Page 35 of Friends Like This

I hear footsteps behind me, and for half a second, I wonder if it’s Jesse coming back to annoy me some more. I look over my shoulder and see Aaron and my insides do a little happy dance.

“I know this is kinda your thing, so I’ll leave if you want me to,” he says softly, sitting down behind me and pulling my back against his chest.

“Like I could say no when you make me all cozy.”

He laughs and wraps his arms around me.

“This is beautiful,” he says, resting his chin on my shoulder. His breath tickles my ear and sends a tingle through my body. “I hope I didn’t freak you out about the whole kissing thing yesterday. It doesn’t—it doesn’t need to mean anything. I didn’t mean for it to—”

I turn my head to the side and look at him, pretending to be offended. “Are you saying youdon’twant to kiss me?”

He rolls his eyes and shakes his head. Then, in a low voice, he says, “I never said that. It’s always comfortable when we kiss. Relaxing. Perfect for this morning.” Without another word, he presses his lips to mine in a partially open-mouth kiss. Just as quickly, he pulls away.

Our eyes meet for a second, then I brush my lips against his, wanting a few more seconds. It’s a simple, mostly closed mouth,friendlykiss. But as his grip on my arm tightens, I know that’s a little bit of a lie because I feel that tingle again in the most amazing way.

I quickly pull away, shake my head, and laugh it off. Thankfully, he does too.

He’s my best friend, I remind myself. It’s our connection, and that’s all, right? But sometimes I wonder what exactly that connection means.

I rest my head against his shoulder and stare out at the beautiful morning. He holds me tightly as the sound of the waves crashing against the sand drowns out my thoughts.

On the plane home, I’m in the middle of three seats. Sarah is right next to the window and Aaron is in the aisle seat. He’s asleep, his head resting on my shoulder. Sarah is looking out the window.

I lightly elbow her and she looks at me.

“So,” I whisper, “you gonna tell me what it really felt like to kiss Joel?”

She shakes her head and shrugs. “Nothing like kissing Trevor.”

“Sarah.”

She huffs out a sigh and looks around, specifically checking to see if Aaron is asleep. To prove he is, I gently lift his hand and let it fall onto his lap, showing that he’s out.

She nods and leans in. “I can’t deny the chemistry. Some people have that. Doesn’t mean there’s more to it, but we definitely have chemistry. Lots of chemistry. It was fun kissing him, and even though I felt a little something, it didn’t change how I feel about Trevor. If anything, it made me miss him more. I can’t wait to get home and see him. Hopefully, he can come over tonight.”

I smile knowingly. “I’d be surprised if he didn’t.”

Of course, I already know he’s going to be waiting for her when we get home. I’m supposed to text him when we get to the airport so he can time it right.

By the time we finally get home, the sun is starting to set, which is pretty perfect. Trevor is waiting on the deck for her, but out of sight.

When we get out of the car, Dad gives me a smile and says, “I’ll unload. You should head up to the deck. It’s still vacation. Enjoy one last sunset.”

Sarah happily agrees, and I follow her to the deck. As we get to the top of the stairs, she stops suddenly, seeing Trevor standing there with a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

“Hey,” he says with a huge smile.

“Hi,” Sarah says, all giddy as she takes him in. “Who are those flowers for?”

“Oh, this pretty girl I know,” he says, his smile somehow getting bigger.

She runs over to him and jumps into his arms.

I stay by the stairs, assuming this is going to go from talking to making out to sex in less than a minute.

“I missed you,” she says.

“Missed you, too. How was the trip?”

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