Page 130 of Best Friends for Never

Mom lifts her brows. “I’d ask what’s wrong, but I’m a little scared, given Noel’s announcement about what topics are and aren’t up for discussion tonight.”

I throw the man in question another glare, and he laughs it off.

“I took her to the gym yesterday,” Noel explains.

“We have a gym?” Mom asks.

“See?” I say to Noel. “I told you I’d never heard of it before.”

“How ...” He shakes his head, stopping himself from asking a silly question. “Never mind. I forgot who I was talking to. Yes, we have a gym. It’s behind Jill’s.”

“Shut up.” Mom looks at her boyfriend. “Did you know this, Cliff?”

He nods. “I knew.”

“Wow. And to think you know a place.” Mom goes back to stirring the chili, muttering about what other secrets this town could be hiding.

Noel begins pulling the supplies we brought from the grocery bags and setting them on the counter. “Is there anything I can do to help?” he asks my mother.

She smiles over at him. “Just sit your butt next to Parker. It’s your last night here. You’re not helping me cook.”

“I tried to offer too,” Clifford says, “and it’s not my last night here. Why can’t I help?”

“Because, love, you eat baked beans for dinner at least four nights a week. You’re hopeless in the kitchen.”

He shrugs. “She’s got me there.”

Noel settles on the stool next to me, his leg pressing against mine like it’s where it belongs.

I’m going to miss this. These little moments. The small ways he finds to touch me. Or having him here for Tater Tot Tuesday. The familiar scent of his cologne. Justhim.

I’ve always felt content in life. I have a house I love, a cat who is a monster but I still adore, a mother who is one of my best friends, and a business that is doing well.

Then Noel came back and showed me that while things were good, they could be great.

And I want great. I want him back in my life. I want everything I didn’t know I was missing.

But I’m not going to get it. He leaves in less than ten hours, and I have no idea when he’s coming back.

Mom announces the chili is done, and we get to work making our pans of tots. Noel and I split one, topping ours with fresh jalapeños, shredded cheese, and bacon bits before sliding it into the oven.

“Noel, Cliff, why don’t you two head outside and start the fire?” my mother suggests. “Parker and I can bring these out when they’re done.”

The guys take off outside, and the second the door snaps shut behind them, my mother turns to me.

“How are you holding up?” she asks, leaning her elbows against the counter, her stare boring into me like she’s looking into my soul.

“I’m okay.”

She gives me that look only a mother can give. The one that says,Come on, it’s me.

I sigh. “Really, Mom. I’m okay.” She doesn’t look like she believes me, and so I force a smile. “I swear.”

But evenIcan hear the shake in my voice.

“Have you talked about what this means for you two?”

“No.”

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