m

I was who I was, and I was

en counter where her legs dangled while she contemplated whatever she wanted t

re empty. Eventually, Gracie said, "Cambridge has been our home for three years. Do yo

my mental to-do list. "I'm excited. I would be lying if I said I wasn't

h I was more like that. You're so confident about everything. This move is

ke it. You can be more confident if you want to be. It's a

about Gracie was how she rallied. She didn't dwell on things. Des

Maybe I should give it

air, tipping its neck at

ure. Taking a sip of her beer, her eyes wandered

ctually. What could I say? It had been a busy week. "Don't squint your eyes

y car." She winked and jerked her head in the direction of my living roo

I tried packing, but with everything else going on, I kept getting sidetracked. Bu

he damage. "You know, if we're going to be living together, we probably shou

nd two kettles?" I asked, my lips kicking up into a smile. "

iving me a look. "It's

in. I couldn't wait to see the loft Gracie and I were going to be s

hat. It cost double what both of our places in Cambridge together rented for, but with the signin

the dotted line, knowing I was doing it with my own money. Gracie and I had cracked open a bottle of champ

see Gracie overthinking things again. The tensio

just that I started thinking about our loft. Then I started thinking

k alike. "Yeah?

the packed box aside and started folding another one closed. "That's a hu

firmly. "We're going to help this com

arkened her eyes, and her fingers

on her shoulders, looking right in

erage girl growing up, I'd been teased relentlessly and called every bad name in the bo

tease me, but that wasn't enough. As much as they loved me now an

tate our worth, but there had always been dicks who tried to convince me otherwise. I wante