I sucked in a rattling breath. The fear slowly faded, but the anxiety remained, quivering inside me like a razor-sharp wire being held taut, ready to snap and slice me in half. I took in another breath. And another. Nothing was really working. The wire was twining through my ribs, making it harder for my lungs to expand. My head started feeling light, my eyes having a difficult time finding focus.

Jake must have noticed. His hand falling on mine was the equivalent of dumping a bucket of ice water over my head. I turned, finding his eyes, finding a focus.

I could breathe again.

“It’s going to be alright, Noah, I promise. Life never runs in a straight line. Bad times come, but good times follow, and those are sometimes the best of times. My mom used to tell me that all the time. It helped remind me that whatever I was going through had a way out, and whatever was on the other side gave me something to look forward to.” His hand squeezed mine. When had his fingers slipped through mine? Why wasn’t I moving away? This wasn’t a ”friend supporting friend” kind of handhold. This was something much more—intimate. As intimate as two hands could get.

Beyond that, though, Jake’s touch worked as a salve. It unwound the tightening razor-sharp threads of anxiety that were threatening to cause a full-blown panic attack.

Another breath. This one came with a smile, matching the one that inched across Jake’s face.

“Your mom must be related to Aristotle. That’s a really good way to look at things.”

His smile flickered, his hand slipping from mine, moving back to his lap.

“Come, let’s get inside,” he said, taking the keys from the ignition, the smile back in full force. I could get used to that smile. Even if I much rather preferred that smile to be pressed up against mine, something that had a very low likelihood of ever happening.

I got out of the car, following Jake up the steps and onto his porch. I got a closer look at the flowers, all of them thriving. He had bright ruby-red roses and thick bushels of pastel purple lavender. Two large blue pots of prehistoric-looking ferns flanked his door. He unlocked it and stepped inside, welcoming me in with a flair of his arm and a tiny bow, as if I were some kind of royalty.

“Wow, it’s bigger on the inside,” I said without really thinking.

“Huh?”

“Oh nothing, just a Doc—”

“Doctor Who reference? You watch it?” Jake asked, eyebrows raised.

“Are you kidding? I worship it. Favorite doctor?”

Jake cocked his head before nodding with a slanted smile. “David Tennant’s doctor, hands down. You?”

“It’s a tie between Matt and Jodie. I’m leaning more toward Jodie, though.”