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tell, he has no sense of humor. Don’t worry—we’ll come up with something creative to tell your dad.”
    Luke’s door opened and Piper darted in, pulling me in behind her. I seriously considered telling her I had a queasy stomach and would rather stay home after all. That lie had little to no chance of getting me in trouble—though my dad would be disappointed I didn’t get a chance to impress Dr. Schiff—and lying in bed feigning stomach woes would be more fun than watching Piper hang all over the boy I’d been too shy to make a play for.
    Piper didn’t give me a chance to say anything before she flung herself into Luke’s arms, leaving me to close the door behind us. Luke laughed and hugged her back, hazel eyes dancing.
    â€œLong time no see,” he said in that delicious baritone voice of his. He was wearing a faded T-shirt for some band I’d never heard of over comfortably lived-in blue jeans, and even though he was my neighbor and I saw him all the time, my voice froze in my throat when he met my eyes over Piper’s head.
    â€œHey, Becket,” he said. “Glad you can come with.”
    I had no reason to believe he really meant that, but I wanted to. And though it was totally lame of me, I realized I couldn’t pass up the chance to spend time with him, even if it made me sad and jealous. So, no queasy stomach for me.
    I hate my full-out smile because it shows too much gum, so I kept my lips a little tight as I smiled back at him. I probably looked like I was grimacing in pain. “Me too. But you know you’ll be caught in the Circle of Doom if my dad finds out about this.”
    Luke shrugged casually. “It’s a chance I’m willing to take. Why don’t you go ahead and get changed so we can hit the road? Your clothes are in the bathroom.” He pointed down the hall.
    â€œOkay,” I said, then hesitated a beat, feeling like I should say something else. Something sophisticated, or at least witty. But my mind went blank, as it had a tendency to do around Luke, and I hurried toward the bathroom before the silence could become awkward.
    When I closed the bathroom door behind me, I let out a sigh of relief. How was I going to get through an entire night in Luke’s presence without making him think I was a gibbering idiot? I was always a little shy, but not like I was in Luke’s presence. I couldn’t say two words to him without second-guessing myself, and tonight was far from the first time I’d had my mind go completely blank while talking to him.
    â€œCheer up,” I muttered to my reflection in the mirror over the sink. “With Piper around, he won’t be paying any attention to you anyway.”
    I changed into my jeans, folding my nice outfit carefully, worried that it would develop telltale wrinkles. Then I spent a couple of minutes in front of the mirror practicing my no-gums smile. It looked a little fake, but I’d rather look fake than flash half an inch of gums.
    I took a steadying breath. It was already clear I was going to be way out of my comfort zone tonight, but maybe it would be good for me. My dad kept me too isolated, too sheltered, and I needed to get out into the world a little more or college was going to give me a bad case of culture shock.
    Determined to have fun, I bravely rejoined Luke and Piper.

 
    CHAPTER FOUR
    It turned out Piper’s idea of a fun Saturday night was getting some friend of hers to sneak the three of us in through the back door of a nightclub on South Street. Which, I have to admit, seemed pretty exciting at first. No one under twenty-one was allowed into the club, and yet there we were, getting a sneak peek of what it would be like when we were legally old enough to drink. My dad would totally have a heart attack if he knew where I was, and there was no denying the glow of satisfaction that gave me.
    The glow faded pretty fast once we got inside. The