Now I shifted in my seat, angling away from him. “Sorry,” I said, without meaning it. “I just want to be there for you with the Tucker thing the same way you’re there for me with the Lydia thing.”
“I don’t need you to be. They’re not the same situation.”
“Yeah, okay, got it.”
I wasn’t sure why I was getting so worked up about it, but it rankled me every time Ricky shut down this conversation. I wanted him to trust me—just like Cliff did—and selfishly I wanted to know how it felt to have someone like Tucker, even if Ricky claimed it wasn’t real.
We were sitting in a loaded silence when his phone rang. He cleared his throat and answered it, affecting a more upbeat voice. From what I could tell, it was one of his friends, calling to make plans with him. All I heard was a series of Ricky saying “Uh-huh” and “Yeah.” The only real question he asked was, “Who else is invited?”
“What’s up?” I asked after he hung up. I thought I might be pushing my luck, but he’d taken the call in front of me, after all.
Ricky seemed torn about something. He had his thinking face on.
“What?” I pressed.
“That was Cliff. He wanted to see if I was free for a party at Lydia’s Saturday night.”
“Lydia’s?” I repeated.
“Yeah, did she mention it to you?”
My heart sank. “No.”
“It might not mean anything,” Ricky said quickly. “Cliff said Natalie and Lydia were organizing it, trying to find out if people were free. Maybe they just haven’t asked you yet.”
“You asked Cliff who else was invited, though. Did he say?”
“He said he didn’t know,” Ricky said evenly.
The hopeful feeling I’d had since talking with Natalie evaporated. I tried to keep my expression passive, but I knew Ricky could read the disappointment in my face.
“Don’t react yet,” Ricky said bracingly. “Wait and see if she texts you.”
* * *
Ricky dropped me off around ten thirty P.M., staring down my dark driveway with a faraway look in his eyes. I moved to get out of the car, but he called me back.
“Yeah?”
He looked at me for a second. “Did Cliff seem, like…” He bit his lip, struggling with the question. “Did he seem suspicious? About me?”
I clutched the car door handle. Ricky’s expression was very serious, and I remembered the first night I met him, when he’d asked if I was going to tell anyone about him and Tucker kissing in the trees.
“No,” I said, speaking as clearly and meaningfully as I could. “He seemed like he cares about his best friend.”
Ricky blinked a few times. “All right,” he said, swallowing. “I’ll think it over.”
I figured that was the best I was going to get. We waved good night, and I’d turned to go when he called me back a second time.
“Yeah?” I asked, perplexed by the smile inching up his face.
He looked up from his phone. “Just got more details about Saturday night. You should check your phone.”
* * *
It turned out I’d been worrying for nothing. There was a missed call from Lydia on my phone, and when I called her back, she answered breathlessly.
“Codi,” she said, her voice ringing brightly through the line. “What are you doing Saturday night?”
11
The last streaks of daylight were coloring the sky as Ricky and I drove to Lydia’s house. She lived about fifteen minutes from us, off a winding road close to the Chattahoochee, in the depths of a wooded area with trees that had stood there for centuries. Only a few cars breezed past as we followed the curving, quiet road.
“What are you doing?” I asked as Ricky pulled off into a secluded parking lot.
“We’re meeting here,” he said, grabbing a bag from the back seat. “It’s right next to the park.”
“We’re not going to her house?”
“Her house is around the corner, but it’s easier to start things here.”
I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but I figured it had something to do with the casual clothes we’d been told to wear. Cliff’s and Samuel’s cars were parked next to us, but there was no sign of them or anyone else. I followed Ricky out of the truck and up an earthy hill, my sneakers scraping against the dirt. Voices floated down to us from the other side of the hill.
“Here we go,” Ricky said as we came upon an open field.
Lydia, Natalie, Cliff, Samuel, Terrica, and Leo were already there,