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refuse to let Aly get hurt.
    “We went out last night,” I explain. I start drumming a beat on my legs to give my hands something to do. “We got to talking…and decided to try going out.” I realize the drumming is making me look nervous so I stop. “Just see where it goes and have fun, y’know? No commitment or anything.”
    My skills in lying suck ass. It’s a good thing I never do it. There’s not a chance in hell Drew, one of my best friends who knows me better than anyone except for Aly, bought any of that. I glance over and wince at the look of pure stupefaction on his face.
    “You’re serious?” he asks.
    “Yep,” I say, popping my lips around the word. An eternity seems to pass. It’s probably more like thirty seconds. Dust from the gravel road flies in the air from arriving cars, and I count the sounds of slamming doors. I watch Aly’s ex sitting in his car and wonder if he’s been listening. I steal another look at Drew and brace myself for the call-out.
    What he says is, “It’s about damn time.”
    My body goes still, then I jerk my head around, sure I heard him wrong. “Huh?”
    Drew pushes to his feet, suddenly all smiles. “Dude, Aly’s perfect for you. Call it casual all you want, but the two of you have been in denial for like three years now. Sarah and I had a bet on how long it would take you to wake up, and it looks like I just won.” He shoves my shoulder. “I still feel like shit, but I’m happy for you, man. It’s about time you got your head out of your ass.”

    “Gentlemen, I have an announcement.”
    The second Carlos and Justin enter the room, Drew hops off the top bunk. At this rate, the whole campground will know by dinner. He already told people in the parking lot, including Adam, which was awkward, to be honest, and Lauren, which made it all worth it. And now, without giving the guys a chance to ask what the news is, he announces, “Brandon and Aly are going out.”
    “Hooking up,” I clarify from my mildew-infested bed. Based on their reactions, it falls on deaf ears.
    Carlos stops in the center of the cabin. “Say what?” he asks, setting his guitar on the floor.
    Justin tosses his bag on an empty bunk and sits next to me. “You’re joking, right?”
    I look him in the eye, then look to Carlos, and feel the blood begin to boil. I’m not really with her, but two of my closest friends acting as if the idea is impossible pisses me off. “And what the hell’s wrong with Aly?”
    “Nothing, man,” Justin says, throwing his palms in the air. “Aly’s incredible. Hot, too.” He smirks like the cocky son of a bitch he is, and it takes everything in me not to remove it from his face. “But what happened to her being a Commitment ? You say you don’t want a relationship, but then go and ask out their damn spokesperson?” Justin glances over at Carlos, who nods in agreement. “What gives?”
    Behind him, Drew subtly shakes his head.
    We’ve been friends long enough for him to know me. To sense the anger I keep bottled up raging just beneath the surface. I draw in a slow, controlled breath and let it out.
    I get what my friends are saying. After my dad died and I saw what that did to my mom, I vowed I’d never fall in love or lose myself in a girl. And other than Justin’s one failed relationship freshman year, he’s always lived by the same creed. Together, we pretty much wrote the book on dating fast and furious, and Carlos is far from a serial monogamist. It’s not that they have anything against Aly , just what me being with her represents. I get it. Their reaction makes sense. And it’s the truth because Aly and I aren’t really together.
    But I still don’t like it.
    “You’re right,” I say. “We did decide Aly is a Commitment , but this summer she changed.” Getting through that with a straight face takes a fucking miracle. “She says she just wants to enjoy her senior year and keep things casual. We have fun hanging out, so we decided