“Yes, video games apparently,” she replied.

Rowan cracked a sheepish smile before pulling out two white boxes. “Are you gonna be mad, or are you gonna eat the cannoli I brought you?”

I followed Tabitha as Alice and Eddie cheered and grumbled, respectively. She bit the tip of her thumb and grinned when she saw me.

“You know, before I met you in school, I had no idea you were such a little hellion,” she said. “Freeze tag. Sprinklers. Illicit video games.”

“I hide my inner bad boy pretty well,” I said.

“I don’t think it’s that hidden.” She pressed up onto her tiptoes and kissed me. “All the footage I’ve taken about this street and its history represents the best of what I love about living here. Of what I miss. And…” She paused, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I know how easy it is to focus on the worst that was said about you, after you retired. I do the same thing. But I only see pride and respect. This block loves you.” She held up her camera. “That’s what I see. Whether you take that job in Vegas and move or decide to stay here, that’s a constant that won’t change.”

I lifted her chin with one finger and kissed her. There was nothing I could say. Thank you didn’t feel like enough. Please don’t go to Texas felt like too much.

“What are you doing tonight?” I asked.

“I’ll probably take a look at what I filmed and then shower off all this gardening. Get some real work done. And I have to start packing.”

I shoved my hands into my pockets. Loosened my jaw. “Do you want company?”

“Desperately.”

I bent down and kissed her temple. “I’ll come see you.”

I stood on the sidewalk until the door shut behind her. When I finally turned around, Rowan was there.

“Not eavesdropping, I promise,” he said. “Eddie asked me to get more napkins.”

“You’re all good,” I said, slapping a hand on his back. “I’ll come with you.”

Rowan peeked over his shoulder. “Okay, I’m really happy we didn’t accidentally spill how many girls I made out with on Eddie’s stoop. Or that he made it way too easy to find his beer.”

“The video game thing was a smart distraction.”

“Is everything okay with you and Tabitha?”

I weighed my answer. Everything was great. But that wasn’t what he was asking. “Yeah, we’re okay. Why?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “The way you two were looking at each other seemed kinda…intense.”

I ran a hand through my hair. “We’ve been hanging out pretty much constantly. And having sex. A lot of sex.”

“Yeah, I know, dude. As my grandmother would say, you could cut the sexual tension with a knife.”

“It’s that obvious?”

His voice grew serious. “It’s not the only thing that’s obvious.”

I looked at him and grimaced. “She leaves in a couple days, and I feel weird about it. This no-strings-attached stuff is all new to me.”