Page 22 of The Best Friend Power Play

"It's knowing that no matter how much you may mock us, Hannah and I will always have the last laugh. Because no matter what you guys—or anyone in Comfort Bay—may think, we are and will always be the best of best friends."

A moment passes.

Then another one.

"Yeah. That's right." I back Culver up, even though my throat is dry, and I feel like I've been sucker punched.

Because there it is.

We are and will always be the best of best friends.

Culver's declaration of the full extent of our relationship.

Which is precisely why I can never ever tell him about my true feelings.

"Let's get back to the hot girl summer planning," Katie suggests.

"Good idea," I say.

I'm forced to veto a string of bad suggestions—skydiving, getting a tattoo, seeing how many Oreos I can stuff into my mouth—before we finally get on track again, courtesy of Culver's idea.

"You've always wanted to see the magic purple carpet."

The kids chortle. No guesses where their minds went with that one.

I ignore them and pat Culver's arm. "I love it. Write it down. That one's a definite."

"I realize you can't travel too far, but you've always said you'd like to go on a road trip, like…" Katie's head dips. "Like the ones we used to go on when Mom was alive." She looks back up and exhales, pushing past her sadness. "The drive out to Fresno is nice this time of year, with the crops in bloom."

"You c-c-could even stay at a r-r-roadside motel like we used to. Apparently. I don't remember since I'm the y-y-oungest."

I think about it. "Actually, yeah. That would be nice. Are you sure you guys don't want me to wait so we could do it together some time?"

"I am not sharing a bathroom with him."

"I have a f-f-feeling a summer of staying at h-h-hostels will turn me into a five star hotel man."

I smile. "Fair enough. Looks like it's you and me again, Culver."

More smiling. More dimples. "Sounds good to me."

The twins jot down their ideas, and I do the same as two wildly different things pop into my head at the same time.

Culver spots it. "What did you just write down?"

"Uh…" One idea is safe to share, the other, not so much. "I wrote down that I'd like to tag along with you on one of your hospital visits."

"Oh."

"If that's okay with you?"

"Yeah, it's fine. It's just…well, I spend time hanging out with sick kids. It's not really that exciting."

"I know, but it's something I've been wanting to do for a while. I'd like to get involved."

"Okay. Cool. I'll let you know when I'm going next." He puts down his fork and spoon. "What else did you write?"

"Nothing."

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