Page 2

TWO

BUFFER, PLEASE

Natalie

I didn’t know what I imagined Ryder’s friend to look like, but I hadn’t expected that .

My long day at work had been followed by an even longer commute home. I genuinely enjoyed my job. Most of the time. And as much as I also liked the people I worked with, it was a lot.

But I’d looked forward to coming home and seeing Ryder, who’d been on campus most of the summer taking classes. And I was also interested to meet his friend, who would be staying with us for…who knows how long.

Ryder hadn’t told me much about his friend, Theo. He’d said that due to circumstances outside of his control, he needed a place to stay. He didn’t have any family to speak of and really had no one else to turn to.

And maybe I was na?ve—or, as my best friend, Caroline, liked to call it, a pushover—but I couldn’t let him just live in his car or on the street. I’d once been in a similar position. Although I was much, much younger when I got pregnant with Ryder, I still didn’t have many options. Had it not been for my ex-husband’s parents, I likely would’ve ended up on the street.

I understood better than most what it was like to run out of options, and I wasn’t going to let that happen to anyone. No matter what, I wanted to lend whatever support I could.

Then he walked in.

It was everything I could do to keep my breathing steady and the smile on my face as I shook his hand. But all I wanted to know was if those tattoos running up his neck and over his fingers were everywhere else, too.

He had messy, curly brown hair that fell over his forehead and deep brown eyes that closely watched my every movement. He had to be about a foot taller than my five-foot-two frame, and the way his black T-shirt pulled across his chest and his worn jeans hugged his thighs, I was sure there was plenty of muscle hidden beneath.

But it was something else, not his size and stature, that made it feel like he was taking up the entire room. Like all of the energy—and in turn all my attention—was siphoned directly to him.

I knew it had been a bad idea the moment I offered him my hand. But I was trying to be polite and welcoming, even though I’d somehow known that when he grasped it, it would only intensify every feeling. And that’s exactly what had happened.

Like I’d been ripped into his orbit, I could only stare up at him as he muttered a quick “hi” and dropped my hand like it was on fire.

As quickly as I could manage while being confused by the onslaught of foreign feelings, I turned and walked back into the kitchen, putting as much distance as I could between us.

The entire interaction was wholly unsettling, and whatever it was was going to stop just as quickly as it started. If I didn’t give it any power or thought, then it would eventually go away.

Easy.

I turned my attention back to Ryder, whom I was ecstatic to have back home, even if it was for a few months. Ryder’s dad, Mark, and I had been divorced for over a year, and the house was oddly quiet when it was just me. I was happy to have people around again. I didn’t mind the quiet, but I didn’t like it all the time.

Ryder and I discussed dinner and quickly decided on the same restaurant we’d been going to since he was a kid. It didn’t really require a discussion, but I could tell he was worried about making sure Theo felt welcome, which meant he overthought every single decision.

My thoughts drifted back to the man behind me, still standing near the stairs where he’d been since he’d come down. I could feel his eyes on my back, like they were as real and physical as his hands. I imagined them sweeping over me, and a shiver buckled down my spine at the phantom touch.

Ryder was saying something to him over my shoulder, but then he stopped abruptly, pulling his phone from his pocket and excusing himself to take the call outside.

I tensed, suddenly realizing that he’d left Theo and me alone. I figured I had two options: hurry upstairs to change like the coward I was, or try to push past whatever just happened and start over.

The first option was much safer and the one I should have taken, but instead I turned around and put on the best unaffected look I could muster.

“What Ryder was going to say is that he wants to go to his favorite little hole-in-the-wall burger place. We’ve been going there since…well, since forever.”

I glanced at Theo long enough to see that he was leaning against the wall, one shoulder propped against it, his arms crossed over his chest, and one ankle over the other. His entire demeanor was casual, calm, and as unfazed as I was trying to act.

God, I was losing my mind.

I couldn’t have made it all up—the weird, intense pull. That wasn’t possible. I wasn’t that delusional. But it didn’t matter because I wasn’t thinking about it. We were starting over.

Spinning, I kicked off my heels next to the kitchen island and nearly moaned at the relief in the arch of my foot. Breaking in new heels was the bane of my existence, and if I never had to wear them again, I’d be happier for it. Only I enjoyed the confidence boost the additional few inches gave me.

Theo still hadn’t said anything, so I tried a different tactic.

Without looking back at him, I asked, “Are you unpacked already?” I busied myself loading a few of the dishes left in the sink into the dishwasher and was surprised when I heard Theo finally mutter a quiet “yes.”

Okay, we were getting somewhere.

“That’s good.” More silence followed. I closed the dishwasher and glanced out the back door. Ryder was pacing up and down the patio, one hand wrapped around the back of his neck and the other still holding the phone in a tight grip against his ear.

I silently urged him to come back inside and play buffer between me and his friend. But I wouldn’t give up easily.

“Did you like the room?”

I chanced another look up at Theo. He was still standing in the same position, appraising me with dark eyes and slightly inclined his head in response. My lips pursed in thought, I braced my hands on the island in front of me.

“You and Ryder have been friends since freshman year, right?”

He nodded after assessing me for another moment.

“Are you enjoying college so far?”

His brown eyes narrowed, and his shoulder lifted an inch. The movement was so quick and small that I would’ve missed it had I not been watching him so closely.

“Did you grow up around here?”

And of all the questions I asked, I didn’t expect that one to garner the biggest reaction. You would’ve thought I asked if he kicked puppies or spit on babies with the way he flinched and straightened.

I was looking for a reaction, a response, something , but that was the last one I expected.

I couldn’t even begin to identify what about that question would spark such an insidious fire behind his brown eyes. The tension in the room climbed higher the longer we stood staring at one another, neither of us speaking. I stayed silent for fear that whatever else I might say would cause even more of a reaction.

