Page 76 of Gap Control

"Anytime," TJ said. "Seriously. Door's always open."

After Mercier left, TJ turned back to me, and I saw something I'd never seen before. He wasn't only the funny guy or the team cheerleader. He was a leader. Someone the team could lean on when it mattered.

"That was impressive."

He shrugged, suddenly self-conscious again. "Just seemed like he needed to hear he wasn't broken."

"You know exactly what to say to people."

"Not always." He settled back beside me on the bed, closer than before. "Usually I make jokes until the moment passes."

"But not tonight."

"No," he said quietly. "Not tonight."

I turned my head slightly, cheek brushing the fabric of his hoodie. I felt the steady beat of his heart.

The TV clicked softly into a new movie. It was something equally ridiculous and equally eager to please. I didn't open my eyes.

TJ was watching me.

"I don't think I've ever fallen asleep next to someone and felt like…" I didn't finish the sentence.

TJ brushed his thumb gently over the fabric at my elbow. "You don't have to explain it. I feel it, too."

We didn't kiss. We stayed where we were.

Two tired bodies on an ugly hotel comforter, and entirely—finally—letting go.

That was the night I realized:

There were worse ways to fall in love than head-first into someone's shoulder, discovering that the person who made you laugh could also hold people together when everything else fell apart.

Chapter seventeen

TJ

Somewhere between the second sneeze and the third time I wiped my nose on the inside of my sleeve, I decided I wasn't sick. "It's just dry air." That sounded more convincing in my head than it did out loud, given that my voice came out like gravel soaked in NyQuil.

Mason looked up from the kitchen with the world's most skeptical face and a steaming mug in his hand. "Uh-huh."

"I don't need that." I pointed at the mug like it was radioactive.

"It's tea."

"Right."

"It's only ginger and lemon."

"So is floor cleaner."

He walked it over anyway. I tried to glare at him, but my sinuses were staging a mutiny. My eyes watered. My skull felt two sizes too heavy, and my arms like wet pasta.

Despite all that, I still had my pride. And my shimmery hoodie.

"I'm going to skate. Coach'll need me for line drills. I'll wear a hoodie under my gear."

Mason stared. "Tell me all the ways that sentence makes sense."

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