Luke opened his mouth to protest, but Reese reminded him: “Any and all activities.”
He sighed. “Okay, fine. But I guarantee I have nothing that goes with…”
“Red Hot American Summer,” Jennie supplied, and indeed, all four of us were representing the theme quite admirably. I wore white gym shorts with blue stars sprinkled all over them, along with a red tank top, knee-high blue socks, and my favorite white Nikes. Jennie and Nina had on similar getups, while Reese had been a little more daring with her outfit choice, sporting a red bikini top underneath a white mesh crop top, metallic blue spandex leggings, and white Converse. We were quite the crew.
“Well,” I said to Luke, “it’s fine if you don’t have anything, because I happen to know someone whodoes.”
Ten minutes later, Luke and I quietly slipped through Daggett’s front door. The girls had volunteered to wait outside on the porch. “Are we allowed to be doing this?” Luke whispered as I led the way up the house’s back stairs.
“Yes and no,” I whispered back. “You are, because you’re a guy, but girls have to get permission from the faculty duty-master to go upstairs in boys’ houses. But I guess, technically, since we’re notwithanyone from Daggett, this little mission would be frowned upon.”
We peeled off the staircase once we hit the second floor, and I took off for the end of the hallway, Luke right on my heels. I skidded to a stop in front of the door whose nameplate read:
CHARLESCARMICHAEL
SENIORPREFECT
DARIEN, CONNECTICUT
Without giving it a second thought, I turned Charlie’s doorknob and was greeted by his neat-as-a-pin, clearly empty room. It was nearing 9:00 p.m., so he was probably hanging out with Dove. I hadn’t even texted to see if what we were doing was okay, but I didn’t think he would mind, so long as we left his room in one piece.
I began to dig through his dresser and moved to grab a few things from his closet, all the while hearing Luke walk slowly around the room. Once I found the final thing on my list, I turned to see him surveying Charlie’s wall decor, his gaze moving over the black-and-silver Daggett House flag tacked up next to a triangular red-white-and-blue flag for the EdgartownYacht Club on Martha’s Vineyard. Finally, he turned around. “So whatchya got?”
I smiled and held the clothes out to him. “I’ll wait outside.”
The girls whistled when I reemerged from Daggett with a star-spangled Luke in tow. “God bless Charlie!” Reese declared.
“You lookfantastic,” Nina breathed.
“Totally Red Hot American Summer.” Jennie nodded.
“I feel like I’m in a Halloween costume,” Luke said.
“You pull it off, trust me.” I gave his arm a reassuring squeeze. Even though Luke was skinny, Charlie’s clothes fit him well enough. I’d decked Luke out in some of his most patriotic pieces, featuring a pair of screaming loud American flag-patterned shorts.
“So,” Jennie prompted, “off to part one of the evening?” We stepped off Daggett’s front porch and turned right in the direction of the field house, where the dance was being held.
“There’s more than one part?” Luke asked.
“Oh, yes,” I said. “Definitely more than one part.”
“How many?”
“Three,” Reese informed him. “Three parts.”
“Okay.” Luke straightened his shoulders. “Bring it.”
I knew as soon as we walked into the wrestling room that the five of us were the best dressed theme-wise. While the girls I spotted didhonor the appropriate color scheme, anyone would think the guys just so happened to stumble upon the dance. They were all wearing variations of the same athletic clothing, black, blue, or gray.
So disappointing, gentlemen!
Reese, Jennie, and Nina immediately danced off into the crowd, but Luke stayed by my side, absorbing the entire scene. I touched his arm, and when he looked at me, I shouted that we had to dance. It was a rule between the four of us; every time we went to a dance, the girls and I had to dance like there was no tomorrow.
Luke raised an eyebrow and said something back, but the music was too loud to hear. Luckily, though, I could read his lips:We do?
I nodded enthusiastically.
His eyes darted around, and I took that to mean dancing wasn’t his thing. I rose up onto my tiptoes and leaned in close, so close that my lips brushed against his ear. “Can you not dance or something?” I asked.
