“She applied for a summer internship at our firm. I thought the name sounded familiar when Ethan mentioned it, and now I know why.”
“Are you going to hire her?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugs. “Ethan said there are a lot of amazing candidates.”
“Well, um,” I brush a strand of hair out of my face, “if you don’t mind, I need to get back to this song I’m working on.”
“Oh, yeah, of course.” She stands up but doesn’t walk away. “Does it bother you that Fletcher’s going out with Casey?”
“I wish I could tell you.” I sigh. “I’ve moved on from that, or at least I thought I did, but sometimes he does things that bother me, and typically, it involves him spending time with another girl, and I don’t know. It shouldn’t bother me. We work better as friends, and I’d never do anything to jeopardize that, but—”
“But what?”
She sits back down, this time even closer to me.
“Even though I know we’re great friends and maybe that’s all we should be, sometimes people will say things that make me think maybe we could be more than just friends.”
“Okay.”
“I’m not mad at Fletcher because he’s dating. I don’t expect him not to date anyone; it’s just that every girl he’s dated or liked has been so different from me. I think that’s part of the reason I haven’t risked it all and gone for it.”
“Did you ever think that maybe the reason every girl he dates is so different from you is because he’s trying to run away from the fact that you’re the one he wants to be with?”
“I have, but he’s had so many opportunities to make us happen. For crying out loud, he was there last year when I submitted my final. The song was calledNow That We’re Grown,and it talked about finally realizing you’re meant to be after being best friends for your whole life.”
“Okay, well—”
“The first line of the song islived next to you since we were six.”
“So, Fletcher’s strong suit is not catching on to hints. But if all of your friends think you guys like each other, they’re probably sayingthat becausesomebodyknows you actually do. I may not have given you a lot of advice growing up, but I think you need to tell him.”
“I will.” I sit up taller. “After the New Year. I can’t go over to his house tomorrow after he went out with Casey and tell him I have feelings for him. He’d think I’m doing it just because he went out with her. I basically said the other day that I didn’t trust her. It would look suspicious.”
“Fine.” She stands up, holding her hands up in front of her body. “I just want you to realize that one day, he’s going to find someone, Tate. If you keep putting it off, you might never get the chance to tell him. You might never know.”
“Got it.” I let out a shaky breath and reach for my guitar, hoping she gets the idea.
“I should get back upstairs. Leaving Mom with Ethan and his parents alone is probably not the best idea.”
“Hey, Nomes.” I stop her as she reaches the stairs. “I don’t know how else to say this, but, um, when did you stop being a bitch?”
She chuckles.
“I like to think I was never a bitch. I was just an older sister. Maybe if we were closer in age, we would’ve been closer growing up, but I was rarely home after I left for college.”
“And? Fletcher’s siblings made it work. Chase and Fletcher have the same age gap, and they’re as close as siblings can be.”
“Honestly, I was worried you hated me.”
“Hated you?”
I suppose I wasn’t the easiest person to be around once I hit my teenage years. I don’t think I ever hated Naomi. I just felt like we were two very different people who would never see eye to eye.
“I got a Mom, you didn’t. I mean, I had one for a while. When I was born, she was just graduating from college and on her way to law school. My dad was in and out, so I heavily relied on her, and she put me first. And then we met your dad, and I knew what it was like to have a real family for years before you were born.”
“You thought I blamed you for that?”
I never blamed Naomi for being on my own. It wasn’t her responsibility to take care of me.
