impossible. She was always making meals.
“Ah,” Holly said, shutting her cabinet door and taking a bag of pretzels from Diane. “It’s because we all share food.”
“And talents,” Aimee said, dipping her pinky finger into the white chocolate Holly put on the table. “She cooks for us, and we provide the food.”
Eric frowned. That didn’t sound like a good deal. Did she ever eat what she wanted?
“It’s fine,” Holly said, sidling up to his side to place the other pot of chocolate down. Her hand brushed against his as she leaned forward. “Here’s the chocolate. We’ve got strawberries, marshmallows, and pretzels, but I’m sure you could dip anything in, and it will taste great.”
Eric slapped Justin’s hand away. “Except your fingers.”
Justin laughed and picked up a pretzel.
Eric watched as Holly stood back and their friends dove in. Her smile widened as they murmured their thanks and moaned after each bite. She truly enjoyed cooking for others. Was her mom like that too? Or maybe her dad? Or maybe it was Diane’s parents. She’d never really talked about her family, so when Aimee had mentioned it, it had been a surprise. There was so much to figure out about this girl.
Eric found a seat on the other side of the table and slapped the empty one next to him. “Holly, come eat.”
“Oh, it’s fine.”
She was too used to serving herself last. He slapped the chair again, insisting she eat something before his roommates gobbled everything down.
He got a paper plate for her and nudged it in her direction once she sat. When she didn’t move toward anything, he pushed the bowl of dwindling strawberries in her direction, then added a few marshmallows and pretzels to her plate.
“Thanks,” she said quietly, then she took her time dipping everything in white chocolate and putting it on her plate to dry before eating. Finally, he picked out the last two strawberries, dipped them in white chocolate and set them aside to give to her later, since she’d chosen only a single, very small strawberry. He munched on a few chocolate pretzels as he shot glances around the table and back at her. Despite how shy she was, she ate quickly, finishing several minutes before everyone else was done.
“Excited for Friday?” he asked, lowering his voice.
“A little nervous, but yeah. I think it’ll be fun.” She looked hesitant.
“What is it? You’re keeping something back?”
She shrugged. “We’re all really good friends. I’m just a little worried an actual date will mess up our dynamic a little. I hope we can be close friends when this is all over.”
He turned and studied her face. Had she been referring to their recent closeness or the closeness of their group?
“Are you excited for the dance?” Aimee asked, catching his attention. Slowly, he turned away from Holly. Aimee was at the opposite end of the table by Justin, and he could tell that she’d been looking at him for a while. Maybe that’s what Holly was referring to. Maybe Aimee had a jealous nature.
Eric shrugged and smiled. “Absolutely. It’s going to be awesome.” Hopefully, Aimee didn’t feel as if he were neglecting her. Sometimes Holly didn’t speak up for herself, and he wanted to make sure she wasn’t left out.
“What color dress are you wearing?” Justin asked Aimee suddenly.
Eric held up a hand to stop her from revealing anything that would negate their bet. “Aimee, don’t tell us. We want it to be a surprise. You’re cheating, Justin. Cheating will have you paying for my dinner before we even get there.”
Justin dropped a half-eaten strawberry on his plate. “Nuh-uh.”
