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And it was exactly how it was supposed to be.
Josh and I set up our little station at a small, two-person desk near the windows, with him pulling out his Physics textbook and me withdrawing my laptop. There were a few kinks I wanted to work out with the site. When I opened the Contacts tab on my phone, the loading rate was an awkward, stilted progression throughout the page. I wanted it to be a bit smoother, with each textbox loading in the correct succession.
There were a couple other things—like one of the links on the About Me page had a broken progression and Mr. Manning’s picture on the page was a bit bigger than the rest of the employee’s headshots—but nothing too major. I had a few other pages to redo entirely.
Josh bent down to grab something from his backpack when his gaze slipped across my laptop screen. I had the webpage loaded, but the HTML box open over most of it. “Whoa, are you a coder?”
“Not in, like, a hacky way,” I told him, scrolling through the layers of code until I found the spot where the Contacts page was affected. “I design websites. Or, well, sort of. This one’s a redesign, but I’m trying to build my portfolio.”
“That’s the coolest thing,” Josh said with awe in his voice. “I swear I’m like an old man with technology. I can barely figure out my email.”
I snorted a little as I worked, reordering the HTML structure. Once that was finished, I closed out the box and picked up my phone, hoping that those tweaks caused the webpage to load smoother.
Josh eyed my screen closer. “Ah, Manning? Are you working on Rachel’s and Reed’s dad’s site?”
I actually jumped at his words and the realization that came with them. My dirty secret was now known by a third party—a third party that seemed to have interactions with both Reed and Rachel. He shared last period with Rachel, and somehow, he knew Reed, too.
“T-They don’t know,” I stuttered, the breathlessness hitting me fast. “Can you—I mean, would you mind not telling—”
“Hey, hey.” Without hesitation, Josh mimed the act of zipping his lips shut, tossing the key over his shoulder. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
His words came as an immediate assurance, but they didn’t pacify me enough. I clutched my phone tighter in my hand, wondering if I should say something else, make him pinky swear or something.
Josh laid his hand on my arm, the warmth of his fingers seeping into the bare skin below my elbow. I looked down at the touch. “I promise I won’t say anything, Ava. But that’s a big job. I mean, everyone knows Manning Construction. I’m sure they’d be happy for you.”
No, I thought.They absolutely would not. But then again, Josh knew nothing about the situation with their parents.
“Wait, so you designed Brentwood Babble all on your own?” he asked, withdrawing his hand. “Dang, I assumed you’d hired a professional. You’re justthatgood?”
“Your flattery is appreciated,” I said, and though I tried to fight a smile, it came through anyway. “It’ll be sad once senior year is over. Babble is like my baby, and it’ll be heartbreaking to retire it.”
It was something I’d thought about more and more lately, especially since Rachel brought it up. This time next year, things would be drastically different. Hypothetically, I could still post tips people submit, but I wasn’t even sure what those would look like. Most of the Top Tier was graduating this year. Brentwood would look entirely different in a year from now.
It left me in a brief, anxious stage of crisis, wondering what I’d be doing if it wasn’t Babble.
Josh made a softhmmnoise as he studied my computer screen. “I’ll brainstorm some ideas. Just because you have to retire Babble doesn’t mean you have to give up blogging entirely.”
“If you think of anything, I’m all ears.” I gestured at his textbook. “But stop letting me distract you.”
Even after Josh bent his head, I studied him for a moment. Rachel did pick a good guy, even if he missed out on being my first kiss. He would’ve been a good candidate for it. I didn’t know him very well, but what I did know about him, I liked. Patient, kind, caring.
Things Reed Manning didn’t exactly excel in.
We worked for an hour in the library, but even while I finished up the things on my list and drafted a check-in email to Mr. Manning, I couldn’t stop wondering whether Josh would’ve been a better first kiss than Reed. It would’ve been less complicated for sure, but on the idea of him beingbetter, I guess I’d never really know.
The school library closed at four, so we packed up our stuff then. I’d sent the email to Mr. Manning, and until he responded, knots would live in my stomach. It was that way with every client, waiting for approval, and even though this was only a checking in point, I felt nervous.
It probably had to do with who he was.
Josh led the way to one of the side entrances closest to the senior parking lot. When we got to the double doors, we found the rain splattering off the overhanging roofline, creating a line of dampness on the concrete. Josh lifted his jacket up over his head, peering down at me. “Come closer and you won’t get wet.”
It took me several seconds to actually put two and two together, but I hastily stepped into the pocket of warmth between his body and jacket. I had to huddle tight to his side to fit under the canopy he’d created, giving me a distinct whiff of what he smelled like. Almost like laundry detergent—maybe it was.
“Ready?”
This was totally a kissable moment. When I looked up at him, it brought our faces within inches of each other. All I’d need to do was turn a bit more, tilt my head, surge up on my tiptoes. It was a strange thought, knowing that I could be kissing someone if I made one sudden move. Josh’s lips were very pink, and the side where he had the dimple curved up in an innocent smile.
Anyone else would’ve called Josh the safe option, but then again, what was wrong with being safe?
