He opened his mouth to retort and found that none was coming. Instead he tossed her a mock glare and snapped his chopsticks at her before breaking into a grin. “You're getting too smart.” It was a compliment.
Even if she hadn’t voiced it, he knew why she was hesitant. When it came down to it, he was usually just a guest. He never stayed for very long. But these weren’t usual circumstances, and while he wouldn’t say he was staying forever, he definitely wasn’t planning on taking off just yet. The boyfriend wasn’t that big of a shock and he suspected as much, but couldn’t help but slip, “I thought you weren’t dating?” He distinctly remembered asking her if she was seeing a cop when he first got there. That counted.
“You want to sneak out with your boyfriend, that’s fine. And if his folks let you stay over, great. Just let me know who he is.” He made sure his mouth free of food before giving her a toothy grin. “Introduce me to him. Promise I won’t be too hard on him.” He imagined it wouldn’t be too difficult to give the third degree to whatever teenaged boy Ileana was seeing. Maybe even a little fun.