And here she was. Again. After her workout at the gym, she’d gone home to shower, thinking she’d call in a pizza instead of cooking. By the time she’d finished her shower, however, her mind had been full of Abby, and she couldn’t shake the need she had to see her. She was too embarrassed to call, though, afraid that Abby might say no. Afraid that Abby already had plans. Afraid that she was getting in too damn deep.

Yet, here she was. Again. She took a deep breath, pushing down her insecurities, hiding them. She picked up the pizza box, then got out. It was a windy, damp evening, and she felt the misting of rain on her face. She hurried up the stairs, pausing to catch her breath before punching the doorbell.

The door jerked open, and Abby stood there, a big smile on her face. “I’m so happy it’s you. Come in.”

“You are? Not sick of me yet?”

“Are you kidding?” Abby took the pizza box from her and leaned in for a kiss. “And you brought dinner. You get bonus points. I had absolutely nothing here to eat.”

She followed Abby into the kitchen, noting how roomy it was compared to her own. Of course, Abby’s apartment was much larger than hers too.

“Oh goody,” Abby said when she opened the lid. “You got, like, everything on this.”

“I thought if there was something you didn’t like, you could toss it over to my side.”

“No. I love it all.” Abby came closer and slid her arms around her neck. “Thank you.”

“For the pizza?”

“For coming over. I wanted—needed—to talk.”

Nic felt a bit of panic set in. “Okay,” she said carefully.

Abby drew her into a hug, then kissed her before pulling away. “I realized that of all of my friends, you are the one I wanted to talk to.”

She let out a relieved breath. Okay, Abby just wanted to talk. It wasn’t about them. Because she didn’t even know what the hell it was they were doing, and she certainly didn’t want to talk about it.

“Do you mind if we sit on the floor in there?” Abby motioned.

“My favorite spot to eat pizza,” she agreed.

Abby was in sweatpants and a T-shirt, and Nic wished she was too as she looked down at her jeans. Abby must have read her mind.

“Want something a little more comfortable?”

“Do you mind?”

“Of course not. Grab some plates and napkins and the pizza. I’ll be right back.”

Nic did as instructed, taking the pizza box to the coffee table and kicking her shoes off. Abby came back with a pair of navy sweats.

“Feel free to change right here.”

Nic laughed. “I don’t know. Can you control yourself?”

“Only because I’m starving.”