The last thing I expected when I met up with Braden that afternoon was Lucy, bright-eyed and giggling as she rode on his shoulders. She waved when she saw me and tapped Braden’s shoulder to let her down.

“Hi Miss Lawence!” she yelled, bouncing on her toes. Her voice was still raspy but she sounded like she had a lot more energy than this morning.

I laughed. “Well hello there. Someone must be feeling better.” I glanced up at Braden who winked at me.

“Oh believe me, it’s just the chance to get ice cream before dinner.” The plastic chair scraped against the sidewalk and he sat down across from me. “I was actually supposed to drop her at her mom’s for tonight because I have an early morning meeting that I can’t miss but she insisted that she come with me first.”

Lucy turned to look at her dad. “Daddy, are you and Miss Lawence having a date?”

Oh damn, she was perceptive.

“No, baby,” he told her. “We’re just friends.” His gaze flickered up to meet mine and I could see the silent question in his eyes.

Are we really friends?

I nodded and smiled down at Lucy. “That’s right. We’re friends.”

“Daddy, I have to use the potty!” Lucy blurted out from beside us, her eyes wide.

“Okay, sweetie. Go inside—you remember where it is, right?”

Lucy shook her head up and down, her dark hair bouncing over her shoulders. She scrambled up from the seat and ran inside.

“So I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,” I said. “And I want us to be friends. Added benefits or not. My, um, my best friend came for a visit this weekend and he…he’s the reason I’ve been hesitant about this. About us. Because there’s always been a ‘what if’ between me and him. And over the past few months he’s felt like the one who got away.” I watched Braden's reaction before I continued.

He rubbed his thumb against his forefinger but didn’t say anything, although understanding flickered across his features. Maybe he felt the same way about losing Lucy’s mom.

“And after the other night, Braden, you…I can’t stop thinking about you. It’s actually a bit annoying actually.”

Braden laughed at that. “Annoying, hm?”

“Yeah. It’s cute though. A cute annoying. Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I’m taking you up on your offer. We can’t just keep our feelings buried, that’s not benefiting anyone.”

Braden sat back in his chair and let out a sigh of relief. “I’m glad, Amelia. I have a good feeling about this. Like I told you that night, I can be professional around you at the school. We can make this work. And Lucy…”

“She’s got a vivid imagination, but she’s also seven,” I said. “I get that she might pick up on something but I also understand that it might be related to the separation.”

“Yeah.” Braden ran a hand through his hair. “She’s taken her mom’s and my separation pretty hard. You don’t know how many meltdowns I’ve had to deal with because she left a toy at her mom’s that she just really wanted at my place.”

“I can’t even imagine.” I bit my lip. “Speaking of, have you talked to Linda about the family conference at school?”

“I’ll talk to her about it today when I drop off Lucy today,” he replied. “I did tell her but she never got back to me. I hope you can wait a little longer for that?”

“The sooner we can schedule the better. Lucy does need the help, and I want both of you on board,” I said.

“I get that. I’ll talk to her, I promise.”

He glanced at me across the table. We both knew the small talk was what we needed to do to keep up appearances out in the open. His blue eyes caught the late afternoon sun, turning a deeper blue that had me melting. And suddenly I wished we were alone to seal our promise to each other with a kiss.

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From across the table, I could tell he had the same idea on his mind.

A smile spread across my face as a text popped up on my screen: Eight pm, my place ;)

I sent a quick reply back: I’ll be there

Braden grinned as Lucy came back to join us.

“To friendship. Now, who’s ready for some ice cream?”

***

Friendship with Braden turned out to be just what I needed. From the movie nights to the popcorn fights, from teaching me to cook to me teaching Braden how to dance. I’d never felt so at ease than I did on the nights I spent with him. And to make good on our deal, he’d drive me home each night, leaving me with a kiss before I went inside my apartment. Everyone could tell something good was going on in my life, even my students. Even Eloise was starting to grow used to him being in my life.

But like any friends, Braden and I still had our fights.

Of course, unlike normal friends, our fights usually ended with us on the couch making out.

It was a constant battle.

When Dex left Portland again a week later, it was Braden who consoled me after I showed up at his apartment with tears streaming down my face. It was Braden who made me grilled cheese—not as good as Dex’s but still delicious—while we talked nonsense on his couch or mine, depending on the week. And it was Braden who I thought about that night when we went out to the bar.

Daphne came over to help me get ready that evening. For a September Saturday in Portland, the weather was comfortably mild.

“You look happier since Dex left,” she commented, sweeping glitter across her cleavage.

I looked up from where I was applying eyeliner in my vanity mirror. “I was happy when he was here too, you know.”

She nodded. “Yes, but ever since you and Braden decided to do…whatever it is you’ve agreed to—which I still haven’t figured out by the way—you just have this new confidence in your step. We all see it at school.”

“El said she thinks I should sleep with him,” I told her.

Daphne snorted. “Yeah, but El would’ve jumped his bones at the bar the first night, not waited the way you have.”

That was true. And every night I went over to Braden’s I ended up finding a stash of condoms that had somehow made their way into my purse with a note from my sister containing just a winky face.

She’d never been subtle her whole life.

Daph moved over and styled my hair so that it was up enough that I could manage getting sweaty but down enough that I could still let loose and whip my head around to the music.

“Is Braden meeting us there tonight?” she asked.

“He should be,” I replied, swiping pink lipstick across my lips, then glanced at my reflection in the mirror. Dark liner rimmed my eyes, making the blue pop. My lipstick matched my shirt, a bright pink tube top under a black denim jacket.

Daphne squeezed my arm. “I’m really happy for you, Ames. Really and truly. I can see the way you sneak those glances at school. He really likes you.”

“We’re trying to be subtle.” I slipped my purse over my shoulder and grabbed my keys off the hook by the front door.

“I know that was going to be super hard for you, but you’re doing a great job.” She tucked her hair behind her ears. “You two are really making things work and I’m so proud of you for it.”

I smiled. “Thanks, Daph.”

When we got to the bar, I scanned the room for Braden. The corners of my mouth turned up into a smile as I saw him make his way toward us from the DJ’s turntables.

“Hi,” I greeted him with a kiss and wrapped my arms around his neck. He slipped his hands around my waist, and warmth spread over my body.

Braden’s blue eyes locked on mine as he pulled me closer, dipping his head to kiss me again. “It’s been too long since I could do that,” he murmured into my ear, low enough to send tingles of euphoria down my spine but loud enough that I could hear above the music.

“Don’t get too used to it,” I teased, running a finger down his chest and inadvertently popping a button on his shirt.

He grinned at me, grabbing my hand and spinning me in the middle of the dance floor. My breath caught in my throat as he caught me at the end of a spin, our eyes locking on one another.

I turned around, moving my hips against him and feeling him sway to the music. With my eyes closed, I threw my hands into the air, finally feeling freer than I had in ages. Braden traced the length of my body with his hands, coming to rest again on my hips. He hooked a finger through one of my front belt loops and spun me again to face him.

Out of breath, we smiled at each other and shared knowing glances. We were doing it. This was working. And nothing was going to tear us apart.

“And now, ladies and gentleman,” the DJ’s voice boomed over the microphone, “by special request from a gentleman to his lovely lady, we slow it down to show our appreciation for what love can do. B says, ‘To my girl, thank you for giving me a chance’.”

The music changed, the tempo slowing down from the usual upbeat music to a favorite song of mine I’d listen to growing up with Dex.

“I hope you don’t mind,” he murmured in my ear as we swayed together slowly to the music.

“Not at all. This was a lovely surprise.” I leaned up to kiss him, then rested my head on his shoulder as he began to sing along to the music.