“No,” I said, shaking my head even though the word came with a hint of regret. “I drove here.” I gestured toward my old car, suddenly self-conscious about him seeing it.
Austin took another step toward me. His hand, still resting at my back, shifted slightly, sliding down and forward until his fingers closed around my waist. His eyes were deep as they moved over my face. I had to remind myself that he was practically still a stranger, because the way he made me feel was like I’d known him forever. I waited, forcing myself to take a quiet breath so he wouldn’t steal all of my oxygen.
“You know,” he said after what felt like minutes, “I think you’re really beautiful, Yellow.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks at his words, electricity bursting through my stomach like fireworks. My lips wouldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. I just stared at him, and he stared back. His face drifted closer to mine, and for a single second, I thought he might kiss me. And for a single second, I thought I might kiss him back. Which was insane. I had just met him. I didn’t know him.
Cherry cleared her throat loudly. The sound snapped me out of it. I stepped back from Austin too quickly, stumbling over a rock and flailing in a thoroughly humiliating attempt to steady myself. Once I’d saved myself from face-planting into the concrete, I tilted my head up toward the starry sky. I knew better than to look at anyone’s reaction, especially Austin’s.
“Bye,” I blurted, keeping my eyes fixed upward. I turned on my heel and headed for my car, my walk of shame nothing like the ones Cherry used to tell me about. Her laughter rang out as she caught up to me. I didn’t look at her. I unlocked my car, slid into the driver’s seat, and dropped my forehead against the steering wheel in complete embarrassment.
“Don’t even,” I said as soon as she climbed in beside me. I kept my head down as her door slammed shut.
“I won’t,” she promised, though her voice was still buzzing with amusement.
“Are they gone?” I muttered.
“Yep,” Cherry said easily. I lifted my head slowly and glanced toward where we’d left them. To my relief, they were gone. I let out a breath, but it lasted barely a second before I nearly jumped out of my skin.
Someone knocked on my window. I shot Cherry a look, knowing she’d known this whole time, then turned toward the source. Of course it was Austin. He motioned for me to roll the window down. I briefly considered driving away instead.
“Yellow,” he urged through the glass. I shook my head and gave in, rolling the window down. “Give me your phone,” he said quickly.
“What?” I asked, my mind still replaying my spectacular exit.
“You said, and I quote, let’s leave it up to fate,” he continued smoothly. “Fate happened. We met again. Seems like a sign you should give me your number.”
“I still don’t know you,” I said.
“Trust me,” he replied easily. “You’re going to.”
And like his words had cast a spell, I handed him my phone.
6
“So,” Cherry began, and just from the way her voice sounded, a careful blend of affection and her love of making fun of me, I knew exactly where this was going.
“Alright,” I said, rolling my eyes as I pulled into her driveway. The flash of dread that crossed her face when she glanced toward her house didn’t go unnoticed, and I hated it. I hated that she had to call a place she didn’t love home. “Let me have it.”
The dread vanished instantly, replaced by satisfaction. My permission was all she needed. “Now, Blair. I have known you for a very long time. I like to think I know you better than I know myself. So, not that I’m complaining, but the Blair I know and love would absolutely not have been about to kiss a boy she met yesterday.”
I pressed my lips together, fixing my attention on anything but Cherry’s smug expression. She wasn’t wrong. I was nothing like Cherry in that way. She believed the best way to get to know a boy was through the way his lips felt. I believed the opposite. How could a kiss mean anything if you didn’t know the person you were kissing? It was just one of the many things we’d never agreed on.
“Which I’m guessing is the reason for the very obvious throat clearing?” I said flatly, wondering if she really thought she’d get away with that unnoticed.
“Like I said,” Cherry continued, unfazed by my very accurate accusation, “I’m not complaining. But something about that boy has you acting differently. And I love it. I just want to check in. What are you feeling?”
I finally smiled at her. At the way she was asking, and the way she cared. This was why, no matter how different Cherry and Iwere, we always came back to the same place. A deep respect for each other.
“You know,” I sighed, choosing my words carefully, “I was wondering the same thing. He feels different, Cherry. The way he looks at me. It’s not how boys usually look at me. Boys usually look at me like they’re the answer to all my problems. Austin looks at me like I’m the answer to his.”
Cherry let out a quiet breath, probably reacting to the weight of what I’d said. I knew what she’d been expecting. Something about his looks, or his confidence. Those things mattered, sure, but they weren’t the point. There was more to Austin than that, I just didn’t know him well enough to name them yet.
“Yeah, well,” she said, shaking off the seriousness. “I get it. But keep your guard up, okay? Those boys, Austin and Levi, they might seem like good guys right now, but if I know anything about boys, and trust me, I do,” she paused to stick her tongue out at me, “they’re no strangers to trouble.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I thought you liked trouble.”
“Oh, I do. Trust me. I really do,” she said easily. “But here’s the thing. I am trouble. I know trouble. Me and trouble go way back.” Every word of that was true. Cherry and trouble had grown up together. They’d played hopscotch on cracked sidewalks and danced under moonlit skies.
