Lyric

We sit down on your front steps

You set your bag beside your feet

Your upstairs neighbor shuts a window

You move to leave some room for me

I know the line I always use

To make you laugh before I leave

You nudge my shoe and wait to hear it

I rub a loose thread on my sleeve

I've walked you home a hundred times

And called it nothing on the way

There's one more thing I want to ask

Without a laugh to brush it off

Next to you on your front steps

For once, I leave the joke unsaid

Next to you, can I be more

Than just the friend who walks you home?

You tell me I went quiet on you

I say, "It's been a busy week"

You nod and lean against the railing

And wait for me to finish speaking

The reason sounded fine at first

But doesn't quite explain my face

You ask if something's on my mind

I pull the thread and take a breath

I know the way we say good night

The same old joke, the same goodbye

I only want to ask you plainly

If you could see me differently

Next to you on your front steps

For once, I leave the joke unsaid

Next to you, can I be more

Than just the friend who walks you home?

You pick your bag up from the step

I know that's usually my cue

I have a funny line half ready

But none of it would tell the truth

Next to you on your front steps

For once, I leave the joke unsaid

Next to you, can I be more

Than just the friend who walks you home?

I say it out loud this time

"Could we go out as more than friends?"

I don't look down or reach for laughter

My hand lies open on the step

Your bag stays resting on your knees

I hear my voice without the joke