Page 94 of The Good Boy

“Bye,” I say as Miles and Claudia vanish into his house. When I go to open my door, I realize I don’t have my key. And I am still in my nightie. I peer through the window and Rory is lying on the sofa, with his headphones on. Listening to K-pop probably.

“Roar!” I bang on the window but he’s oblivious. Typical man.

Right, well, the only thing to do is to give Miles and Claudia timeto do whatever it is they are doing—god, I hope it’s PG-rated—and then ask Miles for my spare key. I sit down on the doorstep and look at my slippers.

Miles’s front door opens. I try to blend in with my door.

“So, see you at work tomorrow?” Miles asks Claudia.

“Sure will!” Claudia says. “And listen, Miles, thank you. For being straight with me. A lot of people would have let that drag on and, well, it’s okay, you know. I’m kind of glad, actually. I’d rather have a forever friend than a for-now date.”

“Thanks, Claudia; for the record I do think you are amazing,” Miles says. “All the lads at work fancy you.”

“You got that right,” she says, almost tripping over my feet. “Oh, hello, Genie. Why are you sitting on your doorstep in your nightie?”

“Locked myself out, classic me,” I tell her. “I wasn’t, you know, earwigging.”

“I know,” Claudia says. “Hey, tell Rory I’ll see him Tuesday for the K-pop club night?”

“Yeah, I will—are you okay?”

Claudia’s smile is a little sad, but her eyes are bright.

“Going to be,” she says with a nod. “See you, Genie.”

“I’ll get your key,” Miles says, as Claudia drives off. While he’s gone I pace up and down, trying to feel purposeful and determined. This is it, time to complete my quest-adjacent quest at last.

“Here you go.” Miles puts the key in the palm of my hand.

“So, you and Claudia, you’ve decided not to date?” I ask him.

“It’s for the best,” he says. “Thanks so much for today, Genie. See you later.”

Miles lets himself into his house and closes the door without saying another word. Wait, what?

Chapter Thirty-Six

“What’s happening?” Rory asks as I let myself in.

“Miles and Claudia decided not to date after all and I was about to say, Oh, by the way, I love you, and he just went in his house and shut the door.”

“I mean with dinner,” Rory says. “I’m starving.”

“Rory, tell me what to do?” I plead.

“Call Uber Eats?” he suggests.

“About Miles!” I exclaim.

“Oh, I think only you have the answer to that one,” Rory says. “I’ll order a pizza while you think about it.”

When I close my eyes. I’m back to that moment at the Christmas dance when Miles took my hand, and we stood under the rainbow stairs and felt like two puzzle pieces that had finally found their perfect fit.

“I know what to do,” I tell Rory. “It’s grand gesture time, boy.”

“Are we going on a madcap chase to an airport for some reason?” Rory asks.

“You’ll just have to wait and see.”

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