Page 18 of The First Play

“I, uh…” He clears his throat, shaking his head like he’s trying to wake himself up from a dream. “Was that seriously your dad?”

My shoulders slump as he avoids my question yet again.

Looking back at the house, I try to hide my disappointment and reply with enough cheer. “Yeah, he’s pretty cool.”

“He’s… unreal.”

“How so?” I spin back, trying to figure out what he’s talking about. “He’s just a dad.”

“No.” Zander shakes his head. “I was waiting for him to rip my head off for keeping his daughter out so late in a cold car. I was waiting for him to yell at me and tell me to never come near you again.”

I can’t help a punchy laugh. “What? Why would he say that?”

“Because you’re his daughter, and I’m some guy who they no doubt think is after your virginity or something. If youarea virgin. I don’t even know,” he mutters before scrunching his face up and running a hand through his hair. “I’m shutting up now.”

My snort is embarrassing, so I pinch my nose, trying not to laugh at Zander’s ridiculous imaginings. Plus, he just said “virginity” and “virgin,” so my insides are flushing with heat.

There’s no way I’m telling him what my sex status is right now. We haven’t even been on a date yet.

I lick my lips and swallow. “My parents are not the yelling kind. They’re very chill, and they already like you.” My nose wrinkles. “I kind of already told them about you and how you helped me at the party. You didn’t yell at me for puking on you. Olivia told me how you held my hair and carried me up to her bedroom.” My expression is turning mushy, I can tell. “I’m pretty sure they like you as much as I do now.”

His lips tip up at the side. “You told your parents you got so drunk you puked?”

“Sure.” I shrug. “I mean, yeah, it’s humiliating. But if you can’t tell your parents, who can you tell, right?”

He shakes his head, his brow buckling like I’m trying to confuse him on purpose.

“What?” Now I’m getting confused.

“I would never tell my parents that shit. They would flip out and ground me for a month.”

“Oh really?” My eyes bulge. “I’ve never been grounded.”

He blinks, like he can’t even comprehend that.

Wow, we’re obviously from very different homes. I hope that’s not a bad omen. I worry my lip, staring at the dashboard and fidgeting with my opal ring as an awkward silence falls between us.

Crap, what do I say now?

I think we should definitely stop talking about parents.

Maybe I could?—

“So…” Zander’s voice has that husky quality to it that I know is destined to become my favorite sound.

I glance at him, hope sparkling through me as I softly whisper, “So…”

“If they’re chill…” He moves, inching a little closer to me and gliding his finger over the back of my hand. “And they think I’m awesome…” He lightly traces my knuckles. “They’d probably be okay with me asking you out on a date, right?”

Butterflies swarm my chest, their excited wings catching on my rib cage, tickling my heartstrings and causing this bubble of giddy laughter to form in my throat. It takes everything in me to keep it on lockdown.

“Yes.” I can barely breathe.

“Cool.” His lips rise into that lopsided grin, and my heart flutters wildly, joining the butterflies’ rave party, which is moving into my stomach with a raucous energy that’s impossible to hide.

A breathy giggle pops out of me. “So… are you gonna ask me on a date or…?”

“That’s what I’m trying to do.” He laughs, scrubbing a hand down his face. “Shit, I seriously thought I was cooler than this, but you…” His words trail off, and he stares at me through the dim glow of the streetlights.

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