“What?” I ask.
He shakes his head, smiling. “Nothing.”
“Tell me! What were you thinking just now?”
He peeks up at me from underneath his lashes. “I was justthinking that no matter what, if I was with you in your room, I definitely wouldn’t hate it.”
“Wow.” I just stare at him, eyes wide. “Where has this flirty Myles been all summer?”
He groans. “I know, that was bad. It was, right? You made me say it.”
“You thought it all on your own.”
“Are you saying you’ve never had a thought like that? About me?”
“Obviously I have. But I’m not gonnatellyou about it.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s embarrassing.”
“Why? I said it first.”
“Yeah, but I’ve crushed on you for forever. You barely knew who I was before we got the Pearl’s jobs together. We’re nowhere near even.”
His face goes serious, and he regards me for a long moment. “That’s just because I’m in my own head so much, thinking and worrying, that I hardly notice anyone. It wasn’t you.” He taps my foot with his. “I was really missing out.”
My stomach flips even as I purse my lips and tilt my head. “Yes, you were.”
He laughs.
As we eat, I ask him why he loves rain so much and learn that the scar on his chin is from a bike accident when he was nine. I quiz him on ocean-based animal groups. (My favorite from tonight: A group of jellyfish is a smack.) I’m determined to find one he doesn’tknow, but so far, no dice. He tells me more about some of his senior friends I don’t know that well, and I ask about a few juicy pieces of upperclassman gossip I heard last year. (Bennett Smith got a DUI over spring break—fake news. Rocky Hughes is the one who stole our main competition’s mascot before the last football game—confirmed… but if anyone asks, no he wasn’t.)
We go to the ice cream shop where he used to work, and a couple of people he knows are milling around. He introduces me to the ones I’ve never met, and a couple of them eye us with interest as we leave. The sun is going down, and dusk settles as we slowly make our way down to the end of the pier. Our hands accidentally brush once, twice, and at the third contact, Myles takes my hand, lacing his fingers between mine.
Suddenly I’m back in that ER waiting room, and Gregory’s touching me the exact same way, asking if it’s okay.
As if my thoughts conjured him from thin air, I look up and he’s there. Standing a few yards away, his back up against the railing, resting his elbows behind him. He’s staring right at us, gaze locked on where Myles has my hand in his.
It takes everything in me not to yank my hand back.
We’re headed in his direction. What am I going to say to him? I immediately run through my options, everything fromHeytoLovely evening we’re having, isn’t it?
“Oh, hey, isn’t that Gre—” Myles starts, but suddenly Gregory pushes off and walks away without a second glance.
I frown after him, watching him get farther and farther away before I realize I’m squeezing Myles’s hand.
“You okay?” he asks, looking down at me like he knows what I’m thinking.
I loosen my grip. “Me? Yeah. Sure, I’m great.”
He nods and we keep walking. Gregory has disappeared in the crowd.
“You know,” Myles starts, “I kind of thought you and Gregory might start something this summer.”
“What?”
“It… just seemed like there was a vibe there.”
