Don't Say You Love Me

Chapter THIRTY EIGHT

Teegan

I'm nervous, walking down the sand back towards Cohen's house. This is me meeting his mom and his sister for the first time. I don't really know anything about his mom, besides that she let her eighteen year old son live on his own for the summer. My heart is beating fast and my hands feel sweaty as I turn to cut through to the backyard, and as I push the back door open, I take in a deep breath.

   The house smells amazing. Cohen is not a cook. He barely eats cereal and frozen waffles and sometimes a burger. We've been eating meals with my mom and getting food from the fast food place by the pier. So now it's strange to smell something so good as I slip out of my shoes.

   "Hello there," a woman with dark hair in a pony tail and wearing an apron says to me.

   I freeze and then force myself to smile and take a breath. "Hi."

   "You must be Teegan."

   I nod, and right at that moment Cohen appears in the doorway. I instantly feel better seeing him, and he grins at me and starts towards me. When his hand slips into mine, I really relax.

   "Mom, Teegan. Teegan, my mom. She's cooking a full dinner here, I forgot to tell you." He's smiling so big and I can just tell he's happy. Like, really happy.

   "It smells amazing," I say quickly.

   Cohen's mom smiles and doesn't come towards me, offering a hand shake or a hug. She stays back and observes us for a minute before turning back towards the stove. I'm okay with this.

   Cohen leads me into the living room and introduces me to his sister, Margo. She's younger than us and looks over with narrowed eyes. I find myself hoping she likes me, which is a new feeling for me. This whole summer I've pretty much not cared if anyone liked me or wanted to be my friend.

  "Marg, this is Teegan," Cohen says, looking at his sister.

  "Hey." She's smiling but is holding back, I can tell.

  "Hi, so good to meet you," I say anyway.

  "Kids! Two minutes until dinner! Cohen, come set the table!" We hear their mom shout from the kitchen a moment later.

   "Duty calls," he says in my direction and then touches my arm before turning to leave the room again.

   "So, how'd you meet Cohen?" Margo asks me, as soon as he's out of the room.

   I'm still standing awkwardly even though I've spent a lot of time in this room over the last couple of weeks. Margo lived here for years and now I feel like this place is hers and not mine.

   "We both work at my mom's rental hut...? Uh, down by the pier?" I answer with questions, which I regret instantly.

   "Oh. Your mom bought it last summer?" she asks back.

   I nod quickly.

   "I left this place in the spring and it felt like I was getting a second chance back in San Diego," Margo tells me. "I liked it here fine, but going back was good for us. But not Cohen. He was angry and sad and never quite adjusted... but now I see him and he's just a different person. I don't know if it's this place, or if it's you."

   I am holding my breath because I am pretty sure I know the answer. I don't reply in time and then Cohen is back in the doorway, telling us to come sit down to eat. The way he's looking at me makes my heart beat too fast, his eyes wide and his lips in a half smile.