She looks appropriately surprised. “You transferred your senior year?”

“It’s a long story.” Gabby looks like she’s ready to settle in and hear every sordid detail of my life. “Tell me about you and Nathan, he says you two are close.”

It’s then that I notice the gigantic engagement ring on her finger. She holds her hand up proudly.

“I’m engaged to his former roommate, Zeke. He graduated last year and moved to Phoenix to play for the Suns, which is why I haven’t been around as much. I’m splitting my time between Valley and Phoenix. But actually, it’s Blair I have to thank for introducing me to Nathan. Blair, my best friend, is dating the other former roommate Wes. She’s not here because Wes is an assistant coach now, so I doubt they’ll be around much. He wants to let the guys relax and have fun without the coach killing their fun. Anyway, when I moved to Valley, Wes and Zeke were living here and so we spent a lot of time here. Nathan and I became close. He’s the best. Joel, too. Have you met him?”

She doesn’t wait for my nod. Gabby goes on to fill me in on people I haven’t met or even heard of, but I’m smiling at her animated descriptions and updates for each of them. Also, I’m slightly concerned she hasn’t taken a breath.

Nathan slides in behind me. “All right, you’ve stolen her for long enough,” he says as he bear hugs me. His mouth brushes my ear. “Whatever she told you about me is all lies.”

“As if we were talking about you. Big head, much?” I flash Gabby a conspiratorial smile. It’s fun to have someone to joke with, I realize.

Gabby watches us interact, and I can’t shake the unease of this whole situation. Lying to her makes me feel super guilty. She’s the first person I’ve met, besides Nathan who’s welcomed me with open arms. Maybe it’s silly to want her to like me, but I do. I like her, and I don’t want to screw up Nathan’s world while trying to fix mine.

As the night wears on, people begin to trickle out until it’s just the roommates, me, and Gabby. The guys want to play Tecmo Bowl so we head inside.

“We’re having a girl’s night Monday to celebrate my engagement. You should come.”

I glance at Nathan for help, but his eyes are glued to the TV screen where little football men run down the field.

“That sounds fun, but I have volleyball practice every day throughout the week.”

“So come after.” She lifts a shoulder and lets it fall. Taking out her phone, she says, “Give me your number and we can text to figure out the details.”