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do what you want.”
    He looked over at me and smiled, and I met his eyes. He watched
me for a moment, and then his gaze fell to my lips. “You smell like ice cream.”
    My breath caught. “So?”
    “I’m just kind of wondering if you taste like it.”
    After a short pause, I choked then burst out in howling laughter.
    He grinned. “What? What’s funny?”
    I couldn’t stop the ugly cackling bubbling up from deep inside of
me, like it had been waiting there my entire life to be set free. My eyes watered.
Weston quietly chuckled, too.
    “Man,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m glad it’s
dark.”
    “Why’s that?” I asked, wiping my eyes.
    “Because my face has got to be bright red right now.”
    I nudged him. “Don’t be embarrassed. Two weeks ago if someone
told me you’d be saying that to me, I would have thought they were legitimately
insane.”
    “Would you have wanted me to kiss you two weeks ago?”
    I could only manage a side glance; then my line of sight dropped
to my feet dangling from the tailgate. “No.”
    “No?”
    “For the same reason I don’t want you to kiss me now.”
    His eyes lit up with realization. “Alder.”
    “Yes,” I said, pressing my lips into a hard line. He nodded once,
conceding. “Is there something going on at the Diversion Dam tonight?” I asked,
desperate to change the subject.
    Weston leaned back and folded his arms behind his head. “I don’t
know, and I don’t care.”
    I crawled up next to him, and while looking up at the stars, we
exchanged memories about grade school, how much we loathed Mrs. Turner, and
everything else in our world with the exception of Erin Alderman.
    “Are you going to miss high school? I mean, you must,” I said,
shaking my head in amazement. “You’re like a god here.”
    He laughed once; then his face crumbled. “The god of Hell is the
devil. Not really much of a compliment.”
    “ Touché .” I let my legs swing back and forth, feeling the
chilly spring breeze blow through the thin fabric of my pants. It was warm
enough that the bugs were chirping and buzzing in the grass. I listened to
their symphony, our own little private show.
    We drank our pops, and Weston crunched them in his man hands and
tossed them behind us. He helped me down and walked around to my side, opening
the door. I climbed up and sat, and he looked up at me.
    “You doing anything for Spring Break?” he asked.
    I shook my head.
    “My parents are going skiing with our church group. I was
supposed to go to South Padre with Alder and Brady and pretty much the whole
football team and cheer squad, but I’m going to back out.”
    I frowned, confused.
    Weston was clearly amused as he leaned his elbow on the bottom
compartment of the door, looking up at me with his perfect, sweet smile. “I’m
going to stay here.”
    “Won’t your parents pitch a fit?”
    “They’ll understand. Besides, I’m eighteen. Not really much they
can do.”
    “Alder won’t understand.”
    “I’m not worried about it.”
    I narrowed my eyes. “You’re going to leave me out of it, right?”
    “Yes, Easter. I wouldn’t throw you under the bus like that.”
    “I just feel like I should remind you that I’m moving away in a
few months. I’m not crazy enough to think you’re doing all of this for me, but
if even a small part of it . . .”
    “What if I was? Doing all of this for you.”
    “I would ask you why. Why all of a sudden are you so interested
in me?”
    “Who says it’s all of a sudden?”
    I tried not to smile. The only things that kept my face smooth were
my next words, and I said them with conviction. “Weston, you’re a nice guy. I’d
be lying if I said I didn’t like you. But I’m getting the hell out of here.”
    He shut the door and walked slowly to the driver’s side. He stood
at his door for a full minute. When he finally sat in his seat and switched on
the ignition, he had to speak up over the roaring of the Chevy’s glass packs.