What I felt was real. All of it. This started as an arrangement. Lessons in exchange for taking her mom drone flying. And now the arrangement is over. I’m technically free to pursue the woman I started all of this for, and I don’t know if I can. Not when the person I actually want is the one I’m supposed to be letting go.
I straighten, roll my shoulders back, and force a breath through the disappointment. I wish I could rewrite the whole situation. No—that’s not true. I wouldn’t change a single moment with Nora. Beyond teaching me how to date, she taught me how to be comfortable with myself. That’s something I couldn’t have learned without her.
There was a moment—a tiny flicker—when she was kissing me and I thought This could be real. But I knew better. I don’t want to practice with anyone else or use what she taught me on anyone else. I want Nora.
I close my eyes, and all I see is her—her bright smile, flushed cheeks, her sweet laugh. How her fingers would curl in my shirt. The way she whispered my name.
I’m falling for her.
No.
I’ve already fallen.
On my way home, I stop by the library to return the books I borrowed earlier. I’m lining them up with the return slot at the front desk when Maggie appears from around the corner. She’s wearing one of her signature soft sweaters and a warm smile.
She lights up when she sees me. “Miles! Hey!”
I give her a smile in return. “Hey. I’m just… returning these.”
“You can leave them on the counter.”
I set the books down beside another stack, suddenly aware that my palms are sweating for no clear reason.
She studies me for a moment, head tilting slightly. “You look different.”
I laugh, a little too quickly. Can people tell? Is there some invisible sign hovering over me that says. I recently had sex? “Good different or… just different?”
“Good. Definitely good.” Then she hesitates, fingers twisting together. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask… are you free sometime to go on another date?”
My pulse jumps. “Oh?”
“Yeah.” She shrugs lightly. “Our first two dates were awkward, but more nervous-awkward than wrong-awkward. I kind of wondered if it was just bad timing.”
For a long time, Maggie was the answer. She was the woman I built up in my head back when I believed love was something that grew slowly, earned through time and familiarity. But Nora was never careful or safe in that way. She didn’t show up—she crashed into my life and rewrote the rules. And that made all the difference.
“Yeah,” I say, nodding even though I’m not entirely sure what I’m agreeing with.
She shifts her weight, glancing down at the cup in her hands. “Maybe third time’s the charm? Dinner this weekend?”
There it is. The offer I used to want. The woman I once thought was the goal. The endgame. Saying yes should be easy. But it isn’t.
My answer comes without hesitation. “Maggie. You’re wonderful.” Her eyes soften, as if she already knows what’s coming. “But… there’s someone else I like.”
And finally, I know which fork in the road I want to take.
She gives me a small, sad smile, but there’s no bitterness in it. “Oh. Well, she’s a really lucky girl.” She touches my arm, friendly and sincere. “Take care, Miles. And if it doesn’t work out, you have my number. Even if it’s just to talk—as friends.”
“Thanks.”
I leave the library and step out into the cool air. The weight in my chest shifts—not gone, not healed, but no longer trapped. Because even if Nora doesn’t choose me, I know exactly what I want. Who I want.
Trey’s voice echoes in my head. When the time comes, you’ll know who you want.
And I do.
It’s Nora. Even if she never chooses me back.
The moment I walk into Mallory’s house, I know I’m screwed.
