RIVER

“Please don’t; you'll give me performance anxiety.”

The words slipped out of my mouth before I could even think about it. ‘Really, River? You had to bring up a nerdy thing, didnt you?’

I knew it was a compliment, and I should have said something like 'thank you' or something else, not something straight out of a nerd manual. I cleared my throat, searching my brain carefully this time for the appropriate response.

Taylor’s face changed slowly, from a confused look at my ...