Page 40 of We Are Just Us

“He’s my neighbor, Emory. I wasn’t expecting any of this!”

“Okay, but does he know you’re into him—not just ‘my body betrayed me at the beach’ into him?”

Kieran went quiet. He looked away from the screen, focusing on a patch of sunlight shifting across his living room rug.

“Exactly,” Emory said, her voice gentle but unyielding. “So here’s what you do.”

“I’m scared already.”

“You go,” Emory said firmly, her face straight with absolute conviction. “You show up. You’re charming. You see how he acts around you versus how he acts around her.”

“What if it’s awkward?”

“Then it’s awkward,” Emory said, shrugging a shoulder. “But you’ll know. And knowing is better than spiraling.”

Kieran rubbed his face with both hands, his voice muffled through his palms. “What if she’s amazing and I feel like an idiot for even thinking…”

“Stop,” Emory commanded, snapping her fingers near her camera to get his attention. “You’re catastrophizing.”

“I’m being realistic.”

“You’re being anxious,” Emory corrected, her eyes narrowing in a look that meant she wasn’t taking any excuses. “There’s a difference.”

Kieran exhaled slowly, letting his hands fall. “Okay. So I go. I observe. I don’t make it weird.”

“Exactly,” Emory said, her expression instantly lifting back into a cheerful grin. “Also, one margarita. Maybe two if the vibes are right. But not three.”

“Why not three?”

“Because that’s when you start telling people about your childhood,” Emory said. “And we’re not there yet.”

Kieran laughed despite himself, the knot of anxiety loosening slightly. “Okay. One, maybe two.”

“And text me during,” Emory added, pointing a warning finger again. “Bathroom updates. I want live intel.”

“You’re insane.”

“I’m invested,” Emory said, an affectionate look overriding her bossy demeanor.

They had a quiet moment, smiling at each other through the hundreds of miles of fiber-optic cable. The silence between them was comfortable, the kind built over a lifetime of shared secrets.

“Do you like him?” Emory asked, her voice dropping into a quieter place. “Or do you just like the idea of him?”

Kieran looked at his hands, then back up at his best friend’s face on the screen.

“I don’t know yet,” he admitted, the honesty heavy in his throat. “But I want to find out.”

Emory nodded, her expression warm and entirely devoid of teasing. “Good boy.”

“And what if I go and it’s obvious he’s not interested?” Kieran asked quietly, the underlying vulnerability finally surfacing.

Emory’s gaze softened completely, her eyes reflecting nothing but fierce loyalty. “Then you know. And you move on. But at least you tried, K.”

Kieran swallowed. “Yeah. Okay.”

“Also,” Emory added, her expression shifting instantly into a comically dark glare, “if he turns out to be a dick, I will personally fly out there and slash the asshole's tires.”

“Comforting.”