When he went along with her joke, Savannah smiled and laughed. She appreciated his enthusiasm; she had to stop herself from going even further with it. “Well, I couldn’t ask for a better, more suitable welcome wagon. Thank you.”
It didn’t occur to her at that particular moment that maybe she should stop while she was ahead, but she also hadn’t expected him to follow up on her media gods comment. Sav’s expression became a little more conspiratorial, but her smile didn’t lose its edge of warmth. “Radio, TV, and Internet. The media gods that have gifted us with incredible access to information, communication, and expression, but have also cursed us with confusion and possible false knowledge from unverified sources.” Sav was pretty sure if you tugged hard enough at that philosophy, it could unravel a certain sense of stability, which is why she didn’t, but theoretically there were a lot of ways that misinformation could spread.
Mostly she just invoked the idea of the media gods when her internet started buffering while she was watching Netflix, though.
If, in hindsight, Sav started to feel a little self-conscious about her tin hat monologuing, it was lucky that Harding’s excitement about her family was totally engaging. “It’s so true, though! I’m definitely one of the cousins. And I chose Willow Creek because they’re here, but I chose to move because I needed a change of scenery.” The emotional landscape back home had become pretty unpleasant. Then again, with things the way they were with Jake and Lanie right now… Harding’s reassurance brought a small smile back to her face. “Thanks for saying that. I hope that I can help out until Jake wakes up. I probably would have come down, regardless.”
The resoluteness of her nod was offset by her interested smile when he mentioned New York. “Yeah. I’ve lived there for more than half my life. And that’s very cool! Does your brother run Deja Brew?” Sav had visited Willow Creek often enough that she was fairly familiar with the local haunts. Her laughter accentuated her exaggerated hair flip gesture at his sunny blonde line, but she didn’t quite know how to react to it otherwise. Next time she went for coffee, she’d have to see if her fellow New York transplant was around. “I get the impression that you’ve been to New York before?”
When Harding went in for a high five, Savannah was here for it, but she stopped herself when he paused. Clasping her hands behind her back instead, she tilted her head when he started explaining his situation. She was a little surprised when he called her out so bluntly for being a shifter; she had enough supernatural ties within her family she could probably have her own entire Narnia chronicle, but a stranger bringing it up so cavalierly in an open doorway wasn't something that she was used to. Nodding with understanding, she said, “Oh! No problem. Thanks for telling me. I’ll… keep my hands to myself.” Her smile was encouraging, but she rushed through the last few words with a breathless laugh when she realized what she was saying.
The fact that the hot guy next door was literally untouchable was just such a thing that would happen in her life. The thought was all sweet with no bitter, though; she imagined whatever Harding had going on was probably a challenge for him.
“It’s a pretty good couch,” Sav said, laughing. “I think the odds are in our favor.” Nodding along with his words, she fell into step with him when they reached the walkway. “It’s good that you like it here. The View was a strong contender, but I liked the vibe of these apartments. Did you grow up in Willow Creek, then?” He’d mentioned his parents’ house.
Reaching the van, Sav didn’t hesitate before she boosted herself into it. The couch was wrapped in some protective plastic, but its size and the plush, grey cushions were still obvious to the eye. It was slightly curved, which she thought would probably be the biggest challenge in maneuvering it. Looking at her partner, she asked, “You ready?”