between the pages

Chapter 6

Braden, Age 20

I doubled over to catch my breath as Adam collapsed onto our apartment floor. The silence only lasted for a minute before he started laughing at me. 

Our Saturday runs almost always ended in us divulging private information that isn't meant for the ears of another person. There's something about losing the full function of your lungs that makes you emotionally vulnerable.

"You're so fucking screwed," he said through gasps for air.

I straightened up and kicked him as I walked to the kitchen and grabbed a glass.

"I'm not screwed! We're friends, Adam, we've been friends for a while."

I (idiotically) decided to talk to my roommate about Noah and I don't know why I did it. Much to my expectation, he accused me of being in love with her--which I wasn't. I only told him about how she made me sugar cookies.

Which slowly devolved into how I loved it when she baked for me.

Which slowly devolved into how much I appreciated that she thought of me even when I wasn't there.

Personally, I think that's a regular sentiment to have about your close friends.

I chugged the water and Adam got up and hoisted himself onto the kitchen counter. 

"All I'm saying is that you seem really attached to her."

"Of course, I'm attached, we're best friends," I said defensively.

"I mean attached in a different way, man," he sighed and ran a hand through his black hair, "I like Noah, I think she's great...but if you keep bottling shit like this up it's gonna come back to bite you."

"What am I bottling up?" I said a little louder.

"The fact that you like her!" Adam said back through an incredulous laugh, "You like her, Braden, more than a friend, just admit it."

I sighed exasperatedly and set the glass down in the sink, "And if I do? What the hell do I do then?"

"You tell her," he said softly.

"I don't know if I can," I replied.

"Maybe you don't," he paused, "but could you imagine her with anyone else? Seriously Braden, if you got up one day and saw her with some other guy, in a relationship, maybe even getting married one day, could you take it?"

The silence lingered in the air.

"No," I said, "No, I don't think I could".

Braden, Age 24

"So...where are you from?" I said over the flickering candle at the center of the table.

"You already know where I'm from, idiot," Noah said flatly. I groaned in exasperation and threw my head back.

"Damn it, Noah, would you just tell me where you're from so I can hit on you?" I said slightly louder, interrupting the suaveness I was trying to possess.

"Alright, fine! I'm from Maine," she said, rolling her eyes. her gaze shifted down as she tried not to crack a smile, and straightened out her cutlery.

"Maine, huh?" I continued, huskily, "I've always wanted to go to Maine. I've heard scenery is just," I leaned closer to Noah, "gorgeous".

 She shifted a bit closer too, close enough to send a shiver down someone's spine, that is if she was on a real date with them.

"It is gorgeous," she said, her eyes drifting down to my lips and back up to my eyes, "I have a lot of good memories from there too".