me & tomfoolery

Cold as Ice pt. 6 | Shilo Sanders Short Story

Tennessee sat wrapped in a One Direction blanket over her head and body as her sock clad feet were tucked under Shilo's legs.

They were studying in his room since it seemed more private. Shelomi had practice and Shedeur was off somewhere with Dallas. They were hard to keep up with.

"You sure you don't want me to turn up the heat?" He noticed that she was shaking under him. She didn't want to make him uncomfortable as it was already 75 degrees in the house. It was clear that she had a cold of some sorts and she couldn't shake it.

"Could you? I really didn't wanna bother you."

He quickly got up to close the crack in his window. The only reason tbhe window was open during the cold autumn months is because his new humidifier hadn't delivered yet. Apparently the courier said it delivered two days ago but it never reached his door. The company sent out another one immediately. It was strange, but since it was quickly rectified he brushed it off.

With an app on his phone, he could adjust the temperature without going anywhere.

"You good now?" Shilo placed his laptop to the side and brought Nessee closer to him. "I'm not a baby, I'm fine Sanders."

"You might not be a baby you are surely a brat." He chuckled. The television that was once muted, now at a reasonable level of volume as Tennessee watched the episode of cake boss. Shilo, scrolled through his phone looking at emails that he would need to answer in the morning.

"Did you figure out what you wanted to wear to the banquet?"

Tennessee pushed the issue further back in her mind as the event approached. She was swamped with school work as midterms arrived and wasn't sure what was needed even though she was on task. That's how much stress she was under.

"No, umm not yet."

Shilo's body shifted and she knew that her lack of effort was off putting. This event was clearly important to him and every time he asked about it, Tennessee either changes the subject or has an answer not suitable for pressing forward.

"Don't be mad okay."
"I'm not mad, it's cool."

But he was mad, as usual he had a million things on his mind and he wanted this to work out smoothly. It was anything but smooth. Their collective issue was the fear of rejection. They both had expectations and they were not communicating them effectively.

Part of the reason Tennessee reluctantly searched for something to wear or even simply choosing a color— she was afraid to embarrass herself. They were from two different worlds and she didn't want to make the decision that caused people to look at them sideways.

"Shilo.." she trailed and not often was the young woman at a loss for words. "Can you look at me?"

Looking up from his phone he looked at her. The intense contact made him blink a few times. The sadness she displayed softened his exterior, he was still annoyed nonetheless.

"Ten, it's cool. I don't wanna talk about it anymore. You hungry?" The closeness they once had was no more as he walked to his room door. "Yeah, I can eat."

••••

"He's still not talking to you?" McKinley passed the salt as Dallas cooked for them. One of the few times they could be all together at this point in the semester.

"He is but he isn't. He's just so busy right now I guess."

McKinley and Dallas gave each other a look before switching places. Dallas was the blunt one in comparison to the two even though Tennessee was the most brutal of the three.