Page 20 of The Future Play

“When was your birthday?”

“Last week. January sixth.”

“Happy belated birthday. Now I really wish you would’ve let me pay for the sushi.”

“You helping out is more than enough. Thank you.” She looks around. “We should probably get back to it unless we want to be here all night.” She carefully pushes herself off the floor, but I wait a moment, watching her.

Even though I shouldn’t, all I can think is that I wouldn’t mind staying here all night as long as I’m with her.

Thoughts like that are destined to get me in trouble.

“Look at that.Completely finished, and it’s not even midnight.”

I shut Amanda’s car door after loading the last box of stuff in the back.

“Only because you offered to help. I’d probably still be unstringing lights if you hadn’t let me put you to work. So, thank you.”

“I was happy to do it.”

She stares at me for a second, then pushes onto her toes and wraps her arms around me in a hug. Everything about her is soft and warm—comforting.

I gently wrap my arms around her back. “Does this mean we’re friends now?” I say the words, praying they don’t come off like a douchey guy trying to friendzone a girl he’s led on but isn’t actually into. I genuinely like Amanda, and since romance isn’t on my radar right now, I hope we’ll be friends.

She laughs as she lands back on flat feet. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

Our eyes meet, then we both laugh awkwardly.

“So, friends usually have each other’s phone numbers, right?” I ask.

“They do.”

Continuing our trend of being weird and awkward, we swap phones and add our numbers.

When we swap back, I keep my hand on hers for a moment. There’s something about her that draws me in. It’s something I’ve never experienced before, and I don’t know what to do with it.

I know what I want to do, but that would lead to a messy can of worms being spilled everywhere, so I remind myself of the important word here.Friends.

“Well, I should probably get home and unload all my stuff.”

“Do you need any help? I can follow you.”

She laughs and shakes her head. “I’ll be fine. I can do it myself.”

“I know you can.” Her eyes land on mine. “But that doesn’t mean you should always have to.”

“You’re sweet.” She stares at me for a beat. “That cocky, confident thing you put on, that’s an act, right?”

That catches me off guard. Itisan act. Other than the people who know me well, no one ever notices that.

I bite my lip and try to play it off. “What gave me away?”

She shrugs. “I’m good at reading people. And… I don’t know. We don’t know each other well, but I’ve only seen you slip into it around bigger groups. When it’s just the two of us, you’re quieter. Still playful, obviously still confident about baseball, but everything else falls away.” She tilts her head as she looks at me. “Introvert?”

I laugh and run a hand through my hair. “Yeah. And you’re right. That mask is one I slip on to help myself feel comfortable when I otherwise wouldn’t. It’s easy enough to do, but it’s not the real me.”

Her eyes flit to mine again. “I can see that. It’s in your eyes. You’re happier now. More peaceful.” A mischievous smile dances on her lips. “Glad to know I make you feel that way.”

Oh, it would be easy, so easy, to lean into that. To flirt with her. To test the tension sparking between us.

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