Page 50 of Starry Skies, Stolen Kisses, and My Best Friend's Brother

“JFK.”

The driver’s eyes widen.“Woah, that’s a bit ambitious for my first day on the job.”

I’m not sure if he’s trying to be funny or not.I laugh.“We’ll be fine, right, girls?”

They shrug, not looking convinced.

After we take off, the driver starts sweating profusely and muttering under his breath.“Accidents on all the bridges?Traffic?Oh boy.”

“Don’t worry.We have faith in you,” I reassure him.I don’t want to miss our flight.

He gives a weak smile but then suddenly turns onto a residential street.“Oops, wrong turn.Sorry, folks.”

Abi looks at me and mouths, “I can’t believe this is happening.”

Meanwhile, Mae is laughing at the absurdity of our situation.“Just get us there as fast as you can, and we won’t report you to your boss.”

The driver takes a deep breath and steps on the gas.

“But don’t kill us,” Abi shouts half-jokingly.

The driver glances at us with a panicked look.“I can get you there fast, or I can promise not to kill you.I cannot do both.”

“Fast,” I say.

He steps on the gas.

“So spill,” Abi says.

“Spill what?”I ask.

“Oh, come on.You and Mae were alone in our hotel room all afternoon and most of the night.What happened?”

“We weren’t…” I start, but Mae hits me.

“Nothing happened.”She forces a sigh.“We just watched movies, and I slept.Those pain meds Hayden gave me knocked me out.Also, Miss Walk of Shame, I was up late, and I didn’t see you come in.”

“I stayed with Anna and Hayden because I didn’t want to walk in on something awkward.”

Neither of us says anything, and Abi narrows her eyes at both of us.“Come on, nothing more than that?You guys just need to kiss already and get it over with.Better yet, sleep together, make a baby, and get married already.”

Mae flushes.

“Abi,” I warn.As much as I agree with her, we are treading dangerous ground.

“Why won’t you two admit that you’re made for each other?”

“Because my dad will ruin everything,” Mae says in a soft voice.“If Seth and I admit that we’re in love with each other, then it makes it harder to keep things platonic.”

She meets my eye, and I can see it there.The love.It’s not just a friendship love.It’s real and deep, and I don’t know if I’ll ever find this with another woman.

I reach over and grab her hand.“Abi’s right though.I am totally in love with you.And I don’t think I can deny it anymore.We’ll figure out your dad.We don’t need to do it right now.We’ve got time.We will be together in the end.We just have to hide it until things blow over.”

Mae squeezes my hand.“And if it never blows over?”

I lean over and kiss her forehead.“It will.We just need to get through this summer, and then we’ll reassess where we are.”

Abi squeals.“Yes!I knew it.Mae’s going to become my real sister after all.I get to be the maid of honor, right?”

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