Page 56 of Now That We Don't Talk

“And?”

“And…it was fun.”

Her face falls. “You’re not interested in her.”

My mother has always had the ability to sense how I’m feeling. Do all mothers have a natural ability to know the truth? It might be a superpower bestowed on women after they have children.

“Claire is cool.” I pause. “But I don’t think I’m interested in that way. The chemistry just isn’t there between us…”

Maybe because my mind is focused elsewhere?

She pats my shoulder. “It’s okay. You’ll know when the time is right. It’s rare for it to happen like it did for Kyle. That was awfully fast.”

My thoughts wander back to last night with Vivian. I come very close to telling my mother about it, but I should talk to Vivian first. Nothing happened, but we’re still walking the line between enemies and friends.

“I know.” I pause. “I’m happy to be home. It’s been nice.”

She places her hands on the sides of my face. “We love having you back too.”

I thank her for the bagels, and she leaves me alone with my thoughts—a scary place to be.

How’s the studying? You ready for your hockey quiz?

It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours since I saw Vivian, and I’m already texting her. I’m committed to putting in the work to build this friendship. I haven’t told anyone about our spur of the moment evening yet. I’m not even sure why. It won’t be long before Kyle starts asking questions about Claire at the request of his new fiancée. My phone buzzes, and I smile when I read Vivian’s reply.

Nope. I’m not sure when I’ll get around to it.

It’s strange how much I like getting snarky messages from her. I quickly respond.

What are you waiting for? Nothing could be more important than learning about my sport.

She replies almost immediately.

Hmm…I can give you a list of things that are more important.

Before I have a chance to respond to Vivian my phone buzzes with a text from Addi.

Putting finishing touches on the party invitation. How does this look?

It doesn’t take a genius to know that she doesn’t need my opinion about party invites. This message will open aconversation about Claire. I need to talk to Kyle before I say anything to Addi. I plan to mention it when I meet him for our next racquetball game.

I click on Vivian’s message.

We should discuss this list of yours over dinner. What do you think?

My phone grows quiet for what feels like several minutes until she finally replies.

Okay.

I let out a sigh of relief. She’s making me work for this, and I kind of like it.

Kyle sits down on the bench and takes a long swig of his water.

“What’s going on with you?” he asks.

“What do you mean?”

He gives me a curious look. “You’re smiling, a lot.”

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