Free Make Me Yours by Marie Medina

faster this way.”
    David didn’t seem to be in a bad mood, but he wasn’t joking with her the way he usually did. “So what did you guys do this weekend?” She’d come in pretty late Sunday evening, and he and Jeremiah had both been in bed when she got there. She’d poked her head into Jeremiah’s room and chatted for a minute, but David had remained silent when she’d gently tapped on his door.
    “We watched a horror movie Saturday night. Jeremiah did the trim in here yesterday afternoon. I mostly worked on stuff for the website Sunday. I got a few new assignments and wanted to tackle them right off.”
    “That’s great.”
    He halfway smiled at her as he poured some paint into each roller pan. After checking the painter’s tape on the trim, he handed her a paintbrush. He began carefully painting a line just above the trim.
    “David?”
    “Yeah?”
    “Look at me.”
    He did, but somehow she didn’t really feel like he was completely with her. “What?”
    “Do you like Erik?”
    He was silent for a moment. “Why would you think I don’t?”
    “Well, when he contacted me, you were all about it. You were the first to point out that you had always believed he liked me. When I told you how turned on I got after our first date you were fine. But then Saturday I wasn’t sure how you felt.”
    He sighed. “Don’t worry about it. I just had a little overprotective moment.” He dipped his paintbrush again. He finished the line on that wall and began on the next wall. “I’m sorry.”
    “Don’t be sorry.” She sat on the ground beside him and began on the opposite wall, painting a careful line over the trim to serve as a buffer for when they started using the rollers. She wiped away a dribble of paint before it could reach the edge of the tape. “I was just confused.”
    “We all get confused some days.”
    “Do you think I should have waited longer?”
    “Mark would have wanted you to date.”
    “I mean sleeping with him. You teased me at first about him seducing me, but then you seemed to think it wasn’t the greatest idea. It’s obvious I slept with him since I didn’t come home Saturday night, and that seems to be bothering you.”
    He didn’t say anything for a few moments. “I just felt protective. That’s all. Like I said, guys talk. Even if any of his reputation was true, he’s older now. He wouldn’t toy with you.”
    If David believed that, what was he worried about? “You hardly know him though.”
    David turned to her sharply. “Has he done anything?”
    His quick response told her that maybe he didn’t believe everything he was saying to her. Could he be worried about offending her? She didn’t want him to criticize Erik, but she wouldn’t react harshly if he did. They’d been friends long enough that he should know that about her, but he was acting like he didn’t. She would prefer an honest insult to this vague placation. “No. I just meant you hardly know him as, you know, a general statement. How could you know anything good or bad about him? You were friendly enough Thursday night.”
    “I know.” He sighed. “I like him, Susan. I do. You’re a good judge of character. He cares for you.”
    She nodded, and then they worked in silence for about ten minutes. Once the border was done, they looked at the parts that were close to being dry.
    “It’s a nice color,” David said. He put the roller covers on the frames. “Here you go.”
    She took the roller from him. The silence between them felt so awkward. “David, I’m asking all this because I think he’s in love with me. And your behavior made me think you’d have an opinion on that.”
    He didn’t look at her. “Maybe we should talk about this later. I’m not sure what to say right now.”
    He didn’t know what to say? How could he not have an immediate reaction to her statement? She didn’t push. “Okay. You’re right. Let’s get this done first. If we get distracted it’ll be sloppy.”
    He