Grabbing my phone, I send a text to Kylen.
Raven: How are your muscles doing? You can call me Mrs. Tin Man.
I smile when he responds right away.
Kylen: My muscles are doing pretty good.
Raven: You’re telling me you’re not sore at all?
Kylen: I work out every night, so not really.
Raven: Show off again.
Kylen: Hey, it’s not my fault you don’t move your muscles. I saw how you are at PE. You’re like a statue. That’s why I was surprised at how good you were at skiing. I thought you would for sure quit after five minutes.
Raven: Thanks for thinking so highly of me. And PE is nothing like skiing or even ice skating. Coach just likes to torture us for no reason at all.
Kylen: Lol. I agree. How about I make you some hot chocolate? Maybe that will heal your muscles.
Raven: Oh my gosh, hot chocolate sounds sooo good! Yes, please.
Kylen: Great! Meet me in the foyer?
Raven: Okay.
I drop my phone on my bed and announce to my friends, “Anyone want hot chocolate? Kylen and I are going to make some.”
Sophie looks up from where she’s reading on her bed. “Did he invite you to go?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Like…a date?” Addie asks.
“What? No, I don’t think so.” I grab my phone and look over the text. “I don’t think it sounds like a date. You think it’s a date?”
“Why are you getting so bent out of shape?” Carly reaches over from her side of the bed and sweeps my phone out of my hand. “Let’s see…oh, wow. You guys are totally flirting with each other.”
“No we’re not!”
“Let me see!” Addie rushes over and bounces on the bed, snatching my phone out of Carly’s hand. “It seems like a normal conversation on the outside, but I can see the little messages behind your words. You two are definitely in Flirt City.”
I scowl at them. “Once again, you’re conjuring things that aren’t there.”
“Would it be the end of the world if you guys were flirting?” Sophie asks as she turns a page. “I mean, you’ve been really good friends for a while now. Maybe you’re ready to go further than that.”
With a groan, I fall down on my bed and cover my face. “I don’t know. I feel like we get closer and closer as the days pass, and he’s so amazing. I spent a whole year and a half convincing myself he was a monster because I thought it would help me forget about him, but I haven’t forgotten about him. He’s the same guy he was back then. The same guy I fell in love with. Actually, he’s even better.”
“So what’s the problem?” Addie asks.
I sit up. “There’s no problem. I’m happy where we are. If things move past that, I’ll deal with it when it happens. Right now, I just want to have hot chocolate with him. Are any of you guys coming?”
“And ruin your date?” Carly says. “Heck no.”
“It’s not a date, Carly.”
“It might be.”
“It is in my eyes,” Addie says.
