Page 27 of Play With Me

We stand there a moment too long, heat dancing up my arm.

Then she pulls her hand away. “I’ve got it,” she says tightly. She turns the lock and pushes the door open.

Sasha’s eyes are on the two of us, one eyebrow up. She might be susceptible to my charm, but she’s sharp, too. “Guess you’ve got it from here. I can’t wait to see you guys!”

Nora nods. “Bye, Sasha.”

After a quick furrowed brow to me, she spins on her heel and heads back for the stairs.

“Thank you,” Nora says after her friend has disappeared. “For helping me up here. You okay to get Cap home? There’s a taxi stand right outside.”

Any hope of her inviting us in voluntarily flitters into the dim hallway light like dust. I could have pleaded exhaustion or used Cap as an excuse to crash here. But I’m not that pathetic.

“I can not go to this party if you want. But I was serious about Farrah wanting to spend the night with Cap, and I was hoping you might have wanted to hang out just the two of us anyway.”

Okay, I’m a little pathetic.

“If you weren’t doing anything,” I tack on quickly, then clear my throat. “Just to go over some of the research before I go.”

Nora stands in her doorway, looking defeated. “Let’s make a plan tomorrow, okay?”

I grin, feeling like the clouds have parted.

“No takebacksies,” I say. Then, because I can, I lean forward and peck Nora on the cheek.

Nora freezes. The last time we did that—tried to do that—I’d kissed her for real. The way friends weren’t supposed to do. The wayIwasn’t supposed to do. I’d hated myself for that then. But now, I’m too happy about this turnaround to care. Our faces are inches apart; so close I feel her breath on my cheek.

“Dad?” Cap shifts on my back.

I quirk a smile, my eyes on Nora’s. “Bye, Nora.”

Before she can say anything more—or change her mind—I turn and head down the hall. “Sorry, buddy. We’re going home.”

Then I carry my boy back downstairs, biting my cheek to keep from whistling a tune.

CHAPTER7

Nora

Iemerge from the tube station into a cold, pattering December rain. The high street is beautifully decorated for the upcoming holidays—each lamppost adorned with holly and cedar boughs, and most of the shop windows are cozily lit up and filled with sparkling ornaments and tinsel.

I jog across the street toward the coffee shop where I’m meeting Jude and Cap, holding my video camera against my hip, nerves dancing in my stomach.

I haven’t seen them since that awkward trip to my apartment, and with my last exam done, I’m ready to finally relax and try to enjoy my time with them. It’s only few more days—I can stay strong for a few more days. Plus, Jude let me know we’ve only got a couple of hours before they’re meeting up with Farrah today.

A couple of hours will be easy-peasy.

I can’t deny that I’m still upset with Jude. After a whole year of dedicated avoidance, I was finally feeling mostly okay with my life without him. Then in classic Jude style, he just had to come barging back into my life like a force of nature. I still couldn’t believe he’d just shown up in London. The least he could have done was tell me he was coming, full stop. Give me time to prepare.

To pretend I had a life outside school and the seniors center.

But he’s not wrong about how I would have reacted—that is to say, not well, given how we left things.

I approach the cafe fifteen minutes early, just as I planned. I wanted to make sure I got a good seat near the back where we can talk a little more freely, and where I can mentally prepare to see them walk in. I smooth down my rain-frizzed hair outside the door. Maybe I should have listened to Sasha’s ridiculous advice.

“If you don’t want to be friends with him anymore, what about showing him what he’s missing?”

“What are you talking about?” She’d rescued me yesterday after my exam, when she’d heard Murray accosting me in the hallway to give me the all-important update about the laundry room opening changes over the holidays. She’d insisted on me telling her what my plans were with Jude while he was here.

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