put away leftovers and tried to do the dishes. The kitchen was a joke. It took me half an hour to find dishwashing liq-uid. Maybe it was for the best that I had something to keep me occupied. With me out of his hair, Jacob had everything up and running by the time I balanced the last damp spoon on the countertop—where a dish drainer would have been, if I’d been able to find it. “I’m creating an account for you,” he said when I walked into the office. “Put your password in here.”
“I don’t need a password-protected account.”
“It’s easier that way. You can keep all your settings just the way you want them.”
“Nine-nine-nine-nine,” I said out loud as I typed the number in, to prove I wasn’t going on the computer to “cyber” with anyone. Even though my original purpose had been to look up Stefan. But not to “cyber”. Just to see how he was doing.
“I’ll set up the router and we should be online.” Jacob went downstairs and hooked up a stack of small plastic boxes with red and green lights on them that intermittently flashed or glowed steadily as if something very complicated was happening inside them. “Think you can do without the printer and scanner?” he asked. “It’s getting late.”
“Yeah, sure.” It was almost midnight. He should have been in bed already. Sleeping, even.
“The office looks like an office now.” And not a pretend bedroom that would allow us to use the “roommate” story if anyone from my precinct other than Zigler came over. I realized now, watching Jacob climb the stairs, that he’d never go for an idea like that in a million years. Good thing I’d had some time to mull it over before I’d blurted it out.
“You can hook up the rest of it tomorrow,” Jacob said. “Just go through those boxes and see what you need.”
Me. Hook things up to a computer. I figured Jacob must be giddy with lack of sleep. It was chillier in the new bedroom than the old one, but I stripped down to boxers anyway. Jacob watched me climb into bed with his hand on the light switch, and I think his expression maybe softened a little. I skootched over toward the middle of the bed. I did see a smile.
A faint one, but it was there. “If you can find the bedside lamps,” he said, “we won’t have to navigate the bedroom in the dark.”
“Leave me a to-do list,” I said. It occurred to me that I might not like what a to-do list might entail, but I couldn’t really figure out a way to hedge. Here it was, bedtime, and I hadn’t brought up Camp Hell. I’d really come off as a jerk if I sprang it on Jacob at midnight.
“A list? No problem.” Jacob flicked off the light. “Marco.” What? I waited for some kind of explanation so I could figure out what Marco was supposed to mean. And then I realized. The dark. “Polo.” I heard the blankets at the foot of the bed rustle. “Marco.”
“Polo.”
Jacob was a huge silhouette looming in the faint green glow of the numbers on the alarm clock. The blankets rustled again, and the bed creaked ever so slightly as he climbed in beside me. His hand slid over my bare arm, down along my side. He pulled me against his chest. So incredibly warm.
I’d never known Jacob to get snippy, but I suspected I’d come close to seeing it when I asked too many questions about his case. It was smart of me to put off the Internet discussion, I decided, especially when Jacob was running on a few hours’ sleep and I’d already pushed my luck earlier.
I pressed my head into the crook of his neck and settled my cheek against his collarbone. Jacob hooked his heel behind my calf and pulled my leg between his, tangling us together.
-SIX-
Furniture groupings were starting to spontaneously develop within the maze of boxes and clutter. There was a sofa/coffee table area, and a book and media area, and then there were stacks upon stacks of boxes.
I stared down at the chaos from the lofted hallway that connected the bedroom, the office, and
“I don’t need a password-protected account.”
“It’s easier that way. You can keep all your settings just the way you want them.”
“Nine-nine-nine-nine,” I said out loud as I typed the number in, to prove I wasn’t going on the computer to “cyber” with anyone. Even though my original purpose had been to look up Stefan. But not to “cyber”. Just to see how he was doing.
“I’ll set up the router and we should be online.” Jacob went downstairs and hooked up a stack of small plastic boxes with red and green lights on them that intermittently flashed or glowed steadily as if something very complicated was happening inside them. “Think you can do without the printer and scanner?” he asked. “It’s getting late.”
“Yeah, sure.” It was almost midnight. He should have been in bed already. Sleeping, even.
“The office looks like an office now.” And not a pretend bedroom that would allow us to use the “roommate” story if anyone from my precinct other than Zigler came over. I realized now, watching Jacob climb the stairs, that he’d never go for an idea like that in a million years. Good thing I’d had some time to mull it over before I’d blurted it out.
“You can hook up the rest of it tomorrow,” Jacob said. “Just go through those boxes and see what you need.”
Me. Hook things up to a computer. I figured Jacob must be giddy with lack of sleep. It was chillier in the new bedroom than the old one, but I stripped down to boxers anyway. Jacob watched me climb into bed with his hand on the light switch, and I think his expression maybe softened a little. I skootched over toward the middle of the bed. I did see a smile.
A faint one, but it was there. “If you can find the bedside lamps,” he said, “we won’t have to navigate the bedroom in the dark.”
“Leave me a to-do list,” I said. It occurred to me that I might not like what a to-do list might entail, but I couldn’t really figure out a way to hedge. Here it was, bedtime, and I hadn’t brought up Camp Hell. I’d really come off as a jerk if I sprang it on Jacob at midnight.
“A list? No problem.” Jacob flicked off the light. “Marco.” What? I waited for some kind of explanation so I could figure out what Marco was supposed to mean. And then I realized. The dark. “Polo.” I heard the blankets at the foot of the bed rustle. “Marco.”
“Polo.”
Jacob was a huge silhouette looming in the faint green glow of the numbers on the alarm clock. The blankets rustled again, and the bed creaked ever so slightly as he climbed in beside me. His hand slid over my bare arm, down along my side. He pulled me against his chest. So incredibly warm.
I’d never known Jacob to get snippy, but I suspected I’d come close to seeing it when I asked too many questions about his case. It was smart of me to put off the Internet discussion, I decided, especially when Jacob was running on a few hours’ sleep and I’d already pushed my luck earlier.
I pressed my head into the crook of his neck and settled my cheek against his collarbone. Jacob hooked his heel behind my calf and pulled my leg between his, tangling us together.
-SIX-
Furniture groupings were starting to spontaneously develop within the maze of boxes and clutter. There was a sofa/coffee table area, and a book and media area, and then there were stacks upon stacks of boxes.
I stared down at the chaos from the lofted hallway that connected the bedroom, the office, and
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