Page 52 of Places We've Never Been

“Next,” Paisley said when I sat back down again. “Do you know how to tell when they’re mad?”

I clenched my jaw and pointed at it.

“That’s true,” Paisley said. “You’re such a jaw clencher, Skyler. That can’t be good for your teeth.”

“It’s better than the silent treatment,” he said, nodding toward me.

“The silent treatment doesn’t bother my teeth at all,” I said.

“Ha!” Paisley said. “She has you there.”

“But,” he said, “when you’re beyond mad, you cry.”

I swallowed. He was right and he probably also remembered that I hated to cry, especially in front of other people. It was one of my least favorite things. So I pretended like he didn’t say it and asked Paisley, “Are there more?”

“A few. Who’s the last person they made out with?”

My cheeks immediately went hot. I definitely didn’t know the answer to that. I could probably look at his Instagram and figure it out. Or maybe I could ask who’d texted him on the roof the night before. Riley? That would be a safe bet. “I don’t know,” I said before things got more awkward.

“No clue,” Skyler said.

“Makes sense,” Paisley said. “You haven’t seen each other in four years. I guess you aren’t giving each other make-out reports. I’m not going to lie, it would’ve been awesome if you were.”

“Next,” I said, ready to move past the question.

“Next one is, Do you know how to make them feel better in any situation?”

Of course I knew that answer. When Skyler was sad, I would badly sing a song he loved while changing the lyrics to fit whatever sad thing he was dealing with.

“Don’t do it,” Skyler said with a smile, as if I was about to belt out a bad tune.

“Don’t worry, haven’t done it in forever.” I had retired that particular quirk of mine long ago. “Why would I start again now? You’re perfectly happy.”

“Yes, I am,” he said.

“Good.”

“What is it?” Paisley asked. “What did you used to do?”

“Make a fool of myself for your brother,” I said.

“And what about you, Skyler?” Paisley said. “What did you do for her?”

He would hug me. Just give me a huge, lanky-armed hugand tell me that whatever I was feeling was exactly the right way to feel. His eyes met mine. “What is it your mom calls you? A ray of sunshine? Whoever needs to make a ray of sunshine feel better?”

I blinked in surprise before controlling my expression and saying, “So true. How did you ever find light without me?”

Paisley’s gaze went back and forth between us a couple times before saying, “Last question: Have you ever kept a secret from each other?”

“This is stupid,” Skyler said. “I’m sure we have tons of things we haven’t told each other.”

“But back when you were besties,” Paisley said.

“No,” I said. “I told him everything back then.”

“Yes,” Skyler said. Was he agreeing with me or answering the question?

Paisley must’ve assumed the first because she said, “Oh my goodness. You two were so cute.” She clicked a button on the screen. “But you still got two wrong so you only get Bronze Level Besties. Better luck next time.”

Skyler sighed. “That was a colossal waste of time.”

“Was it, though?” Paisley asked. “Was it?”

“Yes,” both Skyler and I said at the same time.