She tipped her head to the sky, admiring an airplane flying high above. The night was clear and cloudless, with just a hint of a chill, which was perfect for couples who wanted to snuggle up. But that was the only bummer: Even though Nick had asked, he hadn’t been able to get the night off work. Maybe it was better that way, though. It wasn’t as if Ali had told anyone about him yet—she still wasn’t sure where they stood, and she didn’t want to tell her friends about him prematurely. And anyway, tonight she had work to do.
The doorbell rang, and Ali darted back into the house and yanked it open. Hanna and Josie stood on the porch, both in similar print dresses that Ali had seen hanging on the racks at Otter. “Welcome!” she said coolly, pushing her disgust and jealousy down deep. Hanna had never been twinsies with her.
She stepped aside to let Josie and Hanna in when more guests appeared at the curb. James Freed and the new boy, Mason Byers, spilled out of James’s dad’s BMW. Kirsten Cullen and Lanie Iler, who were always on the fringes of coolness, started up the path next, followed by Sean Ackard. For a few moments, everyone convened in the foyer, Mason meeting Lanie, James giving Kirsten an I-like-you-but-I’m-going-to-pretend-I-hate-you poke, and Hanna skittering away, mortified to be in the same room as her crush. Josie, however, lingered and shook Sean’s hand. “What grade are you in?” Ali heard her ask him.
“Going into eighth,” Sean answered.
Josie frowned. “Really? You look older than that.”
Sean blushed. “People tell me that sometimes. I guess it’s because I’m tall.”
Ali watched as Josie giggled and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. Did she . . . like him? She glanced over at Hanna, who was now talking to Spencer and eating a handful of Doritos, perhaps not noticing that Josie and Sean were talking. Ali steered Hanna to the patio and got her in a conversation with a couple of girls from the junior high field hockey team. Then she went back inside. Josie was still talking to Sean. This was almost too easy.
James cuffed Sean on the shoulder and led him toward the patio, where someone had turned on the stereo. Ali used the opportunity to sidle over to Josie. “It was so nice of you to come,” she simpered. “Any friend of Hanna’s is a friend of mine.”
Josie gave Ali a circumspect look but then shrugged. “It was nice of you to invite me. I don’t really know so many people around here yet, but everyone seems really nice.”
“Like Brayden, right?”
Josie blinked. “Who?”
“That guy you were just talking to. Brayden.” Ali chose a name at random in case Hanna had told Josie about her crush. It was doubtful Hanna had actually pointed him out, as Josie had been flirting, and clearly Sean hadn’t told her his name, either. “I think he was into you.”
Josie bit the edge of her thumbnail, looking intrigued. “You think?” she asked reluctantly.
Ali nodded. “I’ve been friends with him for a long time. I can tell.”
Josie’s eyes flicked back and forth. “He was really cute.”
“Do you want to get to know him better?” Ali asked.
Josie smiled. “Sure.”
Ali nodded. “You know what I’ll do? I’ll send him back into the sunroom with some drinks so you guys can talk in private.” She winked knowingly.
Josie stared at Ali for a few long beats. “Thanks.”
“Go in there and settle yourself on the couch,” Ali said, gesturing toward the sunroom. To her delight, Josie did exactly as she was told. Then Ali scuttled back to the patio, which was suddenly filled with kids. Spencer and Kirsten were dancing. Aria and Emily were at one of the tables, talking to Joanna Kirby, who would have been perfect for Ali’s clique except for the fact that she was way too obsessed with horses—rumor had it she still played with the figurines. Ali spied Sean across the patio with James Freed. Hanna was standing close to him, gnawing on her fingernail, probably contemplating talking to him. Ali swept him up before she could.
And after that, it was easy. Sean, always the gentleman, immediately got two cups of punch and headed for the sunroom. Hanna watched him, confused, but stayed glued to her spot next to the hanging basket of impatiens.
Five minutes passed. Then ten. Hanna wriggled as though she had bugs in her undies. She plunged her hand into the Doritos bowl again and again until there were only crumbs. Finally, Ali joined her at the railing. “What happened to Josie?”
“I don’t know,” Hanna said anxiously. “I haven’t seen her since she came in. What if she thought this was lame and left?”
Ali ignored the fact that Hanna had more or less insulted her to her face and linked her elbow in hers. “Let’s look for her in the house.”
They walked into the kitchen, where the silence was shocking in comparison to the loud voices outside. Ali poked her head into a bathroom, then peered up the steps. “I don’t know, Han.”
When Hanna wandered toward the sunroom, Ali didn’t join her. She didn’t have to. She watched as Hanna stopped short in the doorway, the color draining from her face.
“What is it?” Ali asked, coming up next to Hanna.