“Yeah, Shawn Mendes,” Luke said drily. “Ever heard of him?”
Charlie bristled.
We ran in silence for a stretch.
“Well, sorry, Luke,” I said. “But if anyone snags Shawn, it’sme.Three concerts and counting, and my posters areamazing.” I shrugged. “It’s only a matter of time.”
Luke rolled his eyes and laughed. “Okay, then who’s that guy from—”
“Look, I should go,” Charlie interrupted, stopping in the middle of the road. His jaw was clenched. “It’s getting pretty late. Do you mind if we split here?”
“Yeah, sure,” Luke said casually and turned to resume running, but I grabbed Charlie’s sleeve to keep him from leaving. My secret swirled again.
“Wait,” I breathed. “There’s something…” I swallowed hard. “Do you want to go to homecoming together?”
Charlie gave me a funny look. “Well, yeah…” he said. “I thought that was a given.” Something like panic flashed in his eyes. “Or did someone ask you?”
“No,” I lied, cold sweat dripping down my back. I couldn’t tell him about Nick. Maybe part of me wanted to, but no, Charlie couldn’t know. “No one asked me. Everyone knows we go together.”
CHAPTER 14
CHARLIE
Sage and the girls were making an eventout of homecoming. Not that it wasn’t one already, but this year, they were going above and beyond. “What tie are you wearing tonight?” Sage asked me while we set up our beach chairs at the soccer field (that was our thing, pretending the bleachers didn’t exist). “Because remember, my dress is blue.”
“How convenient,” I said. “I’m wearing the Chick Magnet tie.”
She groaned. “Really?”
“It’s tradition,” I reminded her. Every year for the homecoming dance, Nick and I broke out our goofiest ties. Last year’s were both food-related: I’d worn this green tie with tacos all over it, while Nick had gone with a red one covered in cheeseburgers and foaming pints of beer (which unfortunately underwhelmed the dance chaperones). My aforementioned Vineyard Vines Chick Magnet tie was light blue and sported hatching baby chicks and horseshoe-shaped magnets. It was a years-ago present from the Hardcastles.
“Your dad mentioned you have a bit of a reputation on campus?” Uncle Theo had joked after I’d unwrapped it, as my family cracked up.
“Thank you,” I’d said and stared at the tie for a second. I couldn’ttake it out of the box, knowing my hands would shake. So I just summoned a smile. “I’ll wear it all the time.”
“Wonderful to hear.” Aunt Whit smiled back. “Because unlike Theo, I worried that it wasn’t reallyyou…”
At first, I’d sworn to never touch the tie, but one day, I found myself knotting it around my neck. From then on it became some sort of talisman, a sign of self-assurance. If I wore the tie, if I tried my best, I could be that guy. The chick magnet.
Everyone else showed up once Nick’s soccer game was underway. “Nina, over here!” Sage waved her arms back and forth, the crowd all of a sudden cheering. Bexley had scored the first goal.
“Luke knows to meet us here after he’s done,” Nina announced, helping herself to a root beer from the Yeti cooler we’d brought.
“When was his race again?” Sage asked.
“An hour ago. I went to see the start.”
“Ugh, you’re the best.” Sage smiled and handed Jennie a cream soda. We’d gone old school for the drinks. I looked over to see a handful of people in the stands staring at us. It was November, and we were acting like we were on a beach in July.I know, I wanted to tell them.We’re something else, all right.
For the rest of the first half, everything the girls said went in one ear and out the other. I sat there drinking my orange soda and watching Nick play goalie. It was pretty entertaining, since Ames, our rival school, was actually good.That’s my brother, I thought after he dove to redirect a shot. “Yeah, Nick!” Jack and Cody roared from the bench.
It wasn’t until halftime that I looked away from the field, someone tapping my shoulder. “First place?” I asked, expecting Luke—fuck,hopingfor Luke—but instead, turned to see Val smiling. My stomach started churning.
I had tried—tried breaking up with her the other day, but it hadn’t happened. “I’m going to homecoming with Sage,” had been my grand opening line, and it so did not get the point across.
Val hadn’t even blinked. “Okay, that’s cool,” she said. “It’s your tradition, right? Going to the dance together?”
“Yeah, every year.” I avoided eye contact.
