oldest of five siblings. Kind of short. “I don’t know. That would be weird.”
“It will not be weird.” Mel puts her phone down on the table, and to my horror I see she’s calling Dexter.
“No, wait—” I reach for the phone, but it’s too late.
“Hello?” He’s on speakerphone. I look around at the other café patrons, praying no one I know decided to come out for a nice lunch.
“Hey, Dex. It’s Mel Flaherty.”
“Oh. Hey, Mel.” Dexter’s voice is deep and gravelly, and, understandably, he sounds a little confused. “What’s up?”
“What are you doing right now?”
“Uh . . . nothing, really. My cousin and I are watching my little sisters.”
Mel looks at me and grins. “At your house?”
I tip sideways in my chair and put my hands over my face. I can’t believe this is happening—Dexter must think she’s a freak.
“Yeah.”
“Okay, don’t go anywhere. See you in a few minutes.”
“Wait, what—”
Mel ends the call and leaps up, pumping her fist. “Okay, let’s go!”
The only place I want to go is home, so I can disappear inside and never come out. “I hope this is one of those things I’ll be able to look back on someday and laugh,” I say, tossing some money onto the table.
“I love your attitude.” Mel grabs my hand and pulls me to the door. “Poor Dexter’s not going to know what hit him.”
By the time Mel pulls up to the curb in front of Dexter’s house, which is right by our old elementary school, my hands are shaking.
“Okay, quick strategy meeting,” Mel says, turning off the ignition. “I think—”
“No.” I open my door and get out of the car, knowing if I put too much thought into what’s about to happen, I won’t be able to go through with it. “Let’s just do this.”
I stride up the sidewalk, Mel racing along after me, and follow the sound of kids shouting to the backyard. A sprinkler and Slip ’N Slide are set up on the grass, and three little girls prance around in their swimsuits, squealing as they run through the sprays of water.
Dexter’s leaning against the deck, talking to a guy who must be his cousin, and he looks up in surprise as we come around the corner of the house. He’s wearing oversize sunglasses and swim trunks. No shirt. I stop short, and Mel crashes into me, gripping my arms as she struggles to keep her balance.
“Hey,” Dexter says. The other guy turns around, and my heart sinks. I don’t know how I could have forgotten, but Dexter is related to Ryan Kelly, one of the guys on Mark’s cross-country team. “What’s going on?”
I freeze, my mind racing, the sick feeling that washes over me in a debate when I’m getting my ass handed to me now settling in my stomach.
“Go!” Mel whispers in my ear and pushes me forward.
I’m fixated on Dexter’s mouth, which I’ve never noticed before. His lips are a little chapped, probably getting sunburned. He should put a hat on.
“Hey, Dexter. Ryan.” I nod, frantically trying to come up with an excuse for why we’re here. I cannot kiss Dexter in front of Ryan—if I do, Mark will find out about it in the time it takes to send one shocked text. But my brain is failing me. I have no notes, no preprepared arguments. I have not practiced for hours in front of a mirror envisioning a situation in which I have backed myself into a corner and must kiss my way out of it.
“Vee wanted to give you something,” Mel says. She grabs my elbow and propels me forward until I’m just a few feet from Dexter. “Right, Vee?”
“Right,” I say.
“Okay . . .” Dexter raises one eyebrow. “What is it?”
Screw Ryan. There’s no backing out now. I step forward and grab Dexter’s arm, suffering a millisecond of panic about the placement of our noses before I mash my lips against his. We’re frozen there for a few seconds, and then I pull away.
“What the . . . ?” Ryan’s jaw drops.
“Run!” Mel says, and takes off across the lawn, me right behind her. As we race toward the car, I hear Dexter’s little sisters start up a gleeful chant. “Dexter and that girl, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”
We start laughing as Mel pulls away from the curb, tires squealing in protest on the asphalt.
“I . . . can’t believe . . . I just did that.” I gasp for air as the Buick whips around the corner.
“You were