“Okay, now it’s definitely better with popcorn from scratch, but sometimes sacrifices have to be made for expediency.” She tosses me the popcorn. “Go pop these and dump them both into a bowl. While it’s still hot, we add the candy and mix it all together. The candy gets all melty and messy and it’s so, so good.”
“That sounds…fucking genius actually.”
Jo beams at me. “I know. Seriously, stick with me. Movie snacks are my specialty.”
I push up from the couch and head to the kitchen. “I might be the one who needs to lie on the floor after this.”
“Yeah, probably, but it’ll be worth it. Bring paper towels unless you’re cool with chocolate all over your couch,” she calls after me.
I hear her rustling candy bags and humming to herself, and it occurs to me that this is probably the most noise my apartment has heard since I moved in. This apartment that has felt so soulless and awful for the last two years—a place for me to sleep and keep my shit in between time at the hospital—now feels alive with Jo here. Like a place I maybe wouldn’t mind spending more time, as long as she can spend it here with me.
I was almost relieved when she suggested watching a second movie. I wasn’t ready for her to leave and for me to be here alone again, back in my lonely, white-walled existence. I’ve been living like that for so long that I forgot what it was like to live differently. But now that I know, I’m not sure I can go back to the way it was. Jo makes everything colorful. I could think about what that means, but I don’t want to do that. I’d rather just be here now.
Ten minutes later, we’re back under Jo’s mountain of blankets, the opening credits ofArmageddonplaying on the TV and a massive bowl of candy and popcorn between us. Jo bounces a little on the cushions, and when I glance over at her, she’s grinning at me. “This is a really fun night.”
I nudge her shoulder with mine. “Hurricane, I think you can make anything fun.”
Jo beams at me. “Wecan make anything fun. That’s what the J’s Summer of Fun is all about.” Then she leans up and kisses my cheek before turning her attention back to the TV.
I freeze, my skin burning where her lips touched it and my cock stirring, just from that simple contact. I shift on the cushion, grateful for the pile of blankets over my lap, and resist the urge to bring my hand up to my cheek where I can still feel the ghost of her kiss. It’s such a foreign feeling to me that my brain races with the implications of the fact that my cock is even a little hard for someone other than Allie for the first time since I laid eyes on her seven years ago. And that someone is Jo. My friend.Justa friend. Because just like I told her and my brothers and I’ve been telling myself, I’m not ready for more. It’s too soon. My brain is too fucked up from everything I’ve been through.
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, willing both my brain and my body to chill the fuck out and stop having an existential crisis over the fact that my friend kissed my cheek. Jo must notice something is up because she nudges my leg with her knee.
“You okay, J?”
“Fine,” I say, a little too quickly. “I’m totally fine.”
I focus on the TV, but I can feel her stare on the side of my face before I see her shrug and settle back against the couch, shifting closer to me and laying her head on my shoulder, sighing as Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler dissect whether an animal cracker is actually a cracker at all and hug each other as the sun sets and “Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” plays in the background.
My body slowly relaxes while the familiar dialogue plays until the drillers save the world and I’ve convinced myself that my freak out was a figment of my imagination and Jo’s deep, steady breathing tells me that she’s asleep. I flip the TV to the baseball game and mute it so she doesn’t wake up. Glancing down, I see Jo’s dark lashes fanning over her cheeks and her mouth curved up, even in sleep. She’s the happiest person I’ve ever known, and I think maybe some of that happiness is rubbing off on me too. I feel lighter when I’m with her. Like I’m learning how to live again, after two years when I didn’t do any living at all.
My phone rings and I grab it, silencing and declining the call from Elliot as fast as I can so it doesn’t wake Jo. Two seconds later, the phone rings again, and it’s Noah this time. I decline that one too, and then my phone vibrates with a message in the group chat.
Wyles Bros
Noah
PAGING JORDAN
Where are you, dude?
Me
I’m right here. What do you need?
Elliot
We don’t need anything, it’s just that it’s been a few days since you checked in.
Me
I’ve been busy.
Cooper
Busy with Jo?
Me
