Although we’re completely wiped by the time we get home, Gia and I haven’t had a chance to talk, just the two of us, since she got here. We quickly change into our pajamas, brush our teeth, and settle into bed. 

“So,” she says.

“So,” I repeat.

“So… Jon’s obviously in love with you,” she says.

I turn to face her, even though I can barely make out her features in the dark. We’re squished together in my queen size bed, side by side, like always. She turns to face me too. 

“Really?” I ask. “Sometimes I think I’m making it up.”

“Definitely not,” she says. “He totally maneuvered himself just right to sit by you at the table. “

“You saw that too?” I laugh. “I knew it.”

“Do you really like him?” she asks, and the tone of her voice reminds me of everything I love about her. In it, I can hear her care, her sensitivity, her interest, and her excitement. 

“I don’t know,” I answer. “I mean, I think he’s cute.”

“So cute,” she says.

“Unbearably cute,” I giggle. “And he has all these sides, like, he’s a soccer player, and then he’s my physics lab partner, and then he’s analyzing literature and like… I don’t know. I guess I want to figure him out.”

“He’s your own little puzzle,” Gia jokes.

“Yeah,” I yawn. “And there’s something about him that makes me feel so calm. And yet nervous. But in a good way.”

“I love that part,” she sighs, covering her mouth for an oncoming yawn.

“Me too,” I agree.