Page 69
Nicole swallowed. “You could let me enjoy him in peace.”
“And miss all this?”
Nicole nudged her with her knee, but she was laughing when she did it.
The interview ended, and the broadcast moved on to highlights from another game. Bailey lowered the volume while Nicole finished eating. Then they leaned forward and started gathering up the cans and napkins.
“I’m going to miss this,” Bailey said.
Nicole looked up with a fistful of napkins. “Watching me threaten football coaches?”
“That too.” Bailey folded the lid over the pizza box. “But this. I can walk out of my room, flop down beside you, and we end up hanging out the whole afternoon.”
“We can still do that.”
“I know.” Bailey smiled at her. “But I’ll have to come over.”
Nicole set the napkins on top of the box. Nicole was happy for Bailey. She really was. Ryan was showing up first thing in the morning with a couple of his frat brothers and the truck he’d borrowed from Drew. She just hadn’t spent much time thinking about what the house would be like afterward.
Bailey’s shoes were beside the front door. Her favorite throw blanket was bunched in the corner of the couch, where she’d kicked it when the game got exciting. The house was going to feel so empty without Bailey or her things.
“We’re still going to hang out,” Nicole said. “All the time.”
Bailey sat back and drew the blanket into her lap. “But I’ll be working and going to class and living with Ryan. You’ll have your classes and your painting. And Drew over here half-naked every chance you get.”
“Drew being half-naked has nothing to do with our friendship.”
“It might have a little to do with your availability.”
Nicole tried not to smile. “Even if he’s here, you can still come over.”
“What if you guys are having sex?”
“Just call first.”
Bailey laughed. “Oh trust me. I will.”
Nicole shook her head and sat back beside her, laughing.
“Promise me something?” Bailey asked, and rested her head against Nicole’s shoulder.
“Anything.”
“Promise that we’ll always be tight?”
Nicole leaned her head against hers. “You’re my best friend, and I love you. That will never change.”
“I love you too, Nikki.”
They sat that way while the television showed a coach arguing with an official, his mouth moving furiously under the announcers’ voices.
Then Bailey lifted her head. “Now that we’ve settled that, I want a Nicole Wright original hanging on my wall.”
“Fine. Pick something from the studio.”
“I get it for free, right?”
“Of course you get it for free.”
