“Was the hookup fun?” Kelsey asks with a hopeful gleam in her eye.
We’re back in seventh grade again, chatting about our crushes, back when we always told each other the truth—our deepest secrets and fears and hopes and dreams.
That’s why I admit, “Jeremiah was really good.”
And they squeal.
•••
I’m not sure how, but I manage to convince Vanessa and Kelsey that I’m not ready for a party at the DTK house.
“My muscles are killing me from this morning’s run,” I say, which isn’t remotely a lie.
The girls exchange looks but ultimately give in. Vanessa did find me zonked out in an ice-pack puddle earlier today, after all. “Text us if you change your mind,” she says, checking her bikini in the mirror for the nth time.
“Is Rory gonna be pissed when he hears you went to a party without him?” I ask.
“Nope,” Vanessa says confidently. “I already texted him a picture of me in my bathing suit. He’s very happy now.”
“Ugh, I do not want to know what that means,” Kelsey says.
“Hey, you try having a long-distance relationship. It’s tough having my boyfriend two hours away.”
After one last quick mirror check—Kelsey adjusts the straps on her orange polka-dotted top and Vanessa adds another layer of lip gloss—they are out the door. I let out a deep breath.
I decide to read some of Mom’s book I found on the coffee table at home, a medical thriller about how a rogue FBI agent teams up with a hot doctor to stop a worldwide plague, then wash my face and start getting ready for bed. I roll my shoulders and stretch my arms. This morning’s run did a number on my poor body. I change into matching pink pajama shorts and a tank, then sit down on the rug and attempt to stretch out my legs. The long run made them stiffer than steel. I lean over onto the floor, pressing my nose to the rug. That’s when someone knocks on the door.
“Who is it?”
“Jere.”
Did he come to drag me to the party?
“Come in.”
He walks in and finds me pressing my face to the floor. “Is this your way of saying you want me to partner stretch you?”
I sit up straight, and the sight of him wipes the scowl clean off my face. He’s wearing long red board shorts, a cheesy neon green tank, and flip-flops. Sunglasses sit perched on top of his head. I don’t know if his outfit makes me want to die laughing or fan myself. It’s ridiculous, yet ridiculously attractive too.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“I’m here to beat you at something else. Now, I know you’re interested in being a nurse, but I think I can hold my own.” With a wicked grin, he holds up the board game Operation.
“Bring. It. On.”
We sprawl out on the floor with the game between us. I go first, carefully extracting the butterfly from the cartoon man’s stomach. Then Jeremiah plucks out the broken heart. My turn to get the wishbone.
“Why didn’t you come to the party?” he asks quietly.
I glance up. Because you scare me. “This morning’s run was hard. I just wanted to relax and not have to be social.”
He opens a bag of Swedish fish he brought and offers me one. I choose an orange fish. “I wish you had come—I wanted to show you around our house…but this is good too.”
“Yeah, most guys I know love playing Operation on Saturday nights.”
He chuckles. “You know what I meant. I like hanging out with my friend.”
“I like hanging out with my friend too.”
Soon it’s down to the wire. If I remove the wrenched ankle without hitting the board, I’ll win. I worry on my lip, my hand shaking as I descend toward the ankle. I grab the wrench with my tweezers and slowly start to pull up when I bang against the board. It buzzes loudly.
“Dammit!” I say, and before I can even pout, Jeremiah plucks the wrenched ankle out with the tweezers, winning the game.
“Arrrgggh!” I pound my fist on the floor, cracking him up.
With the game over, we decide to watch a movie. He scrolls through my iTunes while I flick off the overhead fluorescent light and turn on my desk lamp.
“What is all this crap?” he says. “Dirty Dancing? The Notebook? Legally Blonde? Twilight?!”
“Hey! Those are good movies.”
“Oh my God, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants?”
“Jeremiah Brown.”
“A Walk to Remember?!”
“If you don’t behave, I’m gonna send you right home.”