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Instead, he froze, terrified he was about to lose the only person who truly saw him.
Before he could work through his fear to embrace the moment, she was gone. Off his lap, out of his arms, and standing on the other side of the room with her coffee mug gripped tight enough to turn her knuckles white.
Freddy brought his hand to his mouth, trying to hold onto the feeling of her lips against his.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I shouldn’t have done that. I think I’m just tired and maybe a little stressed.”
They both turned toward the tree as a bird flew in and landed on a branch.
Dazed, Freddy turned back to her and agreed, “Yeah, tired and stressed makes sense.”
“Can we pretend it didn’t happen?” she asked.
Everything inside him shouted that they could not. He wanted to remember that kiss forever. No, that wasn’t true. Freddy didn’t just want the memory of that kiss, he wanted to repeat it. One look at his best friend’s wide eyes and forlorn expression made it obvious that wasn’t what she wanted, though. At thirty-four years old, he’d just experienced his second kiss and been rejected for the second time.
“Of course,” he agreed, trying to fake a smile while his soul shattered.
“Still friends?” she asked.
“The best.” He gave her his signature lopsided grin, the one that told everyone Freddy didn’t take life too seriously or sweat over small stuff. This wasn’t so bad. They could still be friends. He just needed to smash all his feelings into a tiny puck and hide them deep inside, which shouldn’t be too hard, considering how much practice he’d had over the years. “Now will you tell me about how all of this happened?”
Sabrina frowned and pursed her lips like she didn’t agree with his answer, or maybe she didn’t believe him. But then she sighed and turned toward their office.
“I woke up around two and had to pee.” She gestured toward the uncrushed bathroom. “That was when I heard the tree come down, and the power went out.”
Freddy stood to follow her but stopped by the bathroom. “Wait, are you telling me that the only reason you’re alive isbecause you woke up in the middle of the night with a full bladder?”
“The tree might not have killed me.” She shrugged and continued toward her bedroom and opened the door so he could look inside.
He stared at the trunk stretching across her bed in the exact same way she’d have slept and turned to look back at her in awe. “You. It. That tree would have smashed your skull like a pumpkin on Halloween.” Oh fuck, he was going to hurl.
Freddy ran for the front door and made it out to her porch just in time to spew stomach acid over the half of the railing that hadn’t been crushed. Physically, he regained control of himself quickly, but he wasn’t sure he’d ever be the same again emotionally. Coming to terms with how close he’d been to losing Sabrina felt like an impossible feat.
He wasn’t there yet, even as she asked, “Are you okay? I can make you coffee, but it’s instant.”
“No, I don’t want any instant coffee. ‘Rina, you almost died. What the fuck?”
She cupped her mug and leaned against the doorframe. “Still here. Not dead. Oh, but my phone was on my nightstand, which is why I haven’t gotten your texts or replied to them.”
Freddy gaped at her. He could feel the morning breeze swirling through his mouth and knew he must look like a lunatic, but holy shit. “How are you just standing here like it’s all okay?” he finally asked.
“What choice do I have?” Her jaw flexed, offering a glimpse of her inner feelings, but that was the only clue that she was bothered.
“You should have…” he trailed off.
“Exactly,” she snapped before shaking her head. “It was pitch black, the storm was still raging, my phone is gone, and I don’thave any clean underwear. Even if I had somewhere to drive to, it wouldn’t have been safe.”
Frowning, Freddy corrected her, “You have my place. You always have my house.” He rubbed at his forehead and grudgingly admitted, “But I get what you’re saying.” Then he looked around and added, “You need to call your insurance company.”
“No shit.” Sabrina rolled her eyes. “But that’s easier to do with aphone.”
“Right. Sorry. It’s a lot to process, but you know that. Obviously.”
Sabrina’s shoulders relaxed. “I spent the rest of the night on the loveseat trying to rest, but it didn’t really work. I need to call my mom, my insurance, and Patrick. I figure I can work up at HQ to get the updates done on time, and I think I can salvage some clothes from my closet. It might mean spending the day in a dress–”
“–you hate dresses.”
“I hate trees in my bed, too.”
