**Part 2**

Nora was waiting on the porch of Matthew’s house when I pulled up, coffee in one hand and her phone in the other. She looked like she hadn’t slept much either.

“He’s still in the shower,” she said as I got out. “We have about eight minutes before he comes downstairs and starts texting the group chat.”

“Morning to you too.”

She almost smiled. “Sorry. I’ve been rehearsing how to tell him since five.”

We stood on the porch in the cold. The street was quiet. Somewhere down the block a dog barked once and went quiet again.

“Do you want to tell him the truth?” I asked.

Nora was quiet for a second. She turned the ring on her thumb the same way she had last night. “I keep thinking about how happy he looked. And then I think about how he’ll feel if we let it go another day and he finds out from somebody else.”

“So we tell him.”

“Yeah.” She glanced at the door, then back at me. “But… last night, when we were outside. That part wasn’t fake. Not for me.”

I looked at her. The sleeves of her sweater were pushed up, and she was shivering a little even though she was trying not to. “It wasn’t fake for me either.”

Her shoulders dropped a fraction. “Okay. Good. So we tell him the truth about Elaine. And then we figure out the rest.”

The front door opened before either of us could say more. Matthew stepped out in a T-shirt and jeans, hair still wet, phone already in his hand.

“There you are,” he said, grinning. “I was about to call. Mom’s already asking what time you two are coming to Dale and Renee’s on Saturday. I told her we’d all ride together.”

Nora and I looked at each other. Matthew’s smile faltered as he caught the look.

“What?”

I took a breath. “We need to talk to you before you call your mom.”

Matthew lowered the phone. His eyes moved between us, then down to the fact that Nora and I were standing closer than we had last night. “Okay. Talk.”

Nora spoke first. “Last night at Rudy’s… Elaine cornered Wes. I saw it and I said he was with me so she’d leave him alone. He went along with it. We were going to explain when you came outside, but you looked so happy, and then the night just… kept going.”

Matthew was quiet. He leaned against the porch railing, arms crossed, studying us.

“So you’re not together,” he said.

“Not yet,” I answered, before I had fully decided I was going to say it.

Nora’s head turned toward me. Matthew’s eyebrows went up.

“Not yet?” he repeated.

I shrugged, feeling my face warm. “We shook on something last night. Figured we should see what that means before we start making Saturday plans.”

Matthew looked at his cousin, then at me, then let out a short laugh that sounded more relieved than anything else. “You two are terrible at lying. I knew something was off when Nora kept stealing glances at you in the car like she was waiting for permission to breathe.”

“We weren’t—” Nora started.

“You were.” He shook his head, but he was smiling now. “Look. I’m not mad. Elaine’s been circling you for months, Wes. If Nora got her to back off, good. And if the two of you actually want to figure something out…” He shrugged. “Just don’t make me the last person to know next time.”

“Deal,” Nora said.

“And you’re still coming on Saturday,” he added. “Both of you. No excuses.”

I glanced at Nora. She met my eyes, and the corner of her mouth lifted.

“We’ll be there,” I said.

Matthew nodded like the matter was settled, then turned toward the door. “I’m making eggs. You two can stand out here being awkward or you can come inside and help. Your choice.”

He went in. The screen door banged shut behind him.

Nora let out a long breath. “That went better than I thought.”

“Yeah.”

She looked down at her coffee, then held the cup out toward me. “Want some? It’s terrible. Matthew only buys the cheap kind.”

I took it. Our fingers brushed. Neither of us moved away.

“Saturday, then,” she said.

“Saturday.”

From inside, Matthew called, “If you’re going to kiss, do it before the eggs burn!”

Nora laughed, face going pink. I smiled into the rim of the coffee cup and didn’t answer. For the first time in a long time, Saturday didn’t feel like something I had to get through. It felt like something I might actually want.