Page 34 of Summer Reading

I glanced in the rearview mirror at the back seat. Tyler was engrossed in his phone, watching a video with his earbuds in.

“Unexpected?” I asked. “Is that in a good way or a bad way?”

“Other than throwing my back out during the impromptu dance sesh, I’d say it was good.”

I laughed. “Thank you for that. I could tell someone wanted to know how to do those moves but didn’t want to ask and needed a buddy.”

“Happy to help,” he said. He turned in his seat and watched me while I drove. I tried not to be self-conscious. I failed.

“What?” I asked.

“You’re an extrovert, aren’t you?” he asked.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” I said. I was absolutely an extrovert. It was another coping mechanism. I found people were much more accepting of my neurodivergence if they knew me and liked me before they found out about it. I wondered if Ben would respond the same way. It was hard to say given that he was an über-reader.

“Not bad,” he said. “Just... different.”

“From you, you mean?” I asked. “You’re an introvert?” There was doubt in my voice because he hadn’t struck me as someone who shied away from crowds.

“I prefer to think of it as being highly selectiveabout whom I spend time with,” he said. I glanced at him, and a small smile curved his lips. It felt delicious to be on the receiving end of that smile. I cut my eyes back to the road.

“I’m guessing your idea of a perfect evening is being home, reading whatever book you’re into at the moment,” I said. “Sounds thrilling.”

“And yours is to find the noisiest nightclub around and go shuffle dancing,” he said. “Not torture at all.”

I laughed at his pained tone of voice. He wasn’t wrong. On the very rare nights I’d had off in Boston, that’s exactly what I’d done for fun. It appeared hot librarian guy and I had nothing in common, even less than he realized, given that he didn’t know how much of a nonreader I was.

It was a shame, as the pull I felt for this man was undeniable. Did it really matter if he was an introvert and I was an extrovert if we were only going to be on the island for the summer? How deeply involved could we really get in just a few weeks? This was assuming of course that he was interested. I still needed to hear his explanation for why he was checking out older middle-aged men. Was he trying to track down a library offender? Some guy who had racked up overdue fines and refused to pay? My curiosity was dialed to high, but I didn’t want to finish this conversation in the car. I’d wait until we got home.

Ben asked me about some of the island’s summerevents, so I told him all about Grand Illumination, the annual summer event when the gingerbread cottages of Oak Bluffs were lit up with paper lanterns, which I had always thought was the most magical night of summer.

He listened without interrupting, which I realized was a rare talent not many people possessed, including myself. When I parked in front of our house, we all climbed out, and I opened the back so we could haul the tubs of cookware back into the kitchen.

Ben went to take one, but I felt as if I’d taken advantage of him enough. “Oh, you don’t have to help with that. We’ve got it.”

“I don’t mind,” he said. He grabbed the plastic container and followed Tyler into the house. I took the last one and followed.

We dumped the tubs onto the counter, and Tyler shouted, “Good night.”

We didn’t even get a chance to respond before he bolted up the stairs to his room.

“Well,” I said. That was all I got out before the booming beat of some dance music came from above. I raised my voice and shouted, “I’ll walk you out.”

Ben nodded and led the way. The noise dulled, mostly, when we stepped onto the porch, making me thankful for the house’s insulation, which was not something I could recall ever being grateful for before.

We stood on the porch for a moment, and I found I was reluctant to see him go. I liked Ben. Regardless ofwhether he was single, interested, or interested in someone else, I genuinely liked him. He had a very calming way about him that soothed my busy brain.

“I suppose I need to go tell him to turn it down before the neighbors start lighting torches and sharpening their pitchforks,” I said.

“I expect you’re going to regret teaching him those sick dance moves,” he said.

I glanced up at the second floor and sighed. “I think you’re right. Let’s hope this phase passes, or my dad is going to kill me when he gets back.”

I grinned at him to let him know I was kidding, but he didn’t smile back.

“That would be tragic,” he said. “Given that I’ve just found you.”

Found me?I swallowed.

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