She puts her hands on her hips. ‘What’s going on? And don’t say nothing, because I have eyes, and I can see the way you and Jesse have been looking at each other.’

I am still jittery with hyped-up energy and I let the words flow out of me. ‘I know it’s the worst idea and it’s against the rules and it will probably be a disaster and you have no desire to live with a couple and you were very clear about that from the beginning and he’s probably not interested and that will make it awkward, and either way you’ll want us to move out, but I have all these feelings inside me, feelings I’ve never had before, and I have to do something with them and he said I could trust him and I want to see what happens if I do, if I finally trust someone.’

Harper blinks at me, trying to absorb that sloppy overload of information.

‘Okay. Okay. That’s a lot. Let’s take a breath. First off, I’m not going to kick you out,’ she says.

‘You’re not? But what about the rules?’

‘What rules?’ she says.

‘Harper!’ I say. How could she—how could anyone—forget about the rules. This is why you need an official binder. ‘The house rules. No pets, no romance, no unnecessary drama.’

‘Oh those,’ she says, and waves her hand. ‘Who cares about those. They’re for, like, random housemates. You’re one of my closest friends now.’

‘Oh!’ I say, startled and delighted in equal measure. ‘You’re one of my closest friends, but I didn’t think you felt the same way.’

‘We hang out every day.’

‘Well that could just be a housemate thing.’

‘It’s a friendship thing.’

I smile at her, and she smiles at me, and I think suddenly that maybe I don’t need to tell Jesse anything. Maybe this is enough.

‘So, you like Jesse,’ Harper continues, looking thoughtful.

‘I like him,’ I say. And then, because just liking someone doesn’t seem big enough to be dramatically running off to ruin their date, but I’m not ready to admit to the word love, I add, ‘I like him a lot. I’m sorry.’

‘Don’t be sorry! You feel how you feel. As much as I don’t want to live with a couple, I do want to live with you both. You’re my friends and I want my friends to be happy. And I’d rather you together than all angsty and pining for each other.’

‘Thank you,’ I say, still feeling emotional about her declaration of our friendship.

‘None of this means I don’t think it’s a terrible idea.’

‘You think it’s a terrible idea?’

‘At best, it’s a moderately bad idea. At worst, a total disaster.’

‘I guess I can operate on that scale.’