Page 50 of The Best Friend Power Play

"A what?" I press down on it a few times, and sure enough, the mattress isn't firm. It's squishy. "Yikes." I step back. "I didn't think they existed in real life."

"I didn't think they survived past the eighties." She grabs the sides of my face and sucks in a breath. "Do you know what this means?"

She looks so serious, my heart starts to beat faster.

"No. What?"

Her chest is heaving, her eyes are fixed on me, and I have no idea what's going on. "We may have just discovered one of the last remaining waterbeds in existence."

I stare at her.

She looks back at me.

And then…

We both burst out laughing.

And we keep laughing until my sides hurt.

As I wipe the tears from my eyes, I stumble over my feet and crash onto the bed, bouncing up and down on it, which sets Hannah off again.

"Oh, you think this is funny, do you?"

I yank her by the arm, and she joins me, giggling and bouncing on this should-be-extinct bed, and I honestly can't remember the last time I had this much fun.

As we begin to calm down, the movement of the mattress eases, too. We're on our backs, staring up at the ceiling.

"I'm scared to move," I mutter.

Which makes Hannah chuckle.

Which makes the mattress jiggle.

"Don't laugh. Don't move," I say, trying to keep as still as I can. "Or we'll get seasick."

That sets Hannah off on another laughing fit, and we're back to bobbing up and down like we're on a tiny life raft out at sea.

After a while, she regains her composure.

Steadies her breathing.

And then lifts her hand into the air.

The one with the ring on it.

The modest diamond catches in the light. "This is a really pretty ring," she says.

"It's beautiful. One of Nonna's favorites."

"I'll give it back, of course."

A slight pang twists in my gut.

I've been feeling unsteady since seeing Hannah wearing my shirt last week, but now, lying on a waterbed with her, when that feeling should be stronger than ever because we're lying on a freaking waterbed, the unsteadiness is completely gone.

"Of course," I say through a tight smile.

"So. How do we do this?"

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