Friends Don't, But We Do

6. He's Not You

When mid-May rolls around, Nolan and I have fallen into a routine around his ice time, gym workouts, my work schedule and my dates with Chris. It's turning out to be a great summer.

I got off work an hour ago and it took me that long to drive home. It's a Thursday night and I'm exhausted, but Nolan is coming over to eat and watch Netflix. We've been watching that show called You.

As I kick off my heels and release my hair from its bun, my phone starts ringing. I quickly reach into my purse and answer the call that I somehow knew was from Nolan even before looking at the caller ID.

"Hey, I just got home from work now. Is it cool if we order dinner? I don't feel like making anything," I say once I answer, all while using my free hand to unzip my pants and unbutton my blouse.

"Yeah of course," he says. I can tell that he's driving, the sound of wind blowing through open windows overpowering. "I was just calling to say I'm gonna be early. I'm only a few minutes away."

I giggle. "Just couldn't stay away, could ya?"

I can practically picture him rolling his eyes. "Yeah yeah, I won't argue that one."

"Okay I need to hang up, I can't put on pants with one hand," I say while laughing. "Who says you need to put on pants?" He teases and I scoff. His deep laughter fills the space.

"You're impossible. I'm hanging up now."

"See ya."

I shake my head while I put on a pair of flannel pajama pants and throw an old T-shirt over my head. It's not really that old of a shirt though if I'm being honest. It's an extra large orange cotton piece with big black letters that spell out The Orange and the Black... caught it at a Flyers home game, the first and only one I have attended. It's perfect to sleep in.

Then I order Chinese food from a local place that delivers. Nolan arrives shortly after, barging in loudly and yelling my name. I roll my eyes and laugh- he's so the opposite of nonchalant. "I'm in my room!" I yell, then pause until I hear his footsteps coming down the hall.

"I thought you got kidnapped or something," he says as he plops down on my bed. I stare at him for a second but he only grins back, so I go back to reorganizing my closet.

He lays silently for a surprising amount of time. I almost think he's asleep, but he's just on his phone. "Can I get a water?" He asks, glancing at me from the bed. I nod, telling him he doesn't have to ask.

Within ten minutes, I finish cleaning up my room- it helps me relax when I have a clean house- and join Nolan in the kitchen. Turns out the Chinese food arrived. It's all laid out on the table, and Nolan's nursing a water bottle.

"Nolan," I start with a small smile playing at my lips. "You weren't supposed to pay for the food."

He scoffs and pulls me down into the chair next to him. "Chill out, it was like twenty bucks."

I push on his shoulder and he barely even budges, just laughs at me and we start eating. I tell him how at work today Amelia- one of the partners of the firm- told me I wasn't dressed appropriately for a board meeting. I had to tell her I wasn't going to the board meeting because I was just the secretary. The whole thing should have been embarrassing for me but I was just stuck on the fact that she thought I was a lawyer! She actually thought I was a lawyer.

"Well why wouldn't she?" Nolan asks. "You've got successful lawyer written all over you."

I thank him, he always supports me. I don't know if I would still believe that I might one day make it to law school if it wasn't for him. "'Maybe sometime in the future," I sigh wistfully and shove a wanton in my mouth.