I squeeze the small wrapped box in my hand for the hundredth time since I got home from my interview. I opened all my other presents first. Most were small gifts—gift cards to Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, and every coffee shop in a twenty-mile radius. My friends and coworkers know me well. Ashley and Neil went bigger, though, getting me a new iPad since mine got a crack in the screen about a month ago and I never got a new one.

I even wrote out thank-you cards, and seriously who does that in this day and age? With nothing else left to open and no cards left to write, I stare at the silver wrapping paper and miniature teal bow. I know Nate didn’t wrap this himself. The one and only time he ever wrapped a gift for me, the paper had been cut too short and didn’t cover the entire package. There was also so much tape on it I spent twenty minutes trying to get it open. I smile at the memory.

I put the package down and walk to the kitchen, noticing the clock on the microwave reads 11:46. Is it too early to have a drink? Not sure I can open the gift without one, I pour myself a glass of merlot. I take a healthy sip, letting the liquid warm my insides, and then head back to the couch. The package is mocking me with its impeccable wrapping. Did Charlotte wrap this? No. That’s a stupid thought. She’s a random girl Nate is dating. Sleeping with even. God, was he sleeping with her when we...?

I take another long drink of Merlot. Then I shake my head and place the wine on the coffee table. “This is insane. It’s a damn present.” I pick it up and tear the paper off. The teal Eldridge Designs box gives me pause. Nate bought me a one-of-a-kind gift. Tommy Eldridge was a good friend of Nate’s in college. I haven’t seen him in years. Probably since graduation.

I lift the lid on the box to reveal a black velvet necklace box. Nate bought me jewelry, and not a pin or something that screamed “best friends.” He got me a necklace. Why? I open it and see the silver dragonfly with amethyst and teal gemstones. It look so much like...

I carry the box into my room and stand before the full-length mirror on the back of my door. Turning around and lifting the back of my shirt, I study the dragonfly tattoo. “It’s almost a perfect match.” Except Tommy used teal gemstones for the eyes and amethyst gemstones to mark the spots on the wings. My eyes fill with tears. How did Nate do this? I always keep my tattoo covered. The only time anyone sees it is when I go swimming, but to remember it in this much detail...

My breathing quickens as I go for my phone on the living room couch. I dial Nate and hold the phone to my ear, the necklace resting in the palm of my free hand.

“Hey,” Nate answers, his voice full of surprise.

“How? How did you do it?”

“You opened the gift,” he says, a smile in his voice.

“It’s a perfect match.”

“That was the point.”

“But how?” My mind drifts to the night we spent together. He cuddled me afterward, and his fingers trailed over the dragonfly, tracing it. There’s no way he had this made after that night. Tommy wouldn’t have been able to get it finished in time for my party.

“Does it matter how? Whether or not you like it is all that’s important.”

How can he say that? The gift is so personal, intimate even. “Nate, tell me how you did this.”

He sighs on the other end. “If you don’t like it, I can take it back and get you something else.”

“I didn’t say I didn’t like it. I just want to know how you matched it so perfectly.”

Another sigh. “You fell asleep one night while we were watching TV. I saw the tattoo and thought you might like a necklace to match.”

“Did you take a picture of it while I was sleeping?”

“It’s not as creepy as it sounds. I swear. I only took a close-up of the tattoo. No one who saw it would even know the tattoo belonged to you.”

If anyone else had done it, I’d be freaking out. But it’s Nate. I trust him with my life. “I had no idea.”

“When I saw it that night, it reminded me of how long we’ve known each other. You got the tattoo without ever telling anyone you were doing it. I remember you showing up at my dorm room one day with your back bandaged up.”

I remember. He wanted to take me to the emergency room because he thought I’d hurt myself.

“I never understood why you went by yourself to get it.”

“It was a right of passage of some sort. Me coming to terms with the fact that I was growing up and sprouting my own wings.” I wanted to do it on my own. Nate isn’t into tattoos, and I’d been afraid he’d try to talk me out of it.

