“That’s what I said.”
“Yeah, he is.”
“Ooooh,” Abbi says, making a kissy face at me.
I don’t take the bait; instead, I change the song to something sappy I have in her queue.
“Ugh, Sera. You havethe worsttaste in music, and by the way, what even is that monstrosity around your neck?”
I gasp overdramatically. “For your information, this was made by an eight-year-old who has more talent in his pinkie finger than you have in your whole body. And my taste in music is great. Epic. Unheard-of.”
“You wouldn’t know good music if it bit you in the face.” She’s trying to keep her face straight, but I can see her about to crack.
“You should know, I guess. You got bit in the face by…” I search for an insult but come up short. “An ugly-maker machine.”
Abbi bursts into laughter. “I’m wounded!” she says. “Take it back!” She reaches over with one hand and tickles me in the ribs.
“Never!” I reply through a fit of giggles.
By the time we roll into the driveway, we’re both laughing so hard it hurts.
*
Abbi, being Abbi, dresses up a little for the movie night she claims shewon’tbe making out at, so I put in some effort too,pulling on a long white flowy skirt and cropped T-shirt. I even pat on some sparkly eye shadow. Abbi’s curls are down and perfect, and she helps me out with my half-straight, half-wavy nonsense by giving me a French braid that makes my hair look way thicker than it is.
For the drive-in fundraiser, the town clears the parking lot at the boatyard and projects the films onto the side of a giant garage wall. If you have a dock slip spot, you can watch from your boat. We used to do that with Luke’s dad, but from my understanding of what happened, he moved farther up the Cape and isn’t around much. It’s weird to me because he was from Northport just like Paula and always made a big deal about contributing to his hometown.
The place is already packed, so we have to park on Main, pretty far back from the harbor entrance. We take the alley between the bookstore and the pottery shop and pop out on Harborside, turning right and following the crowd of people looking to find places to sit in front of all the cars. Abbi locates Cam at the donation tent. He rode his moped over. The kissing starts immediately, and I roll my eyes and give them a minute before I clear my throat.
“Strike one,” I sing.
“Fine! PDA is finished,” Abbi promises.
“I’ve got a blanket and some snacks in here,” Cam says, patting his bag, “if we want to go sit up front?”
“Sera’s friends have a spot,” Abbi says, falling into step next to him, her arm through his. I text Maddy that we’re here, and she texts back that she’s in the third row of cars.
As we weave between vehicles, I catch sight of where we’reheaded, and my stomach flutters—Luke’s pickup truck. I spot him and Maddy sitting in the bed of it, talking to a group of kids from the baseball team. All but two of the boys drift off as the screen flashes a five-minute warning and a reminder of the radio station to tune to for sound.
“Hop up—there’s plenty of room,” Maddy says, shuffling blankets around as Abbi and Cam get settled and Luke’s friends climb in. Maddy helps me up into the bed of the truck, and Luke shuffles sideways like he’s going to sit next to me. Luckily Maddy plops down in the space, and he takes a seat next to her instead.
“There are more blankets and stuff in the truck, if you need them,” Luke offers.
“I’m good,” I say.
“Sera’s my blanket,” Maddy says, stretching her arms around my shoulders and squeezing.
I laugh, relieved that there’s space between Luke and me. I get a text from Jackson just as the movie starts.
Jackson
Running late, but I’ll be there soon!
I ignore the nerves in my stomach, text him where our spot is, and tuck my phone away.
I hadn’t looked up what was playing, so when the small blue image of dolphins appears, and a British voice-over crackles out of the car speakers, I gasp a little too loud and look over at Luke.
He’s looking at me too, delighted as he mouths along with the movie.
