14 Chapter 14

As if we’d planned it, we crawled out the back toward the kitchen on our hands and knees, with that stupid kitten riding shotgun on Steve’s head. I got the giggles thinking of the kitten screaming Charge!,and then as the table broke behind us, I almost wet myself as well. If we all did, Steve would be wet in two places, which was a totally inappropriate thought, him with a cat peeing in his hair, and, of course, that made me snort with laughter, thus inhaling dust and smoke and ash and particles of tree branch and whatever the hell that smell was coming from Steve who was now in front of me.

That’s when I also, somewhere deep inside that wasn’t afraid of the house falling on my head, realized that I really did love this man, but I could never tell him, just because of him clinging to me in a weak moment. I would never want him to feel belittled by that. It would ruin our friendship and any confidence he had.

Yep, that’s me, the dumbest person in the world.

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