Page 77 of Faking the Goal

She looks younger without all of it. Softer, maybe, although that isn't quite the right word. She's still Taylor. There's nothing suddenly delicate about her. But without everything she normally puts on before she leaves the house, I can see things I've never really noticed before. The freckles scattered across her nose and cheeks. How pale her eyelashes are compared to her hair. The slight pink in her cheeks whenever she laughs.

And she's been laughing a lot.

She's on her sixth volume of An Incurable Case of Love now, completely at home on a sofa she discovered approximately four hours ago. She's sunk sideways into the corner with one leg folded underneath her and the other stretched across the cushions, sock-covered foot hanging over the armrest. A blanket she found somewhere is draped over her lap, an empty snack wrapper sits beside her, and her abandoned hoodie strings are twisted around one finger while she holds the manga ridiculously close to her face.

Every few minutes, another muffled giggle escapes her.

Then she bites her lip and tries to hide behind the book.

Two pages later, she does it again.

I finally lower mine.

"Is it really that good?"

Her eyes peek over the top of the manga.

"You've been giggling at that thing for the past hour."

Instead of looking embarrassed, her entire face lights up.

She lowers the book and bobs her head enthusiastically. "It's so good."

She looks absurdly happy.

"What's it about?"

Her mouth opens immediately, but then her eyes narrow.

"Wait." She points the manga at me. "Do you actually want to know, or are you setting me up so you can make fun of me?"

"I actually want to know."

She studies me for another second, apparently checking for signs of deception, then shifts around to face me properly.

Her eyes practically fucking sparkle.

"It starts with Nanase when she's still a teenager, and she sees this older woman collapse on the street. She panics and starts yelling for help, and this doctor comes running over."

"Doctor Tendo."

Her eyebrows shoot up. "You know it?"

"I know of it."

"Oh." She grins. "Okay, yes. Tendo. And obviously she takes one look at him and her teenage brain goes, holy shit, this man is beautiful—"

"Obviously."

"Shut up. But it's not just because he's hot. She watches him help this woman, and he's calm and capable and kind to her afterward, and Nanase is basically done for. Love at first sight. Goodbye, rational thought. Nice knowing you."

I huff out a laugh.

"She decides she wants to become a nurse because of him. She spends years studying, becomes one, then deliberately applies to the hospital where he works because she's been dreaming about seeing him again and confessing her love."

"That's a little obsessive."

Taylor points at me. "No commentary until I'm finished."