Page 84 of Meet Me at the Metro

My phone buzzes in my back pocket as we cross a pedestrian walkway near the school, and when I pull it out, I see a message from Theo.

Class running late?

“Shit,”I curse under my breath, typing out a quick reply.

Running behind. Be there in 10 mins

“What is it?” Connor asks.

“Would you mind walking me back to campus?”

“Of course not. Forgot something?”

“No, I just need to meet someone there.”

Connor clears his throat but thankfully doesn’t press on about the matter. “Gotcha.”

“Thank you for everything tonight. I seriously don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t been there.”

“Don’t thank me, seriously. I’m here for you. I’m sorry you’ve had such a shit night.”

I nudge him with my elbow, hoping to break some of the heavy tension clouding us. “It’s a little better now.”

As we walk alongside each other, I find myself smiling despite the shitty circumstances of the night. I’ve finally got my friend back.

“I’ve missed you,” I tell him honestly.

Connor’s smile reaches his eyes. “Ditto.”

24

SOMETHING FOR YOU

T H E O

The melody of Dad’s song wraps around my mind as my fingers glide along the black and ivory keys of the piano. The chords lull me into a trance of bittersweet memories as I slowly recall the notes I was beginning to fear were lost forever. As the strings of the instrument echo through the private practice room, I can’t help but smile, knowing that I’ve finally managed to piece together another line of the composition he so graciously left behind in this world. I stop playing and quickly draw the pencil from behind my ear, scribbling down the notes along the lines of the music sheet in front of me.

The rush of fingertips against my torso startles me from my work. Without even having to turn around, I know whose arms are now snaking and settling around my waist. I kick my legs around the piano bench and turn around to greet Nora.

My heart is still racing from her abrupt arrival, and she giggles—clearly amused at how flustered she’s managed to make me. I yank her toward me, feeling my chest warm and my nerves calm as she settles between my legs.

“You think you’re bloody funny, don’t you? Sneaking up on a grown man like that and—”

“Scaring the shit out of him,” she finishes. “You’re a jumpy little thing, aren’t you?”

I clutch the dips of her waist and give her a playful squeeze. “Smart arse.”

The sound of her laughter melts over me like warm wax. I love making her laugh like this—the way her smile looks as it reaches her eyes.

I trap her between my legs and ruthlessly tickle her sides. It isn’t hard to detect this girl’s weak spots, and I’ll be damned if I don’t make it my goal to find every single one of them. She squirms and jerks around in a poor attempt to escape, but she’s too weak with laughter to put up much of a fight.

“Looks like you’re the jumpy little thing to me.”

“Stop!”She snorts.

“Did you just fucking snort?”

“Teddy, stop! I can’t breathe!”

---