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I press my lips to her forehead, my eyes briefly closing. She lets go of my other hand to wrap me in a hug, and I pull her closer. “Yeah, Kat. That’s what it should feel like.”

Eventually, the two of us move back on to the couch, but this time there’s no distance between us. Kat is snuggled against my side and my arm is around her, pulling her as close as possible without putting her in my lap. There’s a lot we need to talk about, but that can wait. For now, I’m content to just be in the moment with her.

Inevermadeitto Josie and Bryce’s yesterday.

After just hanging out on the couch for a while, the two of us decide we do need to talk about where things are going to go from here. We both have busy schedules and being a couple of hours away from one another isn’t ideal for the start of a new relationship, but if we’re both willing to work at it, we could be great. In the end, Kat asks for a couple of days to be single and let the anticipation of a first date—something she’s never really felt—build before we put a label on it.

I couldn’t agree more. We pull up jam-packed schedules, playfully arguing over who’s busier and we sift through date after date to find one that works. In the end, we settle on one two weeks away. Kat needs to be in Columbia to be on the job site that day, but I have nothing besides practice, so I decide to make the drive back down here. It gets added to both of our calendars, and we settle in to just hang out that night.

We order food and watch movies. There are a couple of kisses shared, but mostly we just take the time to be alone for the first time. Eventually, we somehow end up asleep on the couch.

It’s late morning by the time I use my key to enter Josie and Bryce’s apartment, stiff from falling asleep on a couch but with a smile on my face that I can’t dim. I’m surprised to find both Josie and Bryce sitting at the kitchen island, facing the door as I walk in.

“Morning!” I greet, dropping my bag before going for the French press on the counter, a mug already waiting for me. “What are you doing?”

I’m surprised they’re not at the pool, as that’s where Kat was heading when I left. Instead, they’re both sitting in front of their own laptops, with what looks like separate projects going on.

“I’m going over a budget for our first year,” Bryce comments, eyebrow quirking up. “But I’ll gladly put it on pause if you want to tell me what you were up to this morning.”

“And last night.” Josie’s tone is teasing, but she doesn’t look up from her laptop. “Did it involve our favorite contractor?”

“Not telling,” I reply, downing the coffee a lot quicker than I should. I bend down to grab my bag, then head down the hall. “I’m taking a shower.”

“Oh, come on,” Bryce yells after me. “I’ve told you things!”

“You’ve what?” Josie’s gasp follows me down the hall.

Opening the spare room, I laugh to myself as I hear her asking him how much I know. It’s not much. Bryce would never disrespect Josie like that. Nor would I let him. Still, I know more than I am willing to tell either of them. Maybe in two weeks I’d be more willing to share, but right now I’m going to keep this between the two of us.

April2024

“What are you doing there today?”

Carter’s voice carries through the car as I turn down the street, heading toward Josie and Bryce’s new house. They picked up the keys yesterday evening and are meeting me there to do a walkthrough. Unsurprisingly, the inspection of the house came back with nothing major to be concerned about, but I warned them things could come up as we start tearing into things.

It’s been just under a week since our first kiss and I’m counting down the days until this coming Friday when we’ll finally have our first date. In those last few days, I’ve been living the single life as much as I can. I haven’t been obsessively checking my phone to make sure I didn’t miss an angry text from Will. Instead, I’ve been hanging out with my friends and exploring the city a bit more. Carter and I have also been texting and talking as often as we can, but there’s no pressure.

We both know where this is going, we both are committed to it, so this gets to be the fun part. The part where we get to know one another and spend all our extra time flirting. Which is something Carter Abrams is very good at, I’ve learned. I’ve blushed more in the last few days than I have in years.

“I am meeting Josie and Bryce at the house so we can talk about some of my plans and see what they’re looking to do,” I explain, glancing down at the GPS to make sure I don’t miss the house. I’ve only driven by it once, when I initially offered to help, so I haven’t gotten the directions down yet. “Then I think we’re going to grab lunch or dinner, depending on how long it takes—talk things out.”

“You know you’re doing them a huge favor, right?” Carter questions. “If Bryce had to find people to help him do this, he’d lose his mind. He already knows he can trust you.”

“You should have seen Josie’s face the day she showed me the house, Carter. I could tell she really wanted it.” I pull the car to a stop on the street in front of the house. “This place is so them. I can’t wait to see what they do to it.”

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around Bryce buying a house. You gotta remember, I lived through Bryce in college.”

“Well, hopefully he’s gotten better at household chores,” I tease, checking my phone to see if I have any updates yet. “I’m the first one here.”

Carter laughs. “Are you early or on time?”

“About five minutes early,” I reply, leaning back in my seat. “What time do you have to be back at the pool?”

“In about . . . Ah, shit.”

Amused, I glance at the time. “You need to be there right now, don’t you?”

“Yeah, pretty much.” I hear shuffling on the other end of the phone and the obvious sign of a door closing behind him. “At least it’s just an extra practice. Hopefully, coach won’t be too mad.”