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“If you guys want to get together, you should get together already. ” I headed back down the stairs, feeling low and left out.
Emma caught up to me on the landing. Her face bore a horrible combination of agitated and anxious. I mean, she was distraught, as if I’d just told her there was a bomb in the building and she had two minutes to defuse it or a roomful of kittens would die in the blast, all because of her.
It stopped me in my tracks. I’d known there was a spark between her and Yasuo, but was it more than that? “Oh. My. God. You like Yasuo. Like, like like. ”
I think her face actually turned a shade of purple. “Yes…I…really like him. ”
“Wow. Prairie girl meets gangster’s son. ”
It made sense. She was so reserved and introverted, whereas Yasuo was just the opposite. He was easy to the point of doofiness, but nice, too, and it’d drawn Emma out of her shell. Some guys would feel uncomfortable with such a strong, stoic girl, but Yasuo’s big personality made her quirks seem like no big deal.
I considered how much he’d be interested in her. I’d noticed him watching Emma when she wasn’t looking. He’d grown up with his mom and had managed to remain down-to-earth despite living in hiding in the belly of Los Angeles, which to me spoke volumes about his mother. He didn’t talk about her a lot, but they must’ve been close. I imagined she might’ve been as pure and true as Emma.
I burst into a smile. “Just…wow. I can totally see it. ” I nudged her shoulder in mock anger. “But why didn’t you tell me?”
She nearly crumpled with relief. “I was afraid. …”
“Of Yas?”
“No. ” She paused, mouth open, hesitating. “Of you. ”
That knocked the wind from me. “Me?”
“Yes. Of how you’d react. Since we’re all friends. ” She was looking nervous again.
I felt like a heel. “Seriously?”
She nodded slowly.
“Aw, hell, Em, I am so sorry. ” I gave her a quick hug, then held on to her shoulders as I searched her face. “How could you think that? Are you kidding? I’d be totally thrilled if you and Yas hooked up. ”
A pair of blond Acari walked into the dorm—Margaret and Nance, an annoying couple of fitness hounds we’d nicknamed Mancy—and we shut up.
I nodded toward the door. “Come on. ”
Had Emma really been afraid of my reaction? Could she really think I’d begrudge her happiness? Once safely outside, I ranted, “Jeez, Emma. How could you think I wouldn’t be supportive? If you can find someone on this rock? If you could be even a little happy? Oh my God, I’d be thrilled for you. ” I shook my head, marveling at my own flaws. “How could you think I wouldn’t be? Clearly, I am the crappiest friend ever. ”
“You’re a good friend,” Emma said, which for her was downright effusive. “A wonderful friend. ”
“Apparently not. ” Then, seeing the tentative expression on her face, I added, “I can see you’re still thinking. Spit it out. ”
“Well,” she hedged, “you’ve been kind of…off. And then you kept looking at us funny. I didn’t want to bother you with it. ”
She was right—I guess I had been giving them the stink eye. But it wasn’t for the reasons she thought. “If something bothered me, it was feeling like I was the last to know. ” I stopped, looking around to make sure nobody was within earshot. “Please. You have to promise not to hold out on me. I know you’re the strong, silent type, but seriously, Em, you can confide in me. How could you even doubt that?”
“Okay, I promise to tell you everything. ”
I pretended disgust. “Good God, not everything!”
She gave me a smile, and that heart-shaped face of hers lit up—she was so pretty when she smiled. “I’m just not used to the whole friend thing, I guess. ”
“That makes two of us. ” I linked my arm with hers, and I wasn’t sure which amazed me more—her news or the fact that I was walking arm in arm with a friend. “Wow,” I repeated after a moment. “You and Yas, huh?”
She halted, and alarm obliterated her smile. “Don’t say anything to him. I don’t think…I’m not sure he’s interested. ”
“Oh, Em. ” I tugged her forward and had to laugh at her innocence. “He’s a guy. He’s interested. Duh. ”
I could see by her frown that she wasn’t completely satisfied by that answer, but it was the best one I had. We slowly walked to lunch, and I did my best to help her replay old conversations, interpret comments, strategize interludes, all that. And though I wasn’t exactly a genius when it came to matters of the heart, I was a good friend—really, I was.
