“To The Mill.”
“The Mill?” I ask, feeling like a parrot as I echo her words.
She doesn’t seem to mind, patiently explaining. “It’s a bar in town, owned by Hallie’s brother.”
“Wow,” I say with a laugh. “Do you know everyone here? Is everyone related in some way?”
Nat lets out a melodic laugh. “I mean, kind of? It’s a small town; everyone knows everyone.”
I sit back on the couch, folding my legs beneath me. “It sounds fake. Like some kind of shitty made-for-TV movie.”
“Close enough,” she says, and even though I can’t see her, I can picture the shrug. “Anyway, are you in? We’re thinking seven, but we’ll go to the diner before, at, like, six to make sure we’re not drinking on an empty stomach.”
“I don’t know,” I say, biting my lip.
“Come on. What else are you going to do? You came here to have fun, right?”
She’s not completely right, since I came here to lay low, but considering how stuck I am, I don’t correct her. Instead, I think of how the last time I went out with her, I wrote a song and got inspired, and I would do just about anything for some inspiration right now.
“The girls will all be there. It’ll be a blast,” she says as if she can sense my hesitation.
For a split second, Leo’s warning not to get into trouble moves through my mind, but instead of driving me to the smart answer, it does the opposite.
“Okay, I’m in,” I say, a small smile on my lips.
“Really?” she asks, then squeals in excitement. “Oh my god, yes! I can’t wait! We’ll get ready at your place. We’ll be there at five. Gotta go call Hal, later!”
And before I can argue, the phone goes dead, as if she doesn’t want to give me any chance to reconsider.
Another thing I’ve always thought was a cinematic exaggeration was the non-stop laughter of a group of girlfriends getting ready for a girls’ night out. You know the kind...the giggles that start at the slightest little thing and never seem to stop? Turns out that’s real, too.
But the next night, when Nat, Hallie, and Wren all come over to get ready for a night out at a small-town dive bar, I experience it for the first time. Sharing lipsticks and borrowing tops and laughing so much, I had to wave my hands at my face so as not to ruin the perfect face of makeup that Nat did for me.
It’s real, and it just played out at my place tonight.
“Will, are you ready?” Nat calls from my living room. “Jesse’s here.”
“Coming!” I shout, then stare in the mirror for another moment. For the first time since I arrived here, I do my centering routine: close my eyes, take in five deep, calming breaths until the butterflies in my chest slow. This time, though, I don’t remind myself that Gabe is here, because he’s not, and I don’t have to assure myself that I have my cool girl armor on, because I don’t.
But that knowledge doesn’t leave me more nervous: in fact, it makes me feel even better.
Instead of a fashion-forward, paparazzi-friendly outfit, I’m wearing a casual top I borrowed from Hallie, a pretty powder-blue one that looks amazing on me and complements my hair perfectly. I’m not wearing my headache-inducing slick ponytail because Nat insisted on doing my hair and makeup. Instead, my hair flows down my back in loose waves, and my makeup is light with a brighter blush than I would normally wear, somethingfrom Nat’s own collection. I don’t have my contacts in, and instead of my signature neutral smoky eye, I’m wearing simple eyeliner and mascara.
When I open my eyes, I don’t see Willa Stone TM, ready to trick the world into thinking I have it all together, in the mirror.
Instead, I just see myself.
Instead, someone familiar and friendly stares back at me.
I smile at the woman in the mirror, then step away to head out with my friends.
Hallie insisted that Jesse drive me home tonight, so I could get crazy, and I didn’t have the heart to tell her that it probably wouldn’t happen. Nat is planning to take a cab to her house, located not too far away from the bar, and Adam is meeting us at the Mill, so he’ll be taking Wren home, but we all pile into Hallie’s car with Jesse driving us to the diner. We eat in utter chaos, Hallie and Jesse bantering nonstop, which Nat tells me in a hushed tone is their own personal version of foreplay. Nat argues with Madden, who shows up a bit after us, and Wren eagerly fills me in on all about her and Adam’s summer plans over the loud chattering.
After dinner, we head to the Mill, which is in the center of town. It’s dim, with dark, dark hardwood floors and beams throughout, and tables of various sizes and heights lining the sides of the room. To the left is a bar with bottles lining the walls and half a dozen stools. Music plays from a jukebox—an actual, real-lifejukebox!—in the corner, and it looks exactly what you would picture if you thought of a friendly local bar in a small town.
Iloveit the instant I step inside.
The bell over the door rings when we step inside, and the bartender gives us a wave. My companions all wave back, giving various greetings. He’s tall and grinning wide, hands holding a glass that he’s drying, and he looks sort of familiar. Aftera moment, I realize he must be Hallie’s older brother, Colton. That’s confirmed when Hallie veers away from the group, moving to the bar and reaching over to hug him while we all move towards a large table that Nat tells me istheirs. Once we settle, Jesse asks everyone for their drink orders.
