Clover covered her yawn.

“How come you’re so tired?” asked Maddie. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor with a bowl of cereal in front of her on the coffee table. They really needed to get some real furniture in this place, maybe a few wall decorations. The sparseness had never bothered Clover before, but she felt this urge to nest, to put down some roots, to make leaving St. George difficult—if she ever decided to go.

A secretive grin tugged at the corners of Clover’s mouth. “Because I’m running on four hours of sleep.”

“What?” Maddie squinted at the clock over the microwave. The crazy bun on the top of her head flopped to the side. “It’s 8 a.m.”

“I know. I need to call Jane and tell her I’m not coming in today.”

Maddie’s spoon dropped into her bowl. “Okay, what planet are you from and where have they taken my best friend?”

Clover crossed her fingers over her heart and said in a robotic voice, “I swear I’m the human you are looking for.”

She rolled her eyes. “Says the alien right before they eat you.”

Clover poured herself a bowl of cereal and sat opposite Maddie at the coffee table. She had the night off at the hotel. Dustin’s evenings were free all week, and he’d said he wanted to spend every minute possible with her. She was A-okay with that plan. Arranging her work schedule was going to take an effort, but he only had one All-Star break, and then he’d play ball until October, alternating weekends home and weekends away. Three months never seemed so long.

Maddie bounced. “Tell me. Tell me. Tell me.”

Clover laughed, enjoying this part of dating in a whole different way than she’d enjoyed the actual date. When she was a teenager, she’d snuck into a chick flick at the movie theater. There was a slumber party in the movie where the girls all talked about the boys they were interested in—she’d been mesmerized, watching them share their secrets and giggling. The scene was total fiction, and yet here she was, living it with her best friend. Her reality didn’t feel real yet, but she was going with it because it was the most fun she’d ever had. “We went to the party, then we hung out at the stadium for a while, and then we went back to his house and played catch. He made me French toast at three in the morning and brought me home by four.” She shoved a spoonful of sugared corn puffs into her mouth.

Maddie twirled her hair. “And I supposed your lips are swollen because you got hit with a ball?”

Clover’s fingers flew to her mouth to feel for anything out of shape. “We only kissed a couple times; I shouldn’t—”

Maddie snickered. “Ha! I knew you kissed him. You’re way too happy on way too little sleep.”

Clover glared for a second before she gave in and smiled. “There may have been a little lip action happening.”

“A little?”

“Yes, a little.” She wasn’t about to divulge those amazing kisses to Maddie. They were shared moments between her and Dustin, and she wanted to keep them that way. She loaded her spoon. “He’s got some things to do today, and then we’re going to an early dinner and mini golf.”

“Mini golf? That’s kind of high school, isn’t it?”

“Well, since I didn’t go to high school …”

Maddie’s hand flew across the table to stop Clover from putting the spoon in her mouth. “Wait, did you tell him you didn’t go to school?”

Clover set her spoon in her bowl. She swallowed before nodding. Over the course of their game of catch, she’d told Dustin her life story. Not all her stories, but enough. More than she had told anyone besides Pastor Paul and Jane. Maddie didn’t even know parts of her past that Dustin was now aware of.

“What did he say?” Maddie whispered, her eyes round with worry or curiosity, Clover wasn’t sure which.

“He kissed me,” she replied shyly.

Maddie melted, resting her cheek on the palm of her hand and her elbow on the table. “That’s so sweet.”

“He is.”

“So you’re skipping The Pantry to see him?”

Clover nodded. “Half a shift. He’s got a light workout this afternoon, and this morning he’s helping his brother with his company. I’ll run over to the Pantry for an hour and stock shelves. Can you maybe come in to help Jane out with serving?”

Maddie sat up tall. “Sure.” She’d volunteered before and knew where things were, so Clover didn’t feel like she was leaving Jane in a lurch. Maddie was hesitant with some of the rougher-looking regulars, but between Maddie and Jane, stomachs would be filled.

“Great.” Clover got up and dumped her half-eaten bowl of cereal down the disposal. Skipping work didn’t feel quite right and had dampened her appetite. Sure, people took days off all the time, but there were people counting on Clover at The Pantry. They were most comfortable with her because she understood where they were in life and didn’t judge. Her stomach spun the Sugar Pops like it was trying to make cotton candy out of them. She closed her eyes and leaned against the sink.

“Are you okay?” asked Maddie as she came around the bar, her empty bowl in hand.

“I hate letting people down.” She took a deep breath in through her nose. Curse that Dustin; this was twice in as many days that he’d put her out of her comfort zone.

“Who are you letting down?” Maddie asked.

“Jane, the regulars, you.”

Maddie grabbed her arm. “Clover! It’s one afternoon. The whole world isn’t going to end because you decided to play mini golf with your new boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” she protested weakly.

Maddie took her by the shoulders. “Go. Have fun. You’re not flaking on anyone. You’re telling Jane, and you got your shift covered. You’re allowed to enjoy life a little, you know?”

“That’s the problem. I’m enjoying this far too much for it to be real. I’ve been flying since the stadium last night—at some point, I’m going to crash. I know this. I know it as deeply as I want to be with Dustin today, and it scares the heck out of me.”

Maddie tipped her head in sympathy. “What’s the point of flying if you can’t enjoy it?”

“But—the crash?”

“Feel it when it comes—if it comes. You don’t know for sure you’re going to crash.”

Clover bit back the argument that she could feel the crash on the horizon. There was no logical explanation for her feelings, just the sense of impending doom if she stopped to think about breaking her regular schedule. “Yeah. Okay.” She checked the clock. “I’m going to shower and get ready.”

“That’s the spirit. Wanna borrow my slip-ons?”

“Can I? They’d look great with the skirt I was thinking of wearing.”

“The navy one?” Maddie’s eyes lit up.

“You know it.”

Maddie clapped her hands. “Yes! And I get to pull your hair up in a faux bob I saw on YouTube.”

Clover rolled her eyes. “Have at it.”

“Go. Go. Go.” Maddie shoved her toward the bathroom.

The warm water was comforting, and as Clover worked the shampoo into her hair, she repeated Maddie’s advice over and over again. She was not being a flake. Vacation days were a normal part of life, and she was now a normal woman living a normal life and doing something normal like dating an MLB player. The fate of the world didn’t rest on her shoulders.

But even after the conditioner rinsed down the drain, the feeling that she was missing something important held on.