front singing.
Good night and joy be with you all.
I was surprised they didn’t hold me at customs since I was so
shaky and nervous. As soon as I got my proper entrance
stamp and baggage, I bounded for the greeting area. I ran
out and didn’t have to wait more than two seconds before I
heard Dad, Uncle Adam, and Levi calling out for me. I turned
and saw Levi holding a huge sign: blimey if we know where
macallan is!
I laughed and ran up to them. There was a flurry of hugs
and exchanges of “I missed you” and “You look great!” Dad
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and Adam took my luggage and went to get the car while
Levi waited with me outside.
“I’m so glad you’re home,” he said. He wrapped his arm
around me and I fell into him. We both stayed there for a
while. It felt right. It had always felt right. But I’d kept telling myself that it would ruin our friendship. Never had I thought about how it could make things even better between us. I
knew the average high school couple rarely made it work
long-term, but there was nothing average about Levi and me.
I heard his phone go off, and he silenced it. I closed my
eyes again, grateful to be back with him. Back home. Happy
that the awkwardness we’d had when I left had been erased.
I reached for his hand and entwined his fingers with mine. I
was debating telling him everything right there and then,
but the last thing I wanted was for my dad and uncle to drive
up during that conversation, especially if it ended in a kiss. I was pretty sure my dad would be making up new rules about
when and where we could be together if he saw that.
Levi’s phone went off again. He reached to silence it again,
and I noticed an unfamiliar name on the screen.
“Who’s Stacey?” I asked before I had a chance to stop
myself.
Levi pulled away from me. “Oh, yeah, that.” He shuffled
uncomfortably. “I wanted to wait for you to be settled in
before I told you that you and Stacey would not be allowed to
be at parties together.” He laughed lightly.
Why would this girl and I not be allowed to go to . . .
No.
It hit me like a wall of bricks.
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“You have a girlfriend.”
“Well, we’ve been hanging out — I’m not sure I’d say girlfriend yet. But she’s cool. Stacey Hobbs — she’s our year and on the cheerleading squad.”
“Oh.” I knew who he was talking about, but I was trying to
figure out how this had happened and why Levi had conveniently neglected to mention anything to me about it. I found
myself stepping away from him a bit, needing some distance
to try to make sense of it all.
“But enough about me. Tonight is all about you.” Levi
stepped forward. “I should warn you that Mom’s obsessed
with making shepherd’s pie for you tonight to ease you back
into the Midwest. And you know how paranoid she gets cooking for you, so throw in some brilliant s and all will be good.”
I gave him a weak smile.
“Come here. I missed you so much.” He put his arms
around me again. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to let go.
Having your best friend leave you for the summer blows.” He
kissed me on the forehead. “But I promise to stop being jealous and want to hear every detail of your trip. I want to be
inundated with photos and stories that will make me green
with envy. I mean it. You have to tell me everything.”
But I really couldn’t tell him everything, since there was one thing I had to keep to myself.
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Awkward!
Dude, do you realize if you’d said something right then, everything would’ve been different?
Like you would no longer call me dude?
Whatever, dude. But don’t pretend that I’m the one into drama when you yourself led us into more drama.
You got me there.
So you’re admitting that I’m total y right?
No. Because you have to admit life is more interesting with a
little drama.
Are you serious? Life is more of a pain in the rear with drama.
Oh, wait, you’re totally right on that one. My bad.
C H A P T E R T W E L V E
I was so stoked to have Macalan back. Summer wasn’t the same
without her around. It wasn’t until she was truly gone, thousands of miles away, that I realized how much time we spent together each summer. And yeah, even though I had my guys, it was different. It didn’t feel the same. Nothing was the same without her.
At first I was mad at her for going away, but then I got it. We probably needed a break to reassess things.
I truly loved Macal an, I did. But I realized that she didn’t feel the same, so if the only way I could have her in my life was as a friend, that’s what we’d be.
I admit, she looked so cute when she got out of customs at the
airport. She had that sleepy look she got when she was either super tired or under a lot of pressure. She was pretty quiet on the drive home and at dinner that evening. But I felt a lot better just having her near me.