Page 69 of Forever Then

“I’m fine. Just got into it with one of our old high school buddies at the bar tonight.” Not a lie, per se.

“Over what?”

I shrug. “Dumb guy stuff.” Before she can push for more details, I go on. “But I mean it, Gretch. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

The faint glow of the moonlight barely illuminates her face, making it hard to discern the thoughts barreling through that overthinking head of hers.

“But?” she whispers.

“But…it’s been a really busy time with finding a job and a place to live, going back and forth to the city. I’m exhausted, honestly.”

It’s a load of crap and I think she knows it.

“Well, I’ll leave you alone then. I know you’ve got an early morning tomorrow.” With that, she turns and goes to sit at the pool’s edge. Still fully clothed, she leans back on her palms and dangles her legs in the water.

An onslaught of feelings rush in and I can’t move. I shouldn’t be out here. I need to go inside. But I don’t want to leave with her thinking she’s done something to deserve this.

“Did you really make Drew take you to seePitch Perfectafter that party?”

She swivels her head and locks me with a look of pure mischief.Sure to leave a few feet between us, I plop down next to her, mirroring her position.

“Did he know that I’d already taken you to see it?”

She eyes me sidelong. “What do you think?”

“Well played, Fish. Well played.”

For several minutes, we sit in comfortable silence. The sound of our legs lazily floating up and down creates a steady rhythm of water pushing and pulling against the side of the pool. And this—sitting without the pressure to be or do—is the most natural thing I’ve done all month.

“I learned something new last year. You wanna see?” Gretchen asks.

I tilt my head. “Should I be scared?”

She ignores my question as she hops up and runs back inside. A few seconds later, she returns with two plastic cups. When she sits down, she turns to face me, legs crisscross apple sauce. She sets the cup upside down in front of her.

My brows lift. “You didn’t.”

Without any preamble she goes right into the Cups song fromPitch Perfect, hitting every note and movement perfectly.

I promptly turn to face her. I cross my legs like hers and set the second cup in front of me. “Okay, you have to teach me now.”

For the next fifteen minutes, she walks me through the steps. At best, I do a mediocre job, but it’s so much fun I don’t even care. And now that the ice is broken, the conversation flows like a dam that’s just been breached.

She tells me about her friends from school and my heart warms. I still want to punch the floppy-haired kid in the face, but I keep that to myself.

I ask about her plans after high school and she tells me about wanting to study fashion in New York.

She asks me about college, my new job, my family and moving to Chicago. There’s no question she throws my way that I hesitate to answer. Before we know it, it’s three in the morning. She never got in the pool and my shirt is now dry to the bone.

Back inside, we stop at the top of the stairs, our bedroomsflanking us in opposite directions. There’s not an awkward beat between us when I haul her in for a hug and say good night before we part ways.

Gretchen’s already left for work before Drew and I head for Chicago the next morning. Thoughts of her creep in and out all day. I wrestle with the juxtaposition of feeling grateful for both her friendshipandthe distance between us so I don’t have to see her all the time.

Because there’s one thing I can’t shake no matter how hard I try, McDormand’s words that echo ominously in my brain. What the hell am I supposed to do when she’s not sixteen anymore?

Chapter Twenty-Seven

I NEED NAMES

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