“How old were you the first time?” Wednesday looks back and forth between us. I have this sudden urge to get up and run for the bathroom because I don’t want to hear about all the girls before me.
He says, “A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell,” and his voice is polite but cool.
She stares at him and he stares back, and neither one is blinking.
“I do.” Grady sits up, reaches in. Pulls out a block and drops it on top as if he doesn’t care whether the whole thing crashes down. “I was thirteen. I think her name was Bridget. Maybe Brittany.”
Jared shakes his head. “Dude. A little respect.”
Grady just blinks at him. “What?”
“Either you’re really good at pretending to be a douchebag or you really are a douchebag.”
Emory says to Grady, “Strictly girls?”
Grady grabs a handful of chips. “Mostly girls. I actually have a girlfriend.” This makes us all go quiet. “She lives on the mainland. We’ve been off and on for, like, five years.”
Wednesday says, “Does she ever come here?”
“She’s in Savannah. I’ll see her during the school year.” And that’s when we learn that Grady goes to SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design, and majors in sculpture and performing arts, which goes to show that you can’t always judge a book by its cover.
* * *
—
I’m in the kitchen with Jared, getting more drinks, and from there I can see the rest of them playing Twister. I try not to look as Miah and Wednesday cross legs and arms and body parts, try not to think about them using these same positions for other activities.
Jared glances into the living room, then back at me. “Don’t tell them, but I’ve only slept with one person. Last year. I was twenty.”
“I won’t. I actually think that’s pretty cool.”
“It was never going to be anything, but it was okay. I mean, it was sex. She wanted to. I wanted to. We knew what it was going to be. We kind of agreed what it was going to be. But I think the next time I do it, I want to be in love.”
I watch through the door as Wednesday collapses in a heap, nearly bringing Emory down with her. Miah is practically in a handstand, which makes me think of handstands on the beach, which makes me think of naked midnight swimming under the moon.
I say, “Love complicates things. People tell you that all the time, but it’s true.”
“I’d rather have complicated than nothing.” He adds ice to a cup and hands it to me. “So.” He gives me a look. “We don’t see you much lately.”
“We’ve been having adventures.”
“That’s cool. I’m glad he found you, because he’s a good guy and you make him happy.”
“I’m glad I found him, too.”
He helps me pour. A shout from the other room. Laughter.
He says, “You shouldn’t worry. About Wednesday, I mean. It’s different with you.”
“Thanks.” But as I say it, I wonder, What does it matter if it’s different with me? It’s not like I have a future with this boy.
Like he reads my mind, Jared says, “He’s leaving soon, isn’t he?”
“Yeah.” In thirteen days.
“What are you guys gonna do?”
“I don’t know. We haven’t really talked about it. We’re just concentrating on right now.”
“I hope you work it out. It’s funny. We’re like this weird little family here. Like the Island of Misfit Toys.”
More laughter as Miah and Emory topple over at the same time. Wednesday is snapping pictures with her phone while Grady does a victory lap around the coffee table.
“Yeah, I guess it is.” And I’m glad to be part of it.
* * *
—
Everyone leaves around midnight, and Miah’s the last one out. At the front door he says, a little louder than necessary, “Good night, Captain.” He aims his voice toward my mom’s room.
“Good night, Miah,” I say, even though my mom went to bed twenty minutes ago.
He kisses me and walks out into the night and I shut the door hard behind him, just in case she’s listening. I take my time turning off lights, pouring myself a glass of water. My bedtime routine. I collect my notebook from the window seat. Brush my teeth. Wash my face. Give Dandelion some treats. Make my way to my room, shutting the door with a click.
A tap at the window, and Miah is on the other side. I push it open and he says, “I’m being eaten alive out here.”