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anymore—surely he had better things to do. But
he didn’t move from his spot against the Jeep.
    “You can go back inside, if you want” I
said, fiddling with my sweatshirt zipper. “I’m not going to pass
out or anything.”
    He still didn’t budge. “Maybe I should stay
out here and keep an eye on you,” he said. “Just in case.”
    I glanced up at him and he smiled at me, but
in a sweet, shy way, not in a smarmy way like Buzz Cut Boy. For
some reason this made me more comfortable, and I let myself
relax.
    “So,” he said, shoving his hands into his
pockets. “Do you go to RHH?”
    I knew RHH meant Redwood Hills High, one of
the fanciest and most well-equipped public schools in the area. “I
live in Oakfield. My dad lives here. I mean, in downtown Weldon.
Near Crawford Park. I stay with him most weekends and half of the
summer.”
    I heard myself babbling, but Michael nodded
like what I’d said was interesting. “And you’re Robin’s
friend.”
    “She lives on the same street as my dad. How
long have you known her?”
    “A few months, I guess.”
    I couldn’t believe she had never mentioned
him to me before. Or maybe she had. Robin often bragged about all
the hot guys she met at parties, but I could never keep them
straight. “This isn’t your house, is it?”
    He shook his head. “It’s my friend R.J.’s.
His parents are in Maine for two weeks.”
    I nodded. That explained the open liquor
cabinet rummage.
    “I live about three blocks from here, on
Riverview.”
    Of course. He was a Hills kid. He probably
had his own car and a big fat college fund.
    “And I’d never get away with having a party
like this,” he added.
    I smiled. “Me either.”
    When he smiled back at me, I tried to
determine exactly what it was that made him so appealing, besides
his looks. He should have been arrogant, yet he had this quiet,
reserved confidence that—against my better judgment—drew me right
in. Hey, just because I’d given up boys didn’t mean I couldn’t
still appreciate nice, good-looking ones. Even though I wasn’t in
the market for a boyfriend, especially one who undoubtedly had so
many girls lusting after him that he couldn’t be bothered to settle
with just one, I almost envied his next girlfriend.
    “My stepmother will be here soon,” I said,
uncomfortable again. “I should go get Robin.”
    Michael pushed himself off the Jeep and
walked with me back into the house. The party had grown even
crazier in our absence. Some people in the bathroom lineup looked
positively green. Three girls stood on the sofa, dancing to the
pounding music. At least a dozen people lined up near the unmanned
bar, waiting for their turn to make drinks. And Robin, Miss Life of
the Party herself, was now shooting pool with Devon and a few other
kids, a glass affixed to her hand.
    “Thanks again,” I told Michael before
leaving his side. “For everything.” He had saved me twice tonight,
once from wetting myself and once from passing out. At this rate, I
was sure he wished he’d never met me.
    “No problem.” He gave me another nice smile
and then walked away. Damn , I thought, watching him go. Then
I shook my head free of any indecent thoughts and went to find
Robin. I sidled up to her while she waited to make a shot.
    “Lynn will be here to pick us up any
second,” I said.
    “Tay!” She hugged me, almost impaling me
with her pool cue. “Where have you been ?”
    “Outside,” I said, and then added as if in
afterthought, “talking to Michael.”
    She smiled and slapped her hands to her
shiny cheeks, dropping the stick in the process. “I knew you guys
would get along. I knew from the minute I met him that he was the
perfect guy for you. Isn’t he sweet?”
    “Yes, but I don’t—“
    She squeezed my arms so tightly that I
winced. “You two have so much in common. He’s like…he’s…the male you .”
    I had no idea what she was talking about.
“We have to go.”
    “Oh, you go. I’ll get another