It was enough… for now.
None of us were walking.
“So, I guess that means we really should talk about Homecoming.”
Archie
Frankie lasted another twenty minutes.
She laughed at something Jake said about tux colors. Argued with Bubba about whether renting was a scam. Threw a mozzarella stick at Coop for calling her “dramatic.”
But the cracks were showing.
Her laugh came slower. Her posture dipped. That steel she’d been holding herself up with all night? It was thinning.
When she stood and said, “I’m going to crash before I fall over in front of you idiots,” none of us stopped her.
She paused in front of me. Not awkward. Not uncertain. Just… there. Her hand brushed my shoulder.
“Don’t stay up too late,” she said softly.
Like this was normal. Like I washersin that quiet way.
“I won’t,” I lied.
She studied me for half a second, then leaned down and kissed my temple. After, she disappeared down the hall with the sound of the cats greeting her drifting back. I closed the door to the game room without letting myself look to see which room she chose.
Silence fell. Different silence. Heavier.
I didn’t move for a few seconds, then pushed away from the door to reclaim my spot on the sofa. All three of them were waiting for me, their expressions varying degrees of questioning.
“Okay,” Jake said immediately. “So we’re going to pretend that wasn’t a shift or?—”
“No,” Coop cut in. “We’re not pretending anything.”
Bubba stayed quiet, watchful and waiting. To be fair, he’d gotten really tactical the last few months. He never rushed anything and I had to respect the tenacity and the confidence he had in spades.
I folded my hands loosely in front of me.
“You’ve got something to say,” Coop added.
“Probably,” I admitted.
Jake whistled low. “Oh good. Honesty hour.”
I met Coop’s eyes first. Because he was the one that mattered most in this moment.
“You’re not losing her,” I said evenly.
His jaw tightened. “Didn’t say I was.”
“You didn’t have to.”
From day one, Coop’s claim on being Frankie’s best friend had been absolute. We were among her best friends,hewas her best friend. The forever kind. No girlfriend he’d ever had could come close to touching that relationship. None of us would dare.
I had my own relationship with her and one I was confident in. Especially now.
The air went sharp.
