Jake watched the nervous figure disappear. He had never met Luna’s brother before, but she talked about him enough that he had thought he had a good feel for the kid’s personality. Now he felt like he had been way wrong.

“Let’s go.” Luna tugged on his arm. They had to go to a different part of the station to catch the bus they needed.

Jake dutifully followed her. He glanced back once, but had no luck finding her brother again. He had vanished.

“So that was him?”

“Ry? Yeah.”

They got to the sign just in time to hop on the bus. There were no seats, but standing wasn’t too bad. For once, Jake didn’t feel like he was a sardine in a can.

“He wasn’t what I expected.” Jake confessed.

Luna looked at him with mischievous eyes. “Not all men are as charming as you.”

“I wouldn’t call him a man.” He muttered. Luna’s warning look made him fumble to explain. “He’s still a boy, if you ask me.”

She shrugged. “He’s nineteen. Last time I checked, that was older than eighteen, which makes him an adult. Adult males are called men.”

“Your reasoning is sound.” He chuckled. Then he remembered the terrified look on Ryan’s face when he had laughed earlier. He wished he knew what had caused that reaction.

“He’s, uh, quieter than I expected.”

“He doesn’t talk.”

Luna said it so matter-of-factly that it caught Jake by surprise. He didn’t talk? Like, at all? Jake mentally sifted through everything Luna had ever told him about her brother. He was pretty sure she had never mentioned that before. Was she ashamed of her brother’s insecurities?

No. He studied Luna’s expression. There was no disgust there, and he still felt like he knew her. She had probably never mentioned it because it just didn’t matter to her.

He shrugged. That would be one more thing she understood how to accept better than he did. Not for the first time since meeting her, he made a mental note to strive to be as open minded as she was.

“So, where are we eating?” She peered out the window, ignoring the uncertain look from the woman who’s head she was looking over. “I could really go for a cheeseburger right now.”

Jake smiled. “Whatever you want. We’re celebrating your accomplishment, remember?”

She turned a grin on him. “Cheeseburgers topped with three types of onions, peanut butter, and pears!”

How ever had he known? “The Works it is.”

“Yay!” She threw her arms around him just as the bus hit a bump. It was a struggle, but Jake managed to keep them both upright. When Luna found her footing again, they both came out of the embrace laughing.

“Everyone probably thinks we’re dating.” She whispered in his ear.

Jake smiled. Honestly, he had thought about asking her out once. He felt drawn to her, and could no longer imagine his life without her in it. He did love her.

But, when he stopped to think about it, he didn’t think he was in love with her. He couldn’t think of anything that their relationship was missing with them just being friends. Didn’t that mean that they weren’t meant to be more than friends?

He had made the ultimate decision that, any time he asked her out, it would be just to hang out.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Luna dug around in her pocket and produced a flash drive. “Here.” She held it out to him.

He accepted it and tucked it away safely. “Your movie?”

“Yup.”

He smiled. “Um, I was actually wondering if I could get the sound file for that song from the credits. I really liked it.”

“Sure, I could email it to you.” She gave him a sly smile. “But, just so that you know, the artist’s name is not connected to any of the file’s data.”

Shoot. He had kind of been hoping it would be.

He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I just want to be able to listen to it on repeat for the rest of my life.”

Luna laughed and playfully punched his arm. “You got it.”