Page 24 of Best Friends for Never

“So, you and Axel, huh?”

“Me and Axel,” I respond. “Who would have thought?”

“Definitely not me,” he mutters, using a little too much force, sending the plank he was working on flying across the room.

I stare at the board as it finally settles near the front door.

Is he mad I’m friends with Axel? It’s not like he wasthatterrible in high school. Sure, he could be a jerk, but that was so long ago.

“Because of high school and your rivalry?” I ask, turning back to Noel. “Because he’s changed a lot since then, you know. We all have.”

He sighs, ripping off another piece of wood, again with a bit too much force. “Oh, trust me, I’m aware.”

He pushes to his feet, carefully putting his crowbar under the painted wood strips so I can replace them with the natural ones.

I follow him up, and though I’m used to working next to a man who towers over me, I’mnotused to working next to Noel. It instantly feels different standing here with him than it does with Axel. He moves differently, not just because he has less finesse than someone who doesthis for a living. It’s more than that. Or maybe I’m just paying more attention.

Instead of staring at how his arms flex with every careful pull of the wood, I work my bar behind a slat and pull. It doesn’t budge.

“I guess I just didn’t expect you and Axel, of all people,” he continues, wrenching off another piece and breaking the one next to it. “Here, I got it.”

He reaches over, our hands barely brushing as he takes over pulling.

“Me and Axel? What do you mean?”

“You know ...” He trails off with a shrug. “It’s just that you two never got along, so I’m shocked you’re a couple now. But you’re right, people change, so what do I know? Maybe he’s a great guy.”

“Oh, heisgreat, but we aren’t together.”

He gives me an incredulous look, and I laugh.

“He’smarried.”

He stops what he’s doing, staring down at me in shock. “Married?”

I nod. “Yup. With triplets and another baby on the way.”

“He reproduced?”

I smack at his arm. “Hey! Be nice. That’s my business partner you’re talking about.”

“I’m sorry, but you two own a business together?”

“Yep. Cooke & Pruitt Renovations. Axel handles the construction and I do the designing. The tourist influx has increased a lot over the years, thanks to all those people who live in camper vans and travel out this way, so more and more people were looking to invest in rental properties for extra income. We saw the need so we jumped at it, and our company was born. Now we do commercial stuff too.”

I don’t know why I’m rambling to him about my business with Axel—maybe because I’m immensely proud of everything we’ve built—but I don’t miss the way Noel’s eyes shine with that same look he used to give me.

Pride.

“That’s ... Wow. That’s incredible. Truly.” He rips off the last of the painted wood and then sets his tools on the worktable. He dusts his hands off on his pants before placing them on his hips. “I can’t believe the Axel you’re talking about is the same one who used to snort chocolate milk in the cafeteria, or the same one who would pretend I was invisible and walk through me with anOh, sorry, I didn’t see you there, Nerdy Noel.”

I cringe a little thinking about the stunts he used to pull, like terrorizing the town farmers’ markets by letting loose any wild animal he could get his hands on or smashing up people’s gardens, but that hasn’t been the guy I know in a long, long time. Now he tends to half the community rows in our town garden, especially for the older folks who can’t get out there as often. And he’s the first one there setting up the market every third Saturday of the month.

A lot of credit for his transformation goes to his wife and how, the moment he met her, he knew Mary was the one and wanted to be someone she deserved. But I like to think it was me who was a good influence on him first.

Either way, it’s safe to say he’s nothing like the guy Noel remembers.

“I promise he’s changed. He’s matured. He’s not that same guy from ten years ago.”

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