Page 39 of The Last Dance

Maybe he won’t even be there? It’s not like Noah and I spend every waking second together. I’m sure everything will be fine. I’ll chat with Karmen and I’ll be gone before he even knows I was there.

‘It’ll be fine. I’m an adult, I’ve grown through all this, and I’ve definitely moved past Henry Decker.’

It’s true. At least it was right up until the moment he saved me from a dead chicken.

‘Whatever you say. You’d never have known it judging by the concert the other night.’

‘What? We hardly even spoke.’

‘I saw you two in the doorway, Ambri.’

‘Oh… that. Well, that was nothing, really.’

Just some awkward moments and him reminding me that we’re both idiots. I always expected when Henry came back he’d be the old Henry, the one I knew before, living life without me. He’s not. He obviously hasn’t dealt with his feelings or the past. He’s avoiding them. I can see it written all over his face. We don’t have to have the actual conversation over why he left for me to see that.

‘Then I’m sure today will be completely fine. Nothing to worry about.’ She shrugs.

‘Right. Nothing to worry about.’ If only my heart believed that.

*

‘Hello?’ I yell through my apartment like I’m unsure anyone is here even though I know he’s here because his truck is parked on the street below.

The empty boxes leaning against one wall stir up something in me that doesn’t feel as pleasant as it should. He must have stopped by to drop those off because I haven’t even attempted to start collecting boxes. I’m definitely not ready to start packing. I glance at the TV, still playing the baseball game he’s watching.

‘Hey, babe.’ Noah walks out of the bathroom, still in his uniform.

‘Hello-o-o-o…’

‘And that is exactly why I didn’t get changed yet.’ He pulls me against him, softly kissing my lips.

Noah and I met when I decided to try my hand at baking. I figured, I love food, maybe I could save some money and make it myself. That was not the case. My oven caught fire and after my frantic call to 911, afraid I was going to burn down the entire building, he was the first on the scene. He was able to save me the embarrassment of the fire department storming my building by putting out the flames with the fire extinguisher my dad had given me as a house-warming gift. He asked me out for a month afterwards, somehow always being everywhere I was, not in a creepy stalkerish way though. Every time he asked I’d laugh and pretend like he was kidding when, really, I wasn’t even a little bit close to wanting to see if my heart could take another round of this thing called love. When I finally agreed, things went OK. We had fun together; I needed that. I needed someone to help me get my mind off things. He has done that.

‘I have amazing news.’ I pull away, walking towards the kitchen and setting my bag on the counter. ‘I got a promotion today.’

‘Thatisamazing! So, he loved the story, then?’

‘He loved itsomuch that he’s given me the celebrity column along with my own. He even named me Lead Correspondent!’ I giggle, unable to hold it in. ‘The only problem is that the site hasn’t been doing well and he’s under the impression that I could write stories well enough to keep it going.’

‘He’s probably not wrong about that.’ He walks to the living room. Glancing at the game still playing on the TV.

‘You think?’

He clicks off the TV and walks over to me. ‘Babe, you’re good at your job. You need to see that. All you can do is your best. Ultimately, Jimmy is responsible for his own company.’

‘Yeah.’

Noah heads into my room, as I follow. He pulls open the drawer of my dresser that contains his extra clothes he keeps here. I can kind of see why he’d suggest us moving in together, I guess we practically are as it is.

‘Plus, you have this Karmen girl to help you out for a while. I’m sure you’ll learn the ropes of the celebrity world in no time.’

‘Speaking of Karmen, I’m supposed to meet up with her tonight. Are you good with that?’

Noah sighs heavily. ‘Honestly, I’m not thrilled to have you hanging out with your ex.’

‘He’s not my ex.’

‘Ex-lay…’

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