“Noah,” I said, the moment he opened. Like so many times before, his eyes were warm and lit up as if he had a hundred things he wanted to share with me and didn’t know where to begin. He blinked them all back, as if he just remembered we hadn’t shared anything for months. A sad look crossed his face, the same look I’d been wearing for months. I wished the light in his eyes would shine again, and I wished I could reach out and touch him. Just to be sure he was really there in front of me. That this moment was happening, and not just some dream. “Can I come in?” I asked, a wave of nervousness coming over me. He blinked a moment, and then lurched forward and pulled me into his house. “Jase! What . . . This is . . .” He was speechless, and it brought a faint smile to my lips. I followed him to the lounge. “What are you doing here?
