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“Hi,” I say as I memorize their faces. Corey blond. Devin brown.
“That feller with the guitar over there is Harvey,” Seth adds, gesturing toward the guy just inside the house. “Ellie and Wilder are around here somewhere…”
I nod in acknowledgment. Harvey guitar. Ellie and Wilder… hot girls, probably.
“Everybody, this is my sister, Heidi,” he says, raising his voice. “Be nice, but not too nice. The other one is Jenna. I honestly don’t care how you treat her.”
Jenna flashes a wicked smile, but she, somehow, doesn’t retort.
“Stampy! Stampy! Stampy!”
Corey and Devin chant the name. They chant it for so long everyone else in the house comes out to inspect what’s happening.
Yup.
Tonight’s going to be a blast.
CHAPTER 16
DREW
She hasn’t looked at me all night. Not that I’ve spent this entire time staring at her or anything, but you’d think two people confined in a single space would make eye contact at least once over a few hours.
Heidi Newbury, however, seems determined to avoid me.
Hanging out around the grill while Devin and Corey cooked? Didn’t look once.
Passing each other in the kitchen while Wilder and Ellie tried to talk her into another glass of wine? Nada.
Gathered at the bonfire while Harvey strummed his guitar? Not one single glance in my direction.
But can I blame her? Can I really be surprised that she’s giving me the cold shoulder after the other day?
I should fix this, but...
How?
How do I get close to the one girl I can never get close to?
I come out of the bathroom to find everyone lounging around the kitchen, pecking away at what’s left of the food we brought along. This is usually the time the late night munchies kick in, followed slowly by everyone slinking away to nap until morning.
I scan the faces. “Where are Seth and Heidi?”
“Seth and who?” Corey asks.
“Stampy,” I say.
Boy, she must love that.
“Oh!” He points through the open doors. “Out by the bonfire last I saw.”
“Thanks.”
I escape outside, and the bonfire catches my eye in the dark. As I step closer, I make out Heidi sitting on the log with her sketchbook open on her lap. Seth lies on his back in the sand, passed out. I grin. She must have stayed behind to make sure he didn’t roll into the fire in his sleep or something.
I stroll toward the fire, careful not to make much noise as I come up behind her and peek over her shoulder at the drawing. It’s a sketch of Seth with his mouth open wide and his eyes closed. I watch as she moves a delicate hand, filling in the lines of his thick eyebrows.
“Wow,” I say.
