“See, there we go!” Nick exclaimed. “There’s a laugh!” He glanced over his shoulder and flashed me a grin before directing us through Bexley’s wrought-iron gates, toward town.
“Where’re we going?” I asked once we’d gone beyond Main Street. Instead of crossing back over to campus, Nick had turned onto a quiet lane. It was lined with shingled cottages, lights on in most of them. Through one window, I could see a football game playing out on TV.
“Oh, up through the back neighborhoods,” he replied. “I think it really clears the head. Getting away for a little.” A shrug. “At least it does for me.”
I leaned forward to kiss the back of his neck. “Keep pedaling.”
“How about your day?” I asked later, as we circled a cul-de-sac. “Busy? I didn’t see you at lunch.”
“Yeah,” Nick said. “Extremely busy. I had to hit the gym during lunch because my college counseling meeting ate up my entire free period.” He sighed.
I sighed right along with him. College counseling and applications basically added another class to our schedule, piling onto an already huge workload. I had a session with my counselor tomorrow, to continue brainstorming my Common App essay. Two meetings already, and all I had was an outline. “Was it about your essay?” I asked Nick.
“Uh-huh,” he answered. “One of Yale’s supplementary questions.” He laughed, but I could tell it was forced. “I have a draft, but it’s rough, Morgan. I’m sending it to the magician so he can work his magic.”
I didn’t need to ask who “the magician” was, my eyes suddenly prickling. It wasn’t his fault, but Charlie was so extraordinary academically that he made me feel overwhelminglyordinaryat times. I know he worked hard for it, staying up late and operating on very little sleep some days, but still. Did Nick feel the same way? Because obviously this college process was no big deal for his twin; he’d barely mentioned his applications. Half of me wondered if they’d already been submitted.
“You know he’s gonna break up with Dove,” I found myself saying, to change the subject. Enough college talk. “Tomorrow. He’s taking her to Captain Smitty’s.”
Nick was quiet, then let out a slow whistle. “Well, that’s a shame.”
My eyebrows knitted together. “A shame?”
“Yeah, because from now on, she’s going to associate Captain Smitty’s with getting dumped. Ice cream will be ruined for her.” He snorted. “Such a bummer.”
I laughed.
“What’s the deal breaker this time?” Nick asked.
“Not sure,” I said, since I never asked why Charlie broke up with these girls so suddenly. Sometimes he told me, sometimes he didn’t. It didn’t matter, though. Because deep down, buried beneath all thebetter as friendsandit’s not you, it’s mebullshit, I knew the truth…or at leastsuspected. This morning’s run came to mind: the way Charlie and Luke spoke so quickly as they ran, so in sync that they’d picked up their pace and left me behind. “Hey!” I’d said after catching up. “I might be a third wheel, but I’m still here!”
While Luke laughed, Charlie’s cheeks colored and he hadn’t spoken to Luke for the rest of the run. Not one word.
Now, I swallowed hard. “Too clingy, probably,” I told Nick. “They spendwaytoo much time together.”
“You’ve been clocking them?” he asked drily.
“Haha.” I rolled my eyes. “I meant especially because of the musical. They’ve started extending rehearsals to three hours, I think.”
“I wouldn’t mind spending three hours with you,” he said.
A ripple went through me.
“Would that make me clingy?”
I bit my lip. Was that rhetorical? Or did he really want me to respond?
Nick steered the bike off the street, braking beside a community park. There was a playground and maple trees with paper lanterns dangling from their branches. Nick hit the kickstand and wandered over to the nearby gazebo. I grinned once he sat down, catching his drift.
“Whoa there, tiger,” he said a couple minutes later, kissing me as I ran my hands through his hair—orraked, possibly. “Take it easy.”
“You take it easy.” I kissed him back. He was just as bad, pulling me onto his lap and tugging my hair out of its ponytail. Warmth burst in my chest. It was like we’d both been waiting forever for a chance to do this. We didn’t have hours and hours like Charlie and Dove; we had secret and stolen moments.
No, it wouldn’t make you clingy, I caught myself thinking, heart racing.Not at all, because I feel the same way. Hours and hours. We might’ve started with a stupid game of spin the bottle, but now we’resomething, something not stupid, something…
Nick broke our kiss. “Your head all clear?” he whispered.
“Yes,” I whispered back, even though it was a lie. So many thoughts were swirling around in my mind. “My head’s all clear.”
