THOUGH NELLY HAD NEVER been extremely popular with the boys, she’d had her fair share of admirers growing up. Most of the time, being on the receiving end of someone’s love was a harrowing experience, and it was one Nelly rarely felt prepared for.
Her automatic response to any perceived interest was to cut off said admirers and avoid them at all costs. That behavior was amplified when Nelly found herself nursing a crush. It suddenly became hard to look the guy in the eye or to be her usual, carefree self for fear that she would say or do something unflattering.
Because of Aunt Shayla’s words and her own sneaking suspicion that something deeper lay beneath the surface of her affection for Erik, Nelly found herself avoiding her friend.
It was not an easy task—given she lived a floor below
