She chuckled softly. “Ah, I remember those days. Just make sure you aren’t distracting her while she’s on the clock.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
My cheeks heated and I leaned against the supply shelf to steady myself. Andy wanted to be myboyfriend? I couldn’t believe it. Sure, I’d thought about it before—probably every straight girl at Waterford Valley had at some point—but I’d never believed it possible until that day. It was all I could think about after that, particularly when I read his text the next evening.
I need you. The party won’t be the same without you. And just wait until you see what I have planned.
This had to be the night he told me how he felt.
“Happy birthday.” I gesture around us. “This is amazing.”
“Thanks. Mom loves doing this kind of stuff, but at least she and Dad are cool about giving us space. They usually only come out when it’s time to cut the cake.” He nods toward the huge house where his parents must be hiding out.
I smile and swallow hard. It was so much easier to talk to him when I didn’t think he liked me. “Thanks for inviting me.”
He laughs. “How could I not invite you? You make the best smoothies in a five-state radius. And I’d know—I’ve done a lot of traveling for basketball.”
He smiles and lowers his head so his mouth is only a hair’s breadth from my ear. For a second, I’m sure he’s going to kiss me right here, in front of all these people. I tilt my head toward him, swaying slightly with the anticipation of it. Then a booming voice calls “Andy!” and he pulls away.
He jerks a thumb in the direction of the voice. “I better go orTJ will just keep yelling at me. So glad you could make it!” He smiles apologetically and jogs away. I take a shaky breath. Whatever Andy’s planning to do tonight, he better do it soon. I’m not sure how much more anticipation I can take.
Despite my best efforts, I don’t get a chance to talk to him again for the next hour. I stand with Crystal while she and Sara trade details about their family vacations and nibble on the catered spread. I know I should try more to join in, but it’s hard. No one else in Crystal’s circle has been particularly welcoming. A group of us sat together at lunch, but mostly we talked to Crystal, not each other. It doesn’t help that they’ve all been friends for ages and are in the same clubs and classes. But hopefully senior year will be different. With Andy on my arm and the right extracurriculars, I’ll finally fit in.
Instead of talking, I watch Andy. He’s constantly surrounded by friends—many of them girls. Jealousy pools in the pit of my stomach as they fawn over him. But when he steps away, his eyes lock on mine and he winks. Immediately I feel better. He sees me. He hasn’t forgotten.
“Hey!” Andy yells over the crowd. “People!” Some of us quiet down, but most people aren’t paying attention.
“Shut it!” TJ bellows.
The yard goes silent and every person turns to look at Andy. I take a step toward him, my nerves ramping up to nuclear levels.
“Remind me to never give TJ a bullhorn,” Andy says, and a few people chuckle. “So anyway, thanks, everyone, for coming out to help me celebrate. I promise, the fun is just starting, but there’ssomething I’ve gotta do first.” He turns in my direction. “Something I’ve been dying to do all night.”
Electricity flies through my body, jolting me like a live wire. Oh god. Oh god, oh god, ohgod.
“I’m happy that everyone turned up for this, but there’s one person that I’m especially pumped to have here. She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. And she also happens to make the best smoothies in the world.”
A few people titter and ohhh. My entire body flares with heat and my hands fly to my mouth.
“I’ve been wanting to ask her out for a few weeks now, but I knew to get a girl like her I’d have to up my game. I’m probably too late, but I can’t imagine her leaving—not when I’m just now realizing how awesome she is. So...”
I squint at his comment about me leaving—the only trip I have planned is a long weekend away to my aunt’s—but then “Take on Me” comes on and I forget about everything else. Tears prick in the corners of my eyes. He’s such a romantic to play our song right now.
I laugh and run to him, burying my head in his chest and wrapping my arms around his waist. He smellssogood, like lavender laundry detergent. And he feels even better. Damn, I could get used to this.
“Of course I’ll go out with you!”
His body tenses and stills. Mine does the same. My ears buzz as I lift my head from where it lies against his heart. His expression is a mixture of shock, confusion... and amusement. It’s the last one that buries a knife in my chest.
“Uh...” He puts his hands on my shoulders and pushes me away from him. “Sorry, I wasn’t talking about you.”
I can only stare. Obviously he was talking about me. He just said I made the best smoothies in the world. He played our song.
Then realization dawns on me—thick, hot, burning—and I swivel to Crystal. She was standing just behind me when Andy started his speech. She makes smoothies. She knows that song from the shop. She’s about to leave for a semester abroad in England.
And she’s grinning at him like he just told her she was named prom queen.
Oh. My. God.
