Denver nodded, and I took that as permission to shut the door on his face. It felt as good as I’d been imagining in my head.
“Seriously, Noah?”
I turned back to Jenny, trying to hide my smile. “Sorry, not sorry?”
She laughed. And then she got up and walked straight into me, wrapped her arms around my waist, and buried her face in my chest.
“Jen, you okay?” I pressed my cheek against the top of her head, breathing in the scent of her.
“No.” The sound was muffled against the front of my t-shirt. “This is all such a mess. And yet all I can think about is the fact that I’ve been too afraid to tell my roommate she smells, but Sadie can do it within minutes of meeting her.”
“There’s room in this world for the blunt, and the not so blunt. And you have to know it’s all bluster. Sadie’s blunt when she wants to be. There are a lot of things she doesn’t say, especially about herself. She’s not going to ask for it, but she needs your friendship.”
“No way.”
“Jen, you don’t see yourself very clearly. You amassed a whole army of people ready to fight for you, just by being you. We’re here because we… love you.” Using the word ‘love’ felt brave, even if it was wrapped in a cloak of friendship and grouped together with the way everyone else felt about her. Someday soon I’d tell her what that word actually meant for me.
“I wouldn’t call this amassing an army. More like I needed an intervention.”
“Well, either way, we’re here for you.”
She nodded against my chest and her breathing slowed. Meanwhile, mine was picking up speed despite every stern lecture I could possibly give myself. Her hands weren’t wandering per se, but every time they moved, it felt like tiny earthquakes shaking up my resolve to be careful and slow. While her muscles relaxed, mine tensed, especially now that we weren’t speaking and just… hugging. I’d been cradling her carefully, afraid to hold her as tightly as she was holding me. But now that she wasn’t letting go, I pressed her closer, and the intensity of my feelings in response were overwhelming.
My heartbeat pounded in my ears. My thoughts jumped ahead to places we weren’t going. Because this was a hug for a friend. She’d placed me in the friend zone for safekeeping, and I didn’t want to mess that up. Not yet, anyway.
But then her head tilted up, and mine lowered. Her breathing wasn’t as relaxed anymore, but instead, coming in and out in quick bursts. The tip of her nose brushed against mine. Warmth and happiness bubbled up from deep inside me.
This was happening! This was happening? I hadn’t told her anything yet. All my careful planning was getting thrown out the window, and if I didn’t stop this now, she’d never forgive me later.
Jenny must have sensed my hesitation because she drew back abruptly and looked down. “We should probably—”
Knocking on the door startled us both, and she took another step back, hitting the chest of drawers with her ribs.
I could tell it hurt, and I reached out for her, but she only sidestepped, rubbing her side and avoiding my gaze.
“Who is it?” she called out.
“Sorry, it’s Sadie. Denver just left. I’m ready to go talk to the landlord whenever you are. But we might not want to wait too long. It’s getting late.”
“I—we’re coming out now.” Jenny bit her lip. “Thanks for the hug. See you later, Noah.”
I opened the door for her and let her walk out first. “Uh, I drove over here with you guys. My car is still at Dan’s.”
“Right.” She nodded, still not looking at me. “Well, then. I’m sorry you have to wait on us. We’ll try to make this quick.”
Chapter 16 – Jenny
“You havefourbrothers?” Clarissa giggled and bit the head off another cinnamon bear, pulling the rest away with a sassy snap.
“And a sister.” Noah sounded relaxed, but he was packing up my Tupperware like he was two rows away from dying in a game of Tetris. He shoved a handful of lids on top, closed the box flaps, and slung himself across the top while he searched frantically for the packing tape.
The tape was closer to me than him, and without thinking, I picked it up and used it on my box first. Very slowly.
I felt Noah’s glare before I dragged my eyes up to meet his. Was I being fair? Absolutely not. He’d been nothing but kind and helpful. And yet seeing him uncomfortable under Clarissa’s attention made me feel slightly better about the discomfort he’d caused me. Or that I’d caused myself?
I was the one who hugged him, even though I’d told myself not to do it. That earlier hug from Denver had been nice. But hugging Denver first had been like eating a chocolate chip from the batter and convincing myself I didn’t need the chocolate chip cookies that would be coming out of the oven later. I glared at Noah, hating that I thought of him as a big batch of chocolate chip cookies. He would gloat so hard if he knew I felt that way. No, not gloat. He would panic. Just like he’d panicked at the thought of kissing me.
He grabbed the tape out of my hand and taped up his box with precision. “What else do we need to pack, your highness?”
