“‘Why can’t you be polite, like Sam?’” Will mocks his mother’s voice. “‘Why can’t you remember to check your blind spots, like Sam?’ She always wanted a daughter. Besides, even if my parents weren’t okay with you moving in, Dylan makes so much noise, they probably wouldn’t even notice.”

As if on cue, his little brother goes galloping and screaming through the room upstairs, making the ceiling tremble. Will rolls his eyes.

I laugh. “Kitty would love it if I moved in with you, I’m sure.”

“Yeah, she is a little jealous of you,” he says.

I snort so loudly that it’s a minor miracle that the mess of papers and candy wrappers and other junk doesn’t get blown off the coffee table.

“How can she possibly be jealous of me?” I ask. Kitty might as well be jealous of one of Will’s old T-shirts or the ratty brown couch he and I are sitting on that’s got popcorn buried in it old enough to carbon-date. If anyone should be jealous, it’s me, if Will starts bagging on our Sunday afternoons.

“She doesn’t get why I wouldn’t want to go out with you,” he says. “Or maybe why you wouldn’t want to date me. I told her we’ve never liked each other as more than friends, but she wasn’t totally convinced.”

“Speaking of Kitty, when were you going to tell me about next Sunday?” I ask. I try to keep the bitterness I feel out of my voice.

“Oh, you mean Planet Quest Con? That should be fun.” He slurps some soda out of his Dr Pepper can. “But I told Kitty we could only go in the morning because I had to be back after lunch so I could meet you by two for gaming.”

“Oh,” I say. I should have known better than to think Will would ditch me. He’s never been like that. Suddenly I feel guilty that my friendship with him might be creating problems for him and Kitty before their relationship is even serious. “Maybe Kitty won’t be jealous if you tell her I’m a lesbo or something,” I say. My tone starts out sarcastic but falters a little at the end.

Will pauses the game. “Whoa,” he says, looking at me all brown eyes and floppy hair and curiosity tinged with concern. “Are you feeling more sure about that?” he asks.