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‘What?’ I narrowed my eyes at her, alarmed by her unexpected reaction.

Once she swallowed down her food and took a sip of her drink, she asked, ‘With Colton?’

‘What?’ I repeated, even more confused. ‘No, with Aiden. Why would it be with Colton?’

‘Aiden?’ she questioned, raising an eyebrow. ‘You mean, the one living with the track team Aiden?’

I nodded. ‘Yes, that Aiden.’

‘I didn’t know you liked Aiden.’

‘I mean I don’t not like Aiden,’ I replied. ‘But he seems like a nice guy.’

There was a slight pause before she said, ‘Then, what about Colton?’

‘What about Colton?’ I questioned it back to her, failing to see how Colton fit into this.

‘I mean, you like Colton. I just don’t understand why you’re going out with Aiden,’ she explained.

Still failing to see the relevancy. I tried explaining in bullet points, ticking off each item with a finger.

‘First off, Aiden actually asked me out. It’s hard to go out with someone aka Colton who didn’t ask me out.

Second, yes, I do like Colton but we’re just friends.

And third, why are you so surprised that I’m going on a date with Aiden?

I’ve been on dates before when my crush on Colton was still ongoing. ’

‘That was different. Back then it was a passive crush, based on his looks and his star athlete reputation,’ Nina started explaining. ‘But I don’t think it’s a passive crush any more with how much time you’re spending together.’

‘What do you mean exactly?’

‘What I mean is, your crush on Colton, a few semesters ago, was based on a fantasy—like mine used to be on Miles. It was all in our heads, because we didn’t know them.

We made up the romantic scenarios ourselves and just put their faces on it.

So, of course, I didn’t question you going on dates before.

But now, you actually know Colton, and I’m damn sure you’re liking the real person a lot more. ’

I scoffed. ‘How can you possibly know that?’

‘You’re happier on Wednesdays,’ Nina pointed out.

‘At first, I thought maybe something good happened on that one random Wednesday but then I noticed it every week. There was a certain happiness in you. Once you told me about the practice sessions you had with Colton, that’s when I realized it’s because of him. ’

My breath hitched. I didn’t know if this was one of those moments where having an observant roommate was a blessing or a curse.

‘Okay fine. Yes. I like Colton, more now than I did before,’ I admitted. There was no point in denying it, when it was true. ‘But we’re just friends and it’s not like he likes me back.’

Nina just raised an eyebrow. ‘Really, Clara? You cannot be that oblivious.’

I just stared at her confused.

‘He likes you too.’

I quickly shook my head, dismissing her words. ‘Don’t do that, don’t give me that hope.’

‘The night of the party at the baseball team’s house when he finally arrived,’ Nina continued, ignoring what I said. ‘The first thing he did was he went up to Miles and asked him where you were. When Miles said he didn’t know, he went to look for you.’

‘And how did you know that was what happened?’ I asked, even though I could already guess how.

‘I was with Miles when he asked. It was like nothing else mattered to him than getting to see you.’

The butterflies in my stomach were pretty much out of control at that point, no matter how hard I tried to calm them.

Normally I wouldn’t trust anyone’s accusations of these things, but that came from Nina, who had only ever looked out for me and said things as they were, even if they were hard pills to swallow.

This just made her accusations a lot harder to brush off, and really making the spark of hope in my chest grow bigger.

‘Even if you are right,’ I finally said, ‘These are still merely your observations. I’ll only believe Colton actually likes me back if he ever says the words, “I like you” to me.’

‘That’s fair.’ Nina nodded, ending that conversation.

As we continued eating our meal, and my mind finally calmed down over everything that we discussed, something struck me over what Nina said just then.

‘Hold on a minute. What do you mean, used to be on Miles? Is there something going on between you two that I should know about?’

And lo and behold, my best friend and roommate flushed on the spot.

‘There is,’ I exclaimed.

‘We’ve just been texting. That’s all. I mean, midterms and training have pretty much filled my time this week, but it was nice to text him once in a while,’ Nina said, sheepishly.

‘And?’ I urged her to continue.

‘And nothing. That’s the extent of it.’ She shrugged.

‘Well, I’m happy for you,’ I said.

‘And I’m happy for you for going on a date tomorrow. But what exactly do you need my help with?’

I couldn’t help but laugh at her question, her joining me seconds later.

‘Gosh, how did we stray so far away from the main thing I wanted to talk to you about,’ I said, after calming myself down. ‘I need help picking out an outfit and I need your brutal opinions and fashion sense, please.’

‘Consider it a done deal. My training is until mid-noon, so I’ll be home to help you out. The date is at night, right?’

I nodded. ‘He’s asked me to be ready at six.’

‘Yup, I will definitely be home by then,’ Nina confirmed.

We spent the rest of the dinner catching up with whatever had happened that week, no matter how small or big. As I sat there listening to Nina recount what had happened during her training the day before, I couldn’t help but be grateful to have stumbled upon her in my life.

‘I’m glad you’re my best friend,’ I said once she finished her story.

She gave me a giant grin. ‘I’m glad you’re my best friend too.’