A sharp laugh escapes me. “I miss the pranks a little.” I wince at the words. “Is that a totally psychotic thing to admit?” I peek up at Asher and his mouth is tipped up in the promise of another smile, but he doesn’t say anything. I shuffle my feet and try to line up the shot. There’s a row of fake corn stalks along the far end of the hole, and between them, an arched tunnel. Based on the dark circle at the bottom of the giant bushel basket on the right side, I’m guessing my ball will shoot out there.
“Just to be clear, first-date rules do not apply to our game.” I shoot him a serious look before returning my eyes to my shot. “If you let me win, I’ll smother you in your sleep.”
“You don’t care about winning?”
“Oh no, I totally do. But I want to win because I’m awesome.Orbecause you’re horrible. Not because you were afraid I wouldn’t make out with you if you beat me.”
“You’re gonna make out with me?” I can hear the smirk in his voice.
I keep my eyes on my ball. I couldn’t look at him right now if I wanted to. My stomach is tied in the worst kind of knots and I wish I hadn’t brought up kissing Asher, because now it’s all I can think about. And I don’t need him to know that I’ve thought several times about pulling him behind the giant windmill and just calling it quits on this whole game. His ego doesnotneed that boost. But kissing Asher is like eating something amazingfor the first time—I had no idea how much I’d like it, and now it’s all I’m thinking about. I want it forallof my meals. He can’t know that, so I just shrug. “We’ll see,” I squeak out, my voice not nearly as aloof as I’d been hoping for. “Now stop distracting me so I can kick your butt.” I square up my shot.
“And celebrate by making out?” Asher says, just as my club makes contact.
Asher
Sid’s ball veers to the right, careening into the wall at what is definitelynotthe angle she was going for, before ricocheting off of the edge of the giant basket and returning back to where she started. She makes a sound that I can really only describe as a growl.This is where I die; bludgeoned on a mini-golf course.She turns her eyes on me and I can’t help but laugh. Her mouth is squeezed into an angry slash and her eyes are narrowed to slits. But I’ve seen Sidney pissed, and she looks too cute right now to be as mad as she’s going for. I’ll live to see another day. I don’t bother telling her I wasn’ttryingto distract her, because I know she won’t believe me. I’m not sure ifI’dbelieve me.
I raise my hands in mock surrender. “Mulligan?”
Sidney uncrosses her arms, and her whole body relaxes. She straightens up a little, and there’s a hint of surprise on her face. She thought I was going to put up a fight. Repositioning her ball with the head of her putter, Sidney squares back up to take her shot. And just before she makes contact, her head swivels back to me slowly. Quietly, she says, “Thank you.”
DAY 30
My fingers hesitate over the buttons, because I’m not sure how to tell her that I’m spending my birthday with Asher. That I don’t even know what we’re doing, but I’m insanely excited. Asher hasn’t told me anything about what he has planned, except that it’s definitelynota date. Birthday celebrations don’t count. I should tell Kara everything, but the longer I go without telling her, the harder it gets. So instead of telling her the truth, I type backyes.I throw in a frowny face, just to show her how much I love her, and then I start looking through my closet for clothes that go along with the one clue Asher has given me so far about my birthday celebration: wear something black.
After dinner Asher and I wash dishes and he tells me he has to leave for a while, but there’s another clue in my room. I practically sprint away. In my room everything looks normal, but on the bathroom mirror there’s a message scribbled in red:
Trevor will pick you up at 10:00
Trevor? At ten o’clock? I expected something elaborate from Asher, but this is starting to border on weird. I kill an hour playing cards with my mom, tell her I’m spending the evening with friends, and then get ready. At ten o’clock when I open the passenger door of Trevor’s car, the look on his face doesn’t inspire confidence in my wardrobe choice. Technically, this isn’t a date, but we both know it is. My black sundress rides up my thighs as I sit down, and I try to push away the nervousness that is rising up in me as we drive the streets that run along the lake.
“Do you need to blindfold me?”
Trevor laughs so hard I worry he can’t actually see the road past his tears. “Asher said you’d say that.” He shakes his head. “Literally. Word for word. You guys are the strangest pair.”
It should sound like an insult, but it sounds endearing the way Trevor says it, so I don’t say anything.
“Your clue was missing a very important word,” I say, as I step over limbs and twigs in my shimmery black flip-flops.
Asher is ahead of me, his hand grasping mine. “What?”
“Casual.” I mean it to sound annoyed, but I’m so curious I can barely muster any annoyance for the tiny scratches that are accumulating on my legs as we creep through the trees outside of Nadine’s yard. “Maybewear appropriate footwear?”
Asher laughs and it’s not quiet at all. This doesn’t feel anything like the first two times we came here together. He stops me a few feet ahead and twirls a finger between us, asking me to turn around. There’s a piece of striped fabric in his hand, and I’m pretty sure it’s one of my mom’s dish towels.
“Nowyou’re going to blindfold me?” I squeak. “I know where we are.”
He doesn’t say anything, just smiles and twirls his finger again, and I obey. The material covers my eyes, and then myhand is in his again. There’s hot breath at my ear. “Slowly,” is all he says.
I step carefully, letting Asher direct me over anything in our path. After a few feet he wraps an arm around my waist, moving me more easily alongside him. Then we come to a stop, and he angles me just slightly to the right before letting the fabric drop away from my eyes.
When I turned thirteen my parents had a limo pick me and all of my friends up from school, and take us to this amazing concert a few hours away. I was sure that was the best birthday present possible, never to be outdone… until Asher went and brought my dream to life right in Nadine’s yard. Seriously, wheredoeshe keep the notebook full of every weird thing I’ve ever said?
“When did you do this?” It’s maybe ten thirty, barely dusk. I look back to Nadine’s house, where all of the windows are dark.
“After dinner. I had some help moving things. And getting Nadine out of the house.”
Lindsay.I hate that I have to think of her on my birthday, but forthis,I will. For this, I will think her name without an ounce of annoyance. Because spread across the yard is Nadine’s beloved collection, all posed to make their grand escape. I spot Edith a few feet from her normal hiding spot, walking behind a green frog. In front of it is a line of gnomes—two adults and two children—walking side by side as if they’re heading off somewhere together. Through the yard there are animals and strange creatures, all cutting a path to the same place… the lake. Little lines of sculptures stream out of garden beds, and like ant trails they all filter into one long line going down the center of the yard between Lake Houses A and B. Asher pulls my hand and leads me farther into the yard. We stand next to the giant brontosaurus, and from here I can see all of the animals lined up along the hill. They stretch all the way to the dock, where two gnomes stand in orange life vests outside ofNadine’s beige pontoon boat. A large penguin sits behind the wheel of the boat, also in a life vest. The seats are covered with frogs and turtles, geese in their tacky little outfits—now with goggles added—and a ferocious-looking lion taking up watch at the back, its head peeking out from the open door. I look behind us, at the herd of animals fleeing Nadine’s house, and laugh.
