Page 211 of Falling Backwards
“Drive carefully,” she says softly as we lean back.
I nod.“Have fun.”
She nods too.
It feels like there’s more we each want to say, but we both know we can’t stand here all night trading off little preambles to our goodbye.Glances go over faces and along bodies, and I get the feeling she takes a mini trip back to this morning just like I do, and then we smile as we both take steps back from each other.
A counterintuitive move.A move we make nevertheless.
Once I’m in the elevator, I turn to look back down the hallway and I see her head poking around the doorframe.I snort into laughter at how cute that is.We wave at each other until the elevator doors close me off from her.
The ride to the first floor feels so blah.
But as I walk out the front doors, I decide to try to have some fun of my own.I haven’t seen Paxton in a while, so I’ll hit him up and see what he’s doing; maybe he wants to grab food or play some games.And if it turns out to just be me for the night, then that’s okay.I don’t have to be with Maggie to laugh atArrested Development.
My phone vibrates once in my pocket.I fish it out and see a text from Maggie herself:
Nice ass
A laugh bursts out of me.I look up to the windows on the outside of the building.Plenty of the second-level ones are lit up, but only one of them has the figure of a dark-haired young woman standing in it, aiming a thumbs-up at me.
ME:Why, thank you.You have nice everything
I send a thumbs-up back to her window and wonder if I can really tell that my little truth makes her laugh or if I’m just imagining that.
MAGGIE:Hm.At the risk of sounding like a copycat, I must say you actually have nice everything too
ME:;)
MAGGIE:;)
I chortle all the way to my car.When I’m not checking for Kyle again, I’m turning glances back up to her window and finding her there every time.
Not sure if she’s watching to make sure of my safety or because she really is checking me out from a distance.Maybe both.Iwouldlikeboth.
One thing is definitely true: that girl is funny.
M A G G I E
Once Luke texts me that he’s at home for the night and waiting for Paxton to come over with food, I feel like I can really settle into my own evening.The timing is great; the girls and I have unpacked our bags from being away, ordered pizza, and gotten into pajamas.Luke and I agree to talk to each other later in the night, like we said before he left—I get brave enough to send a heart emoji and he returns it and, God, that makes me happy in the craziest little way.
I realize that happiness is on my face when I set my phone down right as Emma says from the couch, “All right, Maggie, spill it.”
I curl up here in the cushy chair.“Spill what?”I ask.
But I know I’m just about grinning, and Emma canseeI’m just about grinning, and she sputters into laughter that I get drawn into.Guess my and her chat about when to put the Christmas tree up is over.
“Girl, please!”She points at me, her pretty face alight with good-hearted accusation.“You are lit up about him!Spill.It!”
From behind the closed bathroom door, I hear Joy shriek, “No, wait for me!I have to hear this!”
Well, I already know I’m not going to tell them about my and Luke’s intimacy from this morning—the girls don’t always share their similar experiences, but they’re more likely to than I am—and yet my cheeks are burning as I press my hands to them.I wouldn’t be surprised if that gives me away on its own.
“Your face is so red,” Emma laughs out now.“Oh, you sweet thing!”
Joy comes out of the bathroom with an inordinate amount of noise.As she barrels herself into the free space next to Emma on the couch, she wipes her hands on her pajama pants, clearly having rushed through washing her hands so much that she didn’t dry them properly.
