“You were always gonna lose this one,” he said, popping a piece of gum in his mouth. “That doesn’t make you wrong for playing.”
“Not exactly the pep talk I was hoping for.”
“But the one you need. Girls like her? They’re not settling for guys like us.”
Maybe he was right. Maybe this thing with Michelle had anexpiration date stamped on it. Still… part of me couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe we were the two dumbasses who’d prove everyone wrong.
I could hearthe phone ringing inside my apartment the second I opened the garage door. It was her…I knew it was. I sprinted up the stairs and snatched the receiver off the wall.
“Hello? Michelle?”
“Oh, my god, finally! I’ve been calling over and over. Scott, I am so sorry. You know how badly I wanted to come to the show tonight, but my parents, they—”
My whole body sagged against the wall in relief. I didn’t even catch the rest. “Michelle, slow down. You’re okay, right? They didn’t Mommy Dearest you or anything?”
“No, you lunatic. You think my mother owns wire hangers?” Her laugh died almost instantly. “What I’m trying to tell you is… I’m leaving for New York tomorrow.”
Even though I’d guessed this was coming, it still knocked the wind out of me. “Because of me?”
She didn’t answer right away. She didn’t need to. We’d both been there, on that deck, under that blanket.
“They’re afraid of you,” she finally said.
My jaw ticked. “They should be.”
“Yes.” The way she said it told me she agreed more than she wanted to.
“Can you come here?” she asked. “Meet me outside the gate.”
“When?”
“Right now.”
“I can be there in twenty minutes.”
“I know it’s late notice… If it’s too much trouble…”
“Shut up. When have you ever been trouble, Michelle?”
“Okay, be careful. And keep your distance. My parents aren’t home right now, but they could come back anytime, and if they see you—”
“They won’t. Twenty minutes,” I said. “I’ll be there.”
I hung up and tore down the stairs—then stopped halfway, spun around, and bolted back up. I grabbed the mixtape off the table, the one with the label that read—If you ever forget me, rewind.
Like she told me,I parked a safe distance from the front gate. The last thing we needed was a round two with her parents. My mind wouldn’t stop replaying her voice on the phone. She was leavingtomorrow. The door was slamming shut on us.
Movement on the sidewalk ahead caught my eye. I knew I was supposed to be careful. I knew this was the exact kind of stupid move that could blow everything up. But the second I saw her? Yeah… all that caution went straight out the window.
I tapped the headlights. Flash. Off. Flash-flash. Off.
Her head whipped up, eyes locking on me. And then that smile. So I hit her with another round, full disco strobe, because subtlety had never been my thing.
She opened the passenger door and slid in, rolling her eyes even as her grin gave her away. “Stealth was the plan, remember?”
“Stealth’s still the plan. That was just the pre-show.”
“You’re more trouble than you’re worth,” she said, though she hooked a finger through my belt loop and tugged me closer.
