Page 22 of The Midseason Fakeout

“I’ve been thinking,” I tell her. “We might have to rulestudout.”

“Not feeling very studly?”

I mock gasp while I take a seat next to her in the grass. “Do I look less studly?”

She takes her time looking me over, holding back a laugh when she sees my eyebrow pop up. “Hmm.”

“Oh, you’re gonna get it.”

She beams at me, and I have to look away to stop from contemplating how pretty she is. Instead, I stare down at her notebook. She immediately tries to close it, but I’m too quick for her. I scoop it up. “What’s this?”

“Nothing,” she says, grabbing hold of it to take it back.

I give her a look. “No secrets between couples.”

She matches my look with one of her own and then drops her voice. “Good thing our relationship isn’t real.”

She gives it a good pull, but I’m not letting it go until I know what it is. “Come on, what is it, Bails?”

I give it another tug, and she sighs, releasing it to me.

Opening it up to the page she was on, I see a bulleted list.

Skip class.

Go to the movies.

Skinny dip.

Cliff dive like at graduation.

I read the list off in my head, each line piquing my curiosity more and more. “What is this?”

“My list,” she explains, breathing in deep and staring down at it with determination. “It’s everything I want to make sure I do here.”

“Cliff dive?” I challenge. “I don’t see you as the adventurous type.”

She frowns, yanking the notebook away from me for real this time and trying to jam it back into her bag. “Everyone at my high school graduation went cliff diving afterward. It was like a rite of passage. I didn’t go.”

“Sounds like fun,” I tell her, lying on my side and propping myself up with my elbow. “How come you didn’t go?”

“Two reasons,” she says, lifting her face so that the sun shines on it. “One, because no one invited me. I skipped a grade, so I didn’t fit in there. Or anywhere, actually. And two, Mom and Dad wouldn’t let me. It’s not proper to jump off a cliff and all that.”

“But that’s why it’s so fun.”

That statement gets her attention. “You’ve done it?”

“There’s a spot close by.” Her eyes nearly sparkle. “I’ll take you some time,” I offer before I can tell myself not to.

“I’d really like that.”

I stare at her, asking myself why I’m interested in her now. For years I’d see her every summer, and I never even looked at her twice. Now, however, I’ve been thinking about her a little too much. In fact, when she hadn’t blown up my phone this week, I was disappointed. It’s better off this way, but still.

“I don’t know about the skinny dipping, though,” I tease.

“I’m sure seeing me would scar you forever,” she deadpans.

My throat suddenly goes dry. I couldn’t not picture her, and now I’m suffering because of it. I push the images away. “Nah, your brother wouldn’t approve.”

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