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I start to agree before re that I didn’t know this “Wait, what?”

“She textedfreckles

“Rayme texted you?” She didn’t text me Millie didn’t mention it, either

“Uh, yeah” Millie follows Mom into the kitchen and I’m left with Ed, whose hands are shoved deep into his pockets—safe, he won’t break anything this way—and Alex, who saunters over and sits on the couch, kicking his feet onto the coffee table

“Alex,” I say

He drops his feet

“Want a beer?” At their nods, I turn and head into the kitchen Mo over the sight and sood” Millie’s gravelly voice rockets a gallon of blood down roin, before I re

Moetables for the salad, and Millie leans against the counter, s at me It’s a quiet smile, a real one, where her mouth curves but doesn’t open, and her eyesa news story for the latest update

“Hey, you,” she says

It feels like everything finally goes still With the tenure party, the spontaneous sex, and this last week of cycling work/dating-app adrenaline/sleep/repeat, I realize we haven’t just been us in days It doesn’t sound like a lot, but Millie is a fixture in et time with herit’s weird

“Hey, yourself”

“What’s new?”

I shrug “Work’s been bananas How about you?”

“Same” Millie pulls a hair tie off her wrist and bundles her hair on top of her head “I got started on the book”

“That’s awesoh five Her hand is a soft slap of war front?”

“Meh” She looks down to the floor “There’s one guy I’ to a fair bit”

“That’s awesos noncommittally “Is he cool?”

She nods “What about you?”

Tension rises like steam in the room, and it feels like every other sound falls away “Yeah Same Well, the two still, really But Catherine and I stay up late naws at her lip for a few seconds, and I can’t read the reaction Is it jealousy?

“Is this the one whose picture you didn’t like?” she asks

I groan “Corins “Tell me about her”

There’s a flash of annoyance when I realize how easily she’s ed to turn the conversation back to me She deflects before I realize she’s done it

“Well,” I start, leaning back against the counter and choosing my words carefully, “I’m not sure what department she’s in, but it sounds like she’s faculty at UCSB She’s funny—I told you that—and laid-back, but shares these ae she went to Africa for adriver and ended up, like, two hundred miles away froot on a bus and went back”

Millie smiles faintly “Wo cool”

“She has a sister and—like you—herat her closely “You tould probably get along really well, actually If things don’t work out with us, maybe I just found you a backup best friend for when I’m out of town”

Millie bites her lower lip, looks ataway toward the sink “Did you notice that neither of your parents have said happy birthday to you?”

A breath coh “It’s not my birthday yet”

She turns back around to face me “But isn’t that e’re here?”

“Only sort of,” I say “Mo that I spent my birthday with her”