“Oh, that’s too bad,” Luke replied, tucking his hands in his pockets.
I raised an eyebrow. “She’s notyourtype, I’m guessing?”
Luke smirked and shook his head. “Not exactly, no.”
“Good, because she once called Charlie an overrated actor.” I glanced around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. “But I think that’s really because she’s jealous of Greer Mortimer.”
“Why would she be jealous of Greer Mortimer?”
“Because Greer’s gotten to make out with Charlie for three musicals in a row. They’re always a couple, and Eva’s always a villain. She’s The Witch this year.”
“Charlie’s Eva’s type too?”
I smiled. “Charlie iseveryone’stype.”
Charlie finally made his way up Simmons’ front pathway a little before 9:00 p.m. He was wearing a light blue checked button-down, sleeves rolled up to the elbows, a pair of navy chinos, and his usual Sperrys with the black-and-green ribbon belt I’d given him last Christmas.
“The Prince!” Reese waved him over to the patio, and five seconds later he was in the hammock with me. I hugged him tight, smelling his familiar Irish Spring soap as he slid an arm around me. It felt like we hadn’t seen each other in eons, because the Carmichaels spentthe whole summer on Martha’s Vineyard. I’d gone out to visit for a couple of weeks in July, but still.
“This is only a drive-by,” Charlie said. “I have to get back to the house soon. The festivities are almost afoot.”
We laughed. Charlie was a prefect in one of the underclassmen dorms, Daggett House, and had to lead a bunch of bonding activities tonight.We’ve cranked the heat in the common room so we can do hot yoga,he’d joked via text earlier.
“Well, you just missed Luke,” Reese said as I ran a hand through Charlie’s red-gold hair.
“Luke?” Charlie asked, leaning forward a little.
“Luke Morrissey,” Nina said. “The PG who lives down the street from your cousins.” We’d gotten all the details over spaghetti. “Yeah, I’ve known the Hoppers forever,” Luke told us. “Adelaide, Tate, and Banks, they’re tons of fun.”
“We’ve been hanging out with him all day,” Reese added. “He left like ten minutes ago.” She shrugged. “Mandatory house meeting.”
“But youhaveto meet him, Charlie,” I said. “He’s the coolest.” I looked at the girls, requesting backup. “Right?”
I knew they would agree with me; we’d all fallen in love at dinner. “Alphabetical order for the win,” Nina had whispered as Luke explained why he was doing a PG year (“I’m calling it my ‘victory lap’ of high school!”).
“Definitely,” Jennie agreed. “So nice and interesting. And well-traveled! He just got back from Tokyo. His mom is Japanese, so he’s been there a few times.”
“He also has this killer sense of humor,” I said. “Bone-dry sarcasm.”
“Sounds like he’ll have you fighting over him in no time,” Charlie deadpanned, and then stood. “I better jet. Time for karaoke with the guys.”
“You said you were baking cookies,” Nina replied.
“I thought it was mani-pedis,” Reese said.
I stood too. “And I was told hot yoga.”
Charlie winked. “Yeah, a major agenda.”
“See you tomorrow!” the girls chorused as he took my hand. I’d walk him halfway home to catch up. We said “hey” to a few other seniors sitting in the front lawn’s Adirondack chairs, and they started whispering after Charlie gave them a friendly smile.
But it slipped away once we reached the chapel, and I felt him lean against me. “Tired?” I asked.
He sighed. “Waiting for my second wind.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist. “You happy to be back, though?”
Oddly, he dodged the question. “You guys seem seriously obsessed with this new guy,” he said instead. “Should I be worried?”
