"No worries. Let me know when you're done."
Hannah nodded, shifting on her chair. The awkward silences. His intense stare. Why couldn't she have a normal conversation with Josh anymore?
"So what have you guys been up to today?" she quickly asked.
"Oh, we drove to Antelope Point Marina. We tried out Ben's new fishing rods, but we didn't catch anything. Too crowded. Too many people, too few fish."
"So Ben bought new rods? Well, I hope you'll catch more on Friday. If not, it's going to be an embarrassing party. We invited three more people for the barbecue."
"I'm sure they'll take the bait here at St. Mary's Port."
"Hungry fish." Hannah got up. "Speaking of which… I'm hungry myself. How about some olives and crackers before we start cooking?"
Hannah grabbed a container of potato salad, a jar of olives and some garlic butter from the fridge. She shoved everything into his hands and dashed to the kitchen cupboard to dig up some crackers.
Josh put the snacks on the table, one arm carelessly slung over the back of his chair. His long hair moved in the breeze coming from the fan in the corner. He had a gleam in his dark eyes as he watched her. Did he know how much he confused her?
"You want white or whole-wheat crackers?" she managed to choke out, holding up two different packs.
"I don't care," Josh replied. "Whatever you're having."
Hannah picked the whole-wheat variety and sat down to spread some garlic butter on them. "Damn, that butter is rock-hard," she muttered. Trying to smoothen it out with her knife, she accidentally broke the cracker in two.
Josh snickered. "Have some salad." He pushed the container with potato salad toward her.
"You play the guitar too, right?" she quickly asked, to avoid another silence. "What kind of music does your band play?"
"The Rezboyz mainly play cover songs from Diné bands."
"That's what Emily told me. Rebellious Blackfire songs?"
A smile was dancing on his lips. "I see. You and Em have been gossiping about me."
"No, we haven't." Hannah blushed. "We only said nice things."
"Thanks. You're a true friend."
"You're welcome." Hannah stuck out her tongue at him. "Besides, I wouldn't know what terrible things to say about you."
"Well, I bet Em told you I was nearly pulled off stage by angry teachers during the school talent show."