“I believe the phrase you’re looking for isboy-obsessed,” Luke said drily when she trailed off. He popped a cherry into his mouth. No ice cream for him, only a bowl of maraschino cherries. His fingertips were stained with red juice. (“You’re going to make yourself sick,” Charlie warned earlier, with Luke smirking back: “Impossible. My stomach has built up a high level of tolerance over the years.”)
The girls laughed, but Charlie sat up straighter in his chair as Val dropped into the empty seat next to him. She was wearing her soccer uniform. “Hey,” he said, slinging an arm around her. “How’d the game go?”
“But you’re right, Nina,” Reese agreed. “Girls-only does kind of suck.” She’d gotten back from her visit to Wellesley this afternoon. It seemed like every day we seniors were MIA, getting excused fromclasses to go on college tours. Last week, Charlie had gone up to Maine to visit Bowdoin. The hockey coaches had shown him around.
Meanwhile, Luke’s college conundrum had been solved surprisingly quickly; he was applying ED to the University of Virginia. “My dad went there,” he’d told us. “He took me to his reunion when I was ten, and I remember telling him afterward that I was going go there too.” He laughed. “My counselor joked that it’s a sign, because UVA has all the programs I want, and she thinks I’d be a strong candidate for this one scholarship…”
Charlie teased him. “Following in your father’s footsteps!”
Luke rolled his eyes. “Says the person whose list only consists of tiny New England schools. And your dad went to Bowdoin, right?”
“Hockey offers.” Charlie shrugged. “You only play where they want you.”
Luke shrugged back. “Who said you had to play?”
Instead of answering, Charlie seemed to consider.
“He reallyisyour new best friend!” I’d joked earlier, although the words had sounded hollow.Because, my heart now sank,you’re theworstone, keeping secrets from him…
“Hey!” Nina snapped me out of my thoughts. “Earth to Sage!” She gestured to Luke’s cherries. “Take yours.”
“Um, why?” I asked as someone called out a hello, and I turned to see Nick approaching our table. Strangely he was alone, no Mortimer guys flanking him. “What’re you guys doing?”
“About to pop our cherries,” Reese answered.
I almost choked on my saliva. “Relax, she’s kidding,” Nina said, holding up her cherry’s stem. “We’re gonna try to tie these in knots with our tongues. Rumor has it that whoever does it first is the bestkisser.” Then she did a terrible job of not smiling at Luke, and he did an exceptional one of not noticing.He could be a world-class poker player, I thought, because I knew Luke noticed everything.
“Wanna join, Nick?” Jennie asked.
“But the table’s full!” I blurted before he could answer. My pulse raced. Biking together was one thing, butthis? In front of everyone? In front ofCharlie? “Sorry,” I added. “There aren’t any seats.”
“Here,” Val said. “He can have mine.” She slid onto Charlie’s lap.
“What innovative thinking,” Luke muttered.
But then Charlie deposited Val back into her own chair. “Take mine instead,” he said, voice hitching a little. “I forgot that there’s a theater meeting tonight.” He kissed Val’s cheek but wasn’t really looking at her. His eyes darted across the table, where Luke looked back at him.
“You can leave,” he deadpanned. “Permission granted.”
Charlie’s lips curled, and he fell into his role, straightening to attention and saluting Luke. “Sir, yes sir!”
Nick eyed his brother’s abandoned seat once Charlie had hurried out of the dining hall and the laughter died down. I quickly swiped into my phone and went toMessages.
“So are you game, Nick?” Reese asked as I fumbled to type and hit send.
“Nah.” Nick looked up from his phone. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Not tonight.” He smiled, but tightly…and not at me. “You guys have fun.”
I couldn’t run fast enough to the golf course on Saturday, Nick spreading out his blanket when I got there. It went without saying that the sixth hole had become our spot. Late September still brought warm nights, and astronomy lessons if the sky was clear. “What was tonight’s movie?” Nick asked, but I didn’t answer; I just shucked off my backpack and threw myself at him. Nick held the bench-pressing record at the gym, but instead of catching me, he let us fall to the ground.
We didn’t kiss, though.
“Hi,” I whispered.
“Hi,” he whispered back.
Then hedidtry to kiss me, but I dodged him. Not yet. “You’re going to roll your eyes,” I said, “but we watched an age-old classic.Sweet Home Alabama.”
“Sweet Home Alabama? I love that one!”
