HIS BY MISTAKE
He said it simply, but something in the way he held my gaze made it feel like more than agreement, like he was making an actual promise instead of just answering a question.
“I mean it,” I added, needing to say the rest even though he hadn’t asked for it. “Not performing anything. Not managing each other. Just, whatever this actually is, let’s be real about it. Even when it’s messy.”
“Even when it’s messy,” he repeated, quiet. “I can do that.”
Something in my chest loosened, some tension I hadn’t realized I’d been carrying since we had been dancing around what either of us actually felt.
“Friends,” I said again, testing the word. “At least. To start.”