up and hugs us. “Oh my God, can you believe the summer is almost over?”
Mel shakes her head. “I don’t want to think about it. It’s too depressing.”
They chatter away, and Seth helps Landon unpack what looks like an entire Thanksgiving dinner’s worth of food from their cooler. I sit on the edge of the blanket, watching people wander past. It’s getting dark earlier and earlier each day, and the sun races toward the horizon.
My phone vibrates. I pull it out and squint at the screen, my breath catching in my throat when I see it’s a text from Killian. i’m sorry.
I toss it to the ground, too angry to respond.
“Here, Vee.” Mel shoves a bottle of Diet Coke into my hand. “Brianna brought these.”
“Thanks.” I smile at Brianna and twist off the cap, taking a sip and choking as the rum-filled liquid burns my throat. “Jeez,” I say with a gasp, giving Mel a dirty look. “You could have warned me.”
“Surprise!” Mel taps her Diet Coke bottle against mine. “To the last summer of our lives.”
I roll my eyes and turn to Brianna. “Could you please tell Mel that graduating high school does not equal death?”
She laughs. “I think we’ll all still be alive after graduation.”
Mel throws herself down next to me. “Yeah, but next summer we’ll be getting ready to go to college, so we’ll have a million things to do. Then after that, who knows? Some people stay at school all year to work or go on Habitat for Humanity. We might never all be back here at the same time again.”
“Stop it,” I say. “Seriously, Mel. This is so depressing.”
Mel spots someone over my shoulder and gasps. “Oh my God. Vee, it’s Noel Callenbaugh.”
“So?” I turn around to look.
“So?” She leans in and whispers, “You still need an N, don’t you?”
I groan. “Not tonight, Mel. I’m not in the mood.”
She pokes me in the side, nearly making me spill my Diet Coke. “Yes, tonight! This is the perfect opportunity. Look at all these people.”
“Stop it.” I bat her hand away as the first band finishes tuning. “It’s about to start.”
Mel leaps to her feet and grabs my wrist, tugging me along. “Let’s go down there and dance.”
I glance at my phone, lying still and silent beside me on the blanket. I can imagine Killian pacing around his bedroom/office, trying to distract himself with books or the Internet for a few minutes before checking his phone again.
“Come on, Vee.” Mel crosses her arms and lets her lower lip droop in a toddlerlike pout.
“We’ll get her up.” Brianna and Landon grab my arms and pull, managing to hoist me off the blanket.
“You guys!” I try to twist away, grabbing my phone and shoving it into my pocket. “I don’t feel like it.”
“Vee.” Mel puts her hands on either side of my face and leans in until she’s only an inch or two away. “Let’s just dance.”
And dance we do, in a big screaming mass in front of the stage. Each band that plays is better than the last, and even Seth is down in the crowd with us, a dark shadow leaping and jumping in the flashing strobe lights. Mel keeps pressing more Diet Cokes into my hand, and I drink them, more because I’m thirsty than for any other reason. But the alcohol feels good. I’m buzzing, dancing with Mel and Seth and then twisting off into the crowd to do my own thing, hands up, head back, loving life.
I wiggle my way over to Noel Callenbaugh and lock my eyes on his. I don’t know if he has heard the rumors about me, and I don’t particularly care. He dances with me, close but not too close, giving me my space when I want it.
What would Killian say if he could see me now?
“Kiss me!” I yell over the noise of the band and the crowd.
“What?” Noel holds a hand up to his head and leans closer. “I can’t hear you!”
“I said, kiss me!”
He jerks back in surprise. “Really?”
I smile and pull him closer. “Yes!”
We’re still moving to the beat, getting jostled by the crowd around us, and our teeth bump as Noel brings his face to mine.
“Sorry!” he says, shrugging.
I give him a quick hug and turn away. “Good enough!”
There are so many people in the crowd, it takes me a few minutes to find Mel and Seth again. “I kissed Noel,” I whisper in her ear.
“No way!” She jumps up and down. “You’re amazing.”
“I’m