CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

                                    

                                          
BLAIRE
                          
                   
                          
Once I made it into my bedroom, I headed straight to my nightstand and pulled the speakers out from the top drawer. I took in a deep breath and then exhaled it slowly. Jason was making me so nervous I thought I might get sick. There was some sort of tension pulsating between us. It was as though we'd never kissed before and were both waiting for the right moment to initiate it.
                          
I set the speakers on my bed and rubbed my sweaty palms across my pants to wipe away the sweat that covered them. Maybe Lauren had been right, maybe it was time we hopped in the sack and did the dirty again to get us to where we should be in this relationship, had we not taken that long break in between the creation of our baby. Swallowing hard, I scooped up the speakers and started down the hall toward the kitchen.
                          
"I'll plug these in and then we can listen to Spotify or Slacker Radio, I have both," I said. 
                          
Jason paused in cutting up the veggies and shifted to face me. "You listen to Slacker Radio?"
                          
I nodded and connected the speakers to my iPhone. "Yeah, why?"
                          
"Normally chicks listen to Pandora, because it comes on their phone. Slacker is the shit. I love it, so is Spotify."
                          
I grinned at him. "Guess I'm not like most chicks then, huh?"
                          
Tapping to open Slacker, I chose a station I thought he might like—Party Rock. Music filled the apartment, soaking up all the silence and awkwardness that had been festering in the space, and I felt myself relax.
                          
"Can I help you with anything?" I asked. I leaned against the counter and gazed at everything he'd set out. "What's this stuff?" I picked up a glass jar that looked like it held some sort of dip inside. It was creamy and tan.
                          
"Hummus dip,"
                          
"What the heck is that?" I glanced at the side label, which said it was creamy garbanzo bean dip.
                          
"You've never had it before?"
                          
I shook my head. "No."
                          
"It's the best. Spread it on some crackers and your mouth will be in heaven." He winked. "That's our appetizer tonight."
                          
"Hmm, I'll take your word for it and try a bite, but I'm not making any promises I'll like it," I said.
                          
"Oh you will." There was a slight edge of cockiness to his tone that made me smile.
                          
Once Jason finished chopping things up and tossing the salad, he set it in the fridge, claiming it would be best served chilled. He then got to work on spreading some hummus onto a cracker for me.
                          
"Open," he insisted.
                          
I opened my mouth and he slipped a smothered cracker in. The taste was surprising. It had a little kick to it, and the texture was creamy and smooth.
                          
"What do you think?" he asked.
                          
"I don't know." I took another bite and chewed for a moment before swallowing. "It's one of those things that I'm not sure of. It's not horrible, but I need a few more bites to decide if I actually like it." 
                          
Jason laughed. "I love this stuff. It was my grandma's favorite. She liked to spread it on whole-wheat crackers like this and sit on her back porch eating it while enjoying the view."
                          
There was sadness in his voice that tore at the edges of my heart. I hated he'd lost someone he obviously had loved so dearly. Then I remembered he'd lost his father right after we'd graduated high school, too. Sadness and loss had touched him and his mother so many times it made me glad I was helping to bring a little happiness into both their lives, even though our baby hadn't been planned and our start had been slightly rocky.