32
Shanna, Derek, Ryan, and I stepped out into the warm night air. Crickets were chirping in the woods, and the moon was shining down through wisps of clouds.
As we reached my car in the driveway, Ryan put out his hand to shake mine. “It was really nice meeting you, Kaitlyn.”
“You, too. I had a great time – you have a wonderful family.”
“He does, doesn’t he?” Derek agreed. “The best.”
“Yeah, well, you try living with them,” Ryan mumbled.
“I did. Didn’t work out, remember?”
“Whatever.” Ryan turned back to me and asked hopefully, “Maybe I’ll see you around sometime?”
“Uh… yeah. Maybe.”
“I’m going to UGA next year,” Ryan said shyly. “I’ve got to live at home, but – ”
“He could’ve gone to Yale or Brown, but he’s staying here for the band,” Derek chimed in, slapping his friend on the back.
“Yeah, also ‘cause my parents are too cheap.”
“Aaah, they’ve gotta pay for two more kids to go to college, dude. Ease up.”
“Anyway,” Ryan said to me, “maybe I’ll see you around campus.”
I looked over at Derek, and suddenly I felt weird talking about Syracuse for some reason.
So I didn’t.
“Yeah… maybe,” I agreed.
“I’m staying here, too!” Shanna announced as she pulled her borrowed t-shirt off. She let it linger over her head a few seconds longer than necessary – thereby jutting her boobs out even more – before she peeled it off and handed it to Ryan. “We can hang out!”
“Uhhhh… okay,” Ryan said, then threw a guilty glance at me, like I was his wife or something.
Shanna reached up, hooked his neck, pulled him down, stood up on her tiptoes, and planted one on his cheek. “See you soon!”
“…okay,” he said, visibly stunned.
“You ol’ smoothie, you,” Derek teased him before he, Shanna, and I piled in the car and drove away.
Ryan lingered on the corner… waved forlornly… and then walked back inside.