Claire throws back her head and laughs, and I wish I could bottle up the sound and take it to Camden with me. “She will love that that’s how you know her, oh my Lord. Anyway, that’s about it. You already saw all the art from my show, and I have another one coming up in the spring. Otherwise, you haven’t missed much. Frankly, your life at boarding school sounds way more interesting. Or it would if you’d tell the boy how you feel.”

“How I maybe feel,” I amend stiffly, because part of me is clinging to the idea that this is some sort of temporary brain blip, confusion born of a combo of his surprising talent and even more surprising caretaking.

Judging by the roll of her big brown eyes, Claire’s not buying it. “Do you miss him?”

Shockingly badly. “People miss their friends,” I say defensively. “Hell, I missed you. A lot.”

She takes one of my hands, squeezes it. “I missed you too, Eves. Let’s not do this again.”

“My doctor’s appointment isn’t until one, so I’ll still be here tomorrow afternoon. Dunkin’ run after school?”

“It’s a date.” She leans over to give me a hug, every bit as warm as I remember. “I should get home, but just FYI, I’m going to need an update when you talk to that boy, and I’ll point out that if you’re nervous about talking to him face-to-face, I’m pretty sure you’ve got his number in your phone.”

“Or I could just leave him a message on a Post-it.”

“Shut up.” She whacks me with a pillow again as I crack up, and I don’t mind it at all.

Claire’s comment about calling Salem is still ringing in my head an hour and two episodes of cheesy TV later. Avoiding having to look at him when I say something is tempting, but avoiding the issue entirely sounds even better.

Then again, what if I avoid it so hard that Salem sails right into someone new? I hadn’t seen him and Jenna coming; what if someone else slips in? The thought is enough to make me grab my phone without even realizing I’m doing it until my fingers curl around the rubber case.

Am I really gonna do this? What do I even say? I’m tempted to put my phone back down, but then I think about how Claire will be asking for updates, how Lowen found a way to ask her out even though they were clearly nervous about it, and how I want to be able to tell her I got brave too. Without giving it another thought, I dial his number.

He answers way more quickly than I’m ready for. “Skeevy? Is everything okay? Did you die?”