Page 42 of Yes & I Love You (Say Everything 1)

“Break a leg,” she said, her throat dry and voice cracking a little.

Jasper checked the clock on the wall and then headed back to the front of the room. Hollyn sagged back in her chair, her bones like water.

Andi leaned in. “You didn’t tell me you guys were going out after. Good for you, girl.”

“Not going out,” she said, trying to get her heartbeat and her tics in check. “He’s giving me a few private lessons to help me with a new video project I need to do for work. He knows I’m too anxious to participate in a group setting.”

“Private lessons, huh? That’s cool of him,” Andi said, looking back toward the front and then frowning. “Maybe I should run that background check on him. If you’re going to be alone with him, better to know he’s got a clear record.”

The comment snapped Hollyn out of her own thoughts and she laughed. “You just said it was cool of him. Why would you background check him?”

Andi gave her agirl, pleaselook. “The best serial killers know how to be charming. And that boy is full of charm. He oozes with it.”

Hollyn eyed her friend with amusement and shook her head. “You’re a mess.”

Andi patted Hollyn’s knee. “Told ya. Don’t go around thinking everyone else has it together. We’re all just falling apart in different ways.”

“That’s depressing.”

Andi shrugged. “Meh. Or comforting.”

Hollyn put her hand over Andi’s and gave it a little squeeze. “Thanks.”

She gave her a puzzled look. “For what?”

“For making the first friendship move,” Hollyn said. “I needed that.”

“Anytime.” Andi leaned her shoulder into Hollyn’s. “And when you pick out those bridesmaids dresses for you and Jasper’s wedding, remember that I look great in blue.”

Hollyn groaned. “You’re relentless.”

“Part of my charm.”

The lights flickered, and everyone’s attention was drawn to the front. Jasper was near the light switch, a smile on his face but a hint of tension in his stance. “Ready to get started?”

Hollyn wasn’t ready to start improv, but for the first time in a long time she felt like maybe, finally, she had startedsomething.

Quite possibly, her life.