“My intended!” she called back. When we were little, she and I always said that we would get married someday. We’d spent an entire afternoon planning our wedding, agreeing on a coconut-flavored cake and a honeymoon in Hawaii. Even today, we still talked about it (lately I’d been pitching a Bermuda honeymoon). The idea always made my parents smile.
As soon as we met in the middle, I picked her up and spun her around.
“Come meet Luke.” Sage tugged my sleeve.
Luke.
“Lead the way.” I draped an arm around her shoulders as we walked.
Sage took a deep breath and then kicked things off, exclaiming: “Luke Morrissey, meet Charlie Carmichael, my best friend sincebirth!”
He was young-looking, but tall. Classic black Ray-Bans matching his floppy black hair. Thin, dark blue button-down, Bermuda shorts, and Adidas Sambas. His feet looked a little pigeon-toed.
Here he is, I thought, and realized it had been two seconds too long when I felt Sage nudge me.
Do something.
I took a page out of Nick’s book, extending a fist for him to bump. “Nice to meet you,” I said. “Sage literally hasn’t shut up about you.”
Luke glanced at my fist before bumping it back with his own, so fast that I didn’t even feel his knuckles touch mine. “You too.” He reached up to adjust his sunglasses. It sort of seemed like he wanted to say something else, but he didn’t.
“Well!” Sage clapped her hands together. “I’m starving! Off to Pandora’s we go!”
“So, Morrissey,” I said after we ordered, “what’s the reasoning behind your victory lap of high school?” (That’s what I’d call it if I had to do a PG year.)
Next to Sage, Luke unrolled his utensils from his napkin and told me what I already knew. “He’s not sure what he wants to do for college,” Aunt Caro explained back in the spring. “I suggested he do a PG year, so he could gain some new experiences, and take time to figure things out. You’ll look out for him, won’t you?”
“A.k.a. you aren’t satisfied with your test scores?” I asked without even thinking about it. Sage nailed my shin under the table.
Luke looked at me, and suddenly I needed to shift around in my seat. Something was creeping up my spine.
I tried to backtrack, stuff sort of spilling out. “I’m sorry. It’s just Nick, my twin. Well, those tests weren’t his thing. He’s committed to Yale for hockey, and we were all worried he would have to do a PG year somewhere so he could get his score up. Luckily he beat the ACT back in May.”
And, I kicked myself,I’m sure he’d be amped to know you told someone that. It’s only been his biggest source of stress for the past year!
Luke nodded.
“Do you have any idea where you’re going to apply now?” I asked, wondering if Pandora’s had switched light bulb brands or something. I could feel the rays searing my skin.
Luke stirred his iced tea. “Not yet. I have a meeting at the college counseling office tomorrow.”
I nodded. “Oh, good idea—” I stopped speaking when my phone vibrated on the tabletop.
Sage laughed. “All right, tell us who’s first in line.”
“First in line?” Luke sounded amusedly concerned.
Sage shot me a sweet smile before turning to Luke. “First in line this term. Charlie dates girls and then boots them after only a few weeks.”
I rolled my eyes. “Sure, call me King Henry…”
“The Eighth,” Luke quickly supplied as Sage said, “You do! Catherine Howe isstillin mourning from yourwhirlwindtwo weeks together!”
“Listen,” I told Luke. “She likes to embellish.”
Sage shook her head. “Who is it?”
I sighed. “Dove McKenzie.”
