The typing bubble is there but no message comes. I wait for three minutes. She’s either writing a novel or is thinking about her reply very carefully. I’d bet on the latter. Finally, she hits send.

Devyn: Yes I’m okay with that. Nathan is here though. We need to tread lightly until we have a chance to discuss how to tell him. Agree?

I smile, thankful she doesn’t tell me to turn around and go home.

Me: Agreed.

I look at the time and realize Brody is late. I don’t want to wait anymore; I’m anxious to see my girl. And my boy.

I send one last message.

Me: I’m in front of your building. Brody isn’t here yet but I’d like to come up if that’s okay.

Devyn: Okay.

She doesn’t need to tell me twice. I get out of my car and run up to her front door.

DEVYN

I’M STARING AT RILEY’S text trying not to show my anxiety. I scroll up and read through our conversation. I laugh when I read his first message while we were exchanging phone numbers. I didn’t catch it before.

“What’s so funny, Momma?” Nathan asks.

I lock my phone and place it on the end table. “Oh, nothing, baby. I just read something funny.”

Drew looks at me suspiciously but doesn’t say anything. The buzzer sounds, indicating Riley’s arrival. Drew gets up from the couch to answer it. “Yeah?”

“Hi, it’s Riley.”

Drew buzzes him in and gives me a look that says, Are you ready for this?

I nod in silent acknowledgment.

RILEY

I KNOCK ON THE door, trying not to reveal how anxious I am. The door opens a crack and Drew fills the space. Why does he look so homicidal?

“Oh, hey, Dr—”

Drew flattens his palm on my chest and walks me backwards, shutting the door behind him. He doesn’t stop until I’m against the wall.

He takes a half step back but still looks like he’s going to kill me. “Listen, asshole. Devyn told me who you are. Who you really are.”

I hold my hands up. “Did she also tell you that I didn’t know? I would’ve never stayed away if I knew she was pregnant.”

He runs a hand through his hair and starts pacing. “Yeah, she told me that part too. But the fact remains that you broke her. She was one of the strongest people I knew ever since she was a little girl. When our mom got sick—when she died—Devyn was only ten years old but she somehow became the glue that held our family together. And when our dad followed, she was still rock solid and stoic as ever.

“When you…when she became pregnant with Nathan…she became a shell of her former self. Sure, she put on a brave face, but when she didn’t think I was looking, I saw how devastated she was. It took her years before she slowly started coming back to life. And I may not exactly like the guy she’s with now, but he’s good to her and he’s good to the kid. If she chooses to stay with him, you stay the fuck out of the way. You will not cause her any more grief or you’ll be answering to me.” He takes a fist full of my shirt and leans into me.  “Capiche?”

I gulp. “Yep.”

DEVYN

I’M PLAYING WITH THE hem of my t-shirt waiting for Drew and Riley to come through the door. What the heck is going on out there? Drew’s an extraordinarily big guy; therefore, he intimidates people pretty easily if you don’t know what a teddy bear he is. He’s probably using that to his advantage right now and playing the big brother card, trying to scare the crap out of Riley.

“Where’d Unca’ Drew go?” Nathan asks.

I get up from the couch and start walking towards the door. “He just stepped into the hall for a second, buddy. I’ll go get him.”

I open the door and peek my head out. Riley is standing against the wall and Drew is directly in front of him puffing his chest out. Yep, he’s definitely doing the don’t you dare hurt my sister or I’ll break your face crap.

Drew sees me, takes a step back, and smiles. “Hey, sis! Riley and I were just having a little guy talk.”

“Uh huh,” I mutter.

Riley looks my way and smiles. “Hi.”

I return his grin. “Hi.”

Drew looks between us and rolls his eyes. “Uh, yeah. I’m going inside.” He looks to me. “You coming?”

I look at Riley. “We’ll be there in a minute. Distract Nate for me?”

Drew scowls and steps past me. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t forget what I said, Riley.”

I wait for the door to close before speaking. “Was he giving you the big brother speech?”

Riley grimaces. “You could say that.” He gives me a good once over and his eyes light up. Stepping forward, he grabs the hem of my shirt and says, “You still have it.”

I shiver when the tip of his finger brushes against my bare skin. “It’s my lucky shirt. They win every time I wear it.”

He smiles. “So I’ve heard.”

I’d kept my old 49ers shirt on but exchanged my baggy sweatpants for a more flattering pair of yoga capris. I wasn’t going to dress up since we’re just watching football but I don’t want to look scrappy if anyone comes over. My only real concession is a bit of pink lip gloss.

He continues running his finger against the seam, staring at the sliver of skin he’s exposed. I know I should probably step out of his reach but my feet are rooted firmly in place.

He clears his throat. “So, Nathan’s in there?”

I nod. “He is.”

He scrunches his face. “Is Jackson in there?”

“No, Jackson isn’t really a sports fan.”

Riley looks perplexed. “How is that even possible?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. He was never really exposed as a kid, I guess. It’s not a big deal.”

“Are you serious?” he asks incredulously. “You love sports year round. How can you be with someone who doesn’t share something that takes up so much of your time?”

I take a moment to remind myself that Riley hasn’t been an active parent yet. “Yeah, I do love a good game, but it’s not the same anymore. I catch them when I can, but Nathan and my job take up most of my time now. If I do want to hang with the group and watch something, Jackson doesn’t mind. He’d rather do his own thing than suffer through something that doesn’t interest him.”

Riley opens his mouth to say something but the elevator dings, indicating a stop on my floor. I see Brody step out and start walking our way.

He nods when he sees us. “Hey, cocksucker, I thought you were going to wait for me outside?”

Riley turns towards him. “That was before you were late, asshat.”

Brody laughs and then zeros in on Riley’s hand which is now gripping my waist. I follow his gaze and immediately step back so Riley’s hand falls to his side.

I rub the back of my neck and open the door. “C’mon in, guys.”

RILEY

SHIT, I CAN’T BELIEVE Brody just walked in on that. The touch was purely innocent. Okay, mostly innocent, but I know he picked up on the tension in the air. I have no doubt he’s going to grill me about it later. I can’t stop thinking about what Drew said. I do need to watch myself. Devyn is involved with someone and I need to respect that, despite my suspicions that they have very little in common. It’s just so damn hard when I feel so comfortable around her even after all these years apart. I touched her countless times during our friendship —it’s second nature almost. Sure, being together that one night changed that—it’s much more sexually charged now—but it still feels like the natural thing to do.

We follow Devyn inside. The place is nice. Homey.  The walls are light gray with large windows overlooking the city. Their living room is right off the entryway and the attached kitchen is towards the back. Framed photos are everywhere but I can’t really make them out without looking too obvious. I make a mental note to look later.

Drew gets up from the leather recliner and greets Brody with a man hug/shake thing. “Hey, dude, how’s it hangin’?”