“Are you angry with me?”

“No. I love it.” I sit down on the couch and bring my legs up under me. “How did your interview go?”

He’s quiet for a moment, so I know exactly what he’s going to say.

“Congratulations. When do you start?”

“Monday.”

“Wow. That’s soon. Are you looking for a place before you come home?”

“Right now I’m sitting at a Dunkin Donuts, drowning my sorrows in a tall black coffee and a chocolate glazed donut.”

“What sorrows? You just landed your dream job.” I wipe the tear that’s streaking down my cheek. “I’m happy for you, Nate. You deserve this.”

“Charlotte is my replacement,” he blurts out.

“What?” He got his booty call a job at Priority News? He can’t be serious.

“We aren’t dating. Monohan asked me to show her around town and the paper. You were out on Friday when she started.”

I breathe easier, knowing Nate wasn’t turning into the type of guy who would sleep with any pretty face.

“I want to thank you for talking me up to Paul Weston,” he says when I don’t respond.

“He told you that?” I squeeze the dragonfly in my palm. I still don’t know how I wound up talking about Nate so much during my interview. I went there to show Mr. Weston I could do the job, but everything kept coming back to Nate. As much as I don’t want to admit Mr. Monohan was right about recommending one of us over another, Nate is the most qualified for the position. He deserves this job.

It takes me a moment to realize Nate is laughing. “The funny thing is, I spent my interview talking you up.”

“Really?” I lean my head back on the couch. “Weston must have thought we were both crazy. Who interviews like that, and let alone two in one day?” My stomach hurts from laughing so hard.

“Only us, I’m sure.”

“Do you need help packing?” I ask, once we’ve both gotten it out of our systems.

“I won’t say no to you coming over and keeping me company. We’ve got the day off, right?”

I wasn’t expecting him to agree. And it’s not that I want to spend my day boxing up my best friend’s life so he can move away from me. In fact, it’s the last thing I want to do. But I need to see Nate. I need to soak up as much time with him as I possibly can before Monday.

“I’ll bring pizza. See you in thirty.” I hang up and get changed out of my interview clothes. You can’t exactly pack up an apartment while wearing a suit dress. I opt for khaki shorts and a navy blue tank top. I twist my hair up and secure it with a clip. Finally, I secure the dragonfly necklace around my neck. It’s not until I’m walking out the door that I realize I forgot to put on flip-flops. I grab them from the shoe tray by the door and step out with my purse in hand.

“Hey, Aria,” Michelle says. “Off from work today?”

“Yeah, I went on an interview this morning.” I lock the door behind me and trail Michelle to the elevator.

“An interview? Will you be moving?”

Michelle’s been eyeing up my apartment for years since hers doesn’t have a bathtub. Only a walk-in shower. Mine also has a better view.

“No. I didn’t get the job.”

“Better luck next time.” Yeah, better luck for her. “Of course, I would miss seeing Nate around here.”

“Well, actually you still will. He got the job and is moving away.”

“Oh no.” She pouts.

We take the elevator down to the lobby and part ways. And not a moment too soon. I couldn’t take another second of her telling me how “close” she and Nate are. The only place they’re close is in her imagination.

I phone Dominic’s Pizza and order a large half-pepperoni pie so it’s ready when I get there. I’m on autopilot until I park at Nate’s apartment complex. The gray façade never looked so cold and uninviting. This might be the last time I step inside his place. The last time we share a pizza. I’m not ready to say good-bye to him.

I carry the pizza through the front door and up the stairs, delaying the inevitable. Facing Nate and not telling him how I really feel is going to be harder than ever. Part of me wants to confess in the hope that he’ll stay when he learns how much I care about him, and not just as my friend. But the rational side of me knows I can’t do that to him. As his best friend, I have to encourage him to pursue his dreams. This job is good for him. For his career. He needs to go, no matter how much it will break my heart.