It took mere seconds for me to settle on that familiar petite frame. She’d cut her hair since the last time I’d seen her. The sandy-brown locks now barely touched her shoulders, but those effortless waves I’d envied for years were still there.

Along with her beautiful smile and open arms, waiting for me to hug her.

“Oh my gosh!” I screamed, not caring one bit that I’d stepped out of line and lost my spot. “What are you doing here?”

“You called me, remember?”

I thought back to the night before—Tyler dropping his cheating bomb, me grabbing a few articles of clothing before I’d disappeared into the freezing rain. Somewhere in between all that mess, I did recall leaving a somewhat cryptic message for Melissa.

“Now you remember.” She laughed, seeing the realization spread across my face.

Her arm draped across my shoulders as we began walking away from the deli. Where to, I had no idea, but there were too many people to just stand around.

“I missed your call because it happened to be the one night I actually managed to get some sleep. Between exams and roommate drama, it’s been a precious commodity. Have I told you lately how much I love you? If not, I do. So very much.”

“Is it bad?” I asked, remembering her mentioning her roommate the last time we’d spoken.

She was a perky girl from Colorado. She sounded nice enough, but apparently, their personalities just didn’t mesh well. Melissa was ready to kill her.

“Bad,” she answered. “She’s just too happy. No one can possibly be that happy, Cara. No one. And I lived with you.”

“Hey!”

“I mean that with love. Lots and lots of love. Anyway, you called, and I was sleeping.”

“Sorry about that,” I said.

She shrugged, looking around at the city like it was a zoo. It kind of was. “It’s okay. I got your crazy message when I woke up to work out. But, instead of going to the gym, I went to the airport. I figured I needed a little break from the roommate, and you needed… well, me.”

I sighed, leaning my head on her shoulder, as we walked. “I do. Thank you.”

“Good. Now, where am I staying? I took the train into the city from the airport, and left my bags in a locker there, so I need to go back and get them. But I need to know where I’ll be sleeping.”

Oh, crap.

“So, here’s the thing.”