Yet I was suddenly invested in knowing more about him. I needed to know why he flinched when I asked where he grew up. I wanted to know what sparked that fire behind his eyes that I couldn’t force myself to look away from.

Searching for anything to change topics or lighten the mood, I glanced around the kitchen until my eyes landed on the junk drawer. A receipt was sticking out the side, and when I opened it, I accidentally pulled out an old birthday card, a paint swatch, a battery, and a phone charging cable, along with the keys I’d had made. I untangled the key ring from the chord and shoved the rest of the stuff back into the drawer.

I cringed at the keychain that was dangling from the set of keys. A dark pink heart with my name, “ Natalie,” written in the center in white, loopy text.

I wasn’t sure where it had come from, but it was the only keychain I’d had. I couldn’t change it right then, so I hoped he would at least accept the set and change it later.

Hesitantly, I crossed to Theo and held the keys out in front of me.

“These are yours. One for the front door and one for the garage.”

His eyes bounced between me and the keys for a moment. Long enough that I considered he may not take them. I held my breath. After what felt like a millennia, he held out his hand.

What I should have done was drop them into his outstretched palm. Quickly getting rid of them and stepping back out of his space. But I didn’t.

Instead, I set them in his hand and let my fingers linger over his palm. I wasn’t expecting his skin to be soft, and I definitely wasn’t expecting the electricity that shot up my arm at the small, unassuming touch.

I swallowed down the gasp that lodged in the back of my throat and dropped the keys in his hand. I yanked my hand away, the feeling lingering against my fingers and shooting up my arm to my shoulder. Curious if he felt it too, my eyes darted to his.

Brown, honeyed eyes stared back at me, narrowed in a glare so intense that I could feel it bone deep.

“You can change the keychain,” I blurted out. “It’s just all I had. You can throw it away if you want. I won’t be offended if?—”

“It’s fine,” he said, cutting me off before my nervous rambling could ensue.

Too lost in my thoughts and Theo’s glare, I didn’t hear the back door slide open or Ryder step inside. I jumped back from Theo, and my attention quickly shifted when I noted the worried look on Ryder’s face.

My heart dropped, and my thoughts immediately swung to the worst possibility.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, the worry evident in my voice.

“Nothing’s wrong. It’s actually really good news. Umm…” Ryder’s gaze bounced between me and Theo, and even Theo’s dark brows were furrowed in confusion and concern.

“That was my adviser, and she apparently submitted my application for an internship at NASA. I originally told her not to submit it even after I filled it out because they only covered part of the living expenses and the minimal money I’d make from the internship wouldn’t cover the rest. But I didn’t tell her in time. I had no idea, but she’d already submitted it and decided to see what would happen. They hadn’t contacted her, so she didn’t think I’d gotten it. But they just contacted her. Someone dropped out at the last minute, and they offered their position to me with an extra stipend to cover the rest of the living expenses.”

My excitement was instantaneous. “Ryder, that’s amazing!” I cheered and rounded the kitchen island to congratulate him, but stopped short when his expression remained forlorn.

“You’re right, that’s great news. So, what’s with the face?” I asked, and he took a deep breath, scrubbing a hand over his mouth and again glancing between me and Theo standing behind me.

“It’s in Texas, and I’d have to leave in two days.”

The excitement I felt a moment ago was still there, but it was muffled by the nerves that shot through me with that last very important piece of information.

With Ryder gone, I’d be living alone with Theo for an indefinite amount of time. And without the buffer that I realized we’d both desperately need.

But the opportunity was life-changing for Ryder. He couldn’t say no. I wouldn’t let him say no.

“You can’t say no to this, Ryder. You have to go,” I said, and he stared at me for a moment. I could see it in his eyes that he didn’t want to say no. He was trying to come up with a solution that meant he didn’t have to. His eyes lifted to Theo, and I turned just enough to spot Theo in my peripheral.

His jaw was tight, and there was even more tension in his shoulders. His tattooed hands were fisted at his sides, and his eyes were fixed on Ryder. I could’ve guessed that living with me without Ryder was the last thing he wanted to do. He was probably already hesitant about the entire setup, even with his best friend in the mix.

“You’ve gotta go,” Theo finally said. “I’ll figure something else out.”

Ryder laughed and shook his head. “No, you’re going to stay here.” He looked down at me like he was questioning whether or not to say anything more but still continued, quieter, “You don’t have anywhere else to go.”

Theo rocked back on his heels, like the truth of the statement nearly knocked him over. He pushed a hand through his curly hair, and I could see that he wanted to fight and argue. Although I didn’t understand the circumstances surrounding his inability to find somewhere else to go, I couldn’t imagine it’d been easy—whatever he’d gone through to get him to that point.

Just based on the little I did know about him and our very brief interaction, I was sure he wasn’t the type of person to ask for help.

“I don’t think—” Theo began, but Ryder shook his head and began speaking over his friend.

“No, just no. Do you think I should take this internship?”

Theo rolled his eyes and nodded.

“Then I’ll take it only if you promise to stay here.”

But even that didn’t dim the fight in Theo’s eyes. Having also noticed it, Ryder turned to me.

“What do you think, Mom? Should Theo stay while I’m in Texas?”

“Yes.” My answer was automatic because there wasn’t any reason to contemplate it. I wasn’t going to kick him out. That wasn’t even an option. And for some reason, I really wanted him to stay. Which was honestly more of a reason to say no and find another solution.

But I didn’t listen to my common sense or all the alarm bells aggressively ringing in my head.

Instead, I turned to Theo, whose expression was unreadable. His full lips were set in an unmovable straight line. I swallowed before I said, “You need somewhere to stay. You should stay.”