"I realised," she says, "that what happened hurt my ego rather than my heart. I would be devastated if it was someone I loved, but Curtis… he isn't that great. No offence, I know you like him."
My laugh is half genuine, half nervous.
"I mean, he is great," Kennedy rushes to clarify. "But we broke up for a reason. So… I wasn't upset as expected with everything that happened. I was more offended that he'd like someone more than me, and that he'd kiss them so quickly after me."
I scratch the back of my neck. I'm thankful to have this conversation, but god, it's painful.
"But, Liam?"
I raise my eyes to meet her.
"It's all over, now. I'm fine with it."
"Okay," I say. Kennedy looks unconvinced, so I repeat the word with more confidence. "Okay."
"I'm saying that I would be fine if you dated Curtis," she says.
I blink at her, and even though I heard her, it's as if the words don't compute in my brain. "What?"
But she knows I heard her, so instead of repeating herself, she moves across the bed and hugs me.
I'm frozen as her arms come around me, but my mind flashbacks to all the hugs we've shared over the years. I've been friends with this girl for eighteen years. I can't believe I almost threw it away, and I can't believe she's forgiven me.
And I think about what she said. I would abandon Curtis for her if she asked. It's a choice I would never want to make and it would be goddamn difficult to do, but I'd do it because I love her. But Kennedy loves me just as much, and as a result, she'll let me have Curtis.
My body unfreezes and I hug her in return.
"You can date him," she says. "This isn't me giving you permission because you could have done it, anyway. Which you didn't, because you're a decent person. It's me… how do I say it?"
"Giving me your blessing?" I say, letting out a choked laugh. "That sounds like we're living in the 1800s. Or like we're talking about marriage."
Kennedy laughs. "It does, doesn't it? But that's what I mean. If you date Curtis, I'll be happy for you. Because I want you to be happy."
I unwrap my arms around her and lean back so I can look at her. "I don't deserve you," I say.
She rolls her eyes at that.
"Let's play a card game," I say. "I'm feeling emotional and need a distraction."
"Sure," she replies, pushing herself off the bed and walking to my bookshelf, where she grabs a packet of cards amongst a pile of board games and Uno cards. Back on the bed, she splits them in half.
We play snap, and I lose because I'm so distracted. For the rest of the night, we play various card games until Kennedy's parents call her down at 9:30.
We both get off the bed and before we leave the bedroom, she turns to me. "Are you going to talk to him?" she asks.
"Yeah." I take a deep breath. "I will."
"You could tell him tonight. Curtis doesn't live far from you."
I blink at her. "What are you saying?"
Kennedy tells me, and afterwards, I grab a jacket that I had lying on my floor. "This feels like something that would happen in a romance movie."
"Exactly," Kennedy says, grinning as she watches me put the jacket out.
"But you hate movies," I say, turning off my bedroom lights.
We walk downstairs together. "I can still appreciate the good moments," she says.
