“Are you starting to feel like you don’t want to do this anymore?”
I sigh. “I don't know.”
“Are you sayingI don’t knowbecause you’re not sure how much you want to share with me?”
“Yes.”
She moves her computer off her lap, readjusting herself to sit on her knees facing me.
“How can I help?”
“I—”
“Don’t you dare say I don’t know. This is why I’m here.”
I nod.
“Is it because you’re nervous to tell me? Is it something you’ve never told anyone else?”
I narrow my eyes at her. I don’t especially enjoy talking about failing at something, but it impresses me that she knows exactly how to read me.
“Would it help if I told you something embarrassing about myself?” she asks.
“Worse than when you were making out with that guy in government class and farted?” I ask.
She punches me in the arms, and I wince.
“I told you that in confidence. You said you would never repeat it.”
“And I didn’t until just now.”
“That better be true.”
“It is.”
“But no, this is worse than that.”
“Worse than when you ate that ice cream at the fair and?—”
“I swear to god, Tobias, do you ever forget anything?”
“Not when it comes to you.”
Her expression softens, and she bites her lip.
I reach up to pull it from her teeth, noticing the way her plump pink lip bounces just slightly.
“You should never be embarrassed to tell me anything, Dove. I think very highly of you, and nothing will ever change that.”
Her head tilts back with a laugh. “Oh my god!”
Confused by her reaction, I don’t say a word. I just let her laugh it out.
“All this time,” she says quickly, “you’ve said lines like that to me for years and years, but now …”
“But now, what?”
“Now those words make my heart race.”
