Page 78 of Now and Then

“What?” I ask.

“Oh, nothing, just that a similar order came through not fifteen minutes ago for a Sutton Bradley.”

“Well,” I say, placing my hat on the counter and pulling out my wallet, “that makes it easy then. How much do I owe ya?”

I settle the bill with Navy and sit at a nearby table to wait for our order. I can’t seem to wipe the smile from my face. Moments like this remind me how long Sutton and I have been in sync. It wasn’t until the summer before my junior year in college that I realized it might mean more than friendship.

Sutton: 18 years old. Hunter: 21 years old.

The overhang from the front porch blocks the sun. A half-melted pitcher of lemonade sits between us and a deck of cards spread across the table. Sutton talked me into playing Bullshit. She is annoyingly good at lying, which makes it almost impossible to beat her at the game. I, on the other hand, learned long ago that lying never did me any good. Probably because my mother is scary as hell.

“Two fours,” Sutton says, sliding the cards to the center pile. It’s the casual confidence that makes me suspicious.

I narrow my eyes. “Bullshit.”

Her grin comes instantly as she flips the cards over—two perfect fours. This is going to be a long game.

“You are terrible at this game, Hunter.”

“Or maybe you’re too good at it,” I mutter, scooping up the pile while she laughs.

Eventually, Luke gets home from working at the local pool and joins our game. Sutton and I don’t stand a chance once he gets involved.

The afternoon stretches on, her laughter filling the sticky summer air every time I fall for one of her bluffs. At some point, between her teasing and the way her nose scrunches when she concentrates, I realize I’m not just watching Sutton. I’m memorizing her. Every smile, every movement, every detail.

Like I’m trying to take pieces of her with me before I head back to school.

And then I notice something else . . . the way she touches me.

How her hand always finds my arm when she laughs. How her shoulder leans into mine like it’s second nature. The way her fingers brush over my knuckles when she reaches for the cards, never hesitating, never pulling away too fast.

And the worst part?

I’ve noticed it before.

I’ve felt it, that pull. That quiet shift in my chest every time she gets a little too close, every time she says my name like it belongs to her. I just never let myself call it what it is.

It hits me like a sucker punch. Sutton isn’t just one of my best friends. She is everything.

I almost tell her then, almost blurt it out, because now that I realize I have feelings for her—that I’ve probably had them for a long time—I don’t want to keep them in. But I don’t say anything. She’s a senior this year, still standing at the beginning of everything. She doesn’t need to be tied down to me.

Not when she’s still figuring out who she is, and I already know what I want. I’ve had my time to mess up, to learn, to want something more. She hasn’t. I won’t be the reason she skips all that. She deserves a chance to discover who she is without me and Luke around.

I lean back in my chair, trying to act normal after being hit with something that feels like it just changed everything, even as my chest feels like it’s about to burst. It may not make sense to tell Sutton how I feel now, but I know I’ll tell her someday.

“Hey, lover boy!” Navy’s voice breaks through my subconscious. “You alive over there or what?” She pushes a bag with my order to the edge of the counter. “Food’s ready.” She crosses her arms over her middle. Navy is quickly rivaling my mother for the scariest woman I know.

“Thanks,” I say, taking the bag, putting my hat on, and backing toward the door.

“You’re not just messing with her, are you?”

I pause, back against the glass door. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play stupid.” She leans forward, placing both hands on the counter.

“Navy,” I walk back to the counter, not wanting to have this conversation across the entire entry of the coffee shop. “I promise you, I am not messing with Sutton.”

“Okay, but, you’re you. And you’ve been known to date.” She gives me a pointed look. “A lot.”