“Lion! Dude. Miller’s got the new Combat Apocalypse. We’re gonna play it in his theater.” Kent Pulchaski stomped down the steps from the deck and called toward us. Both of the guys looked up.
“The one that doesn’t release for another month? No way, man.” Leo turned in his chair, easing Sarah away from his body.
“Yeah, his uncle’s part of the development team and got it for him early. You in?”
“You know it.” This time, he boosted Sarah to stand and stretched, getting to his feet. “It was getting a little, uh, quiet out here anyway. I was about to nod off.”
I wanted to roll my eyes at the obvious put-down, but I chose to ignore it instead. Leo started to follow Kent and then paused, glancing back at Jake. “Donavan, you play?”
Jake fidgeted in his chair. “Uh, yeah. I mean, I played the first two.”
“C’mon, then.” Leo gestured with one hand. “Let’s see what you got.”
“Um, I don’t know.” Jake inched toward the edge of his seat, his eyes flickering toward me. “I promised Q we wouldn’t stay too long.”
I appreciated Jake’s loyalty and consideration, but it was clear that he wanted to go play video games with the rest of the big kids. I gave him a big sunny smile and shook my head.
“I’m good here. Go ahead and play. If I get too cold, I’ll go stake out a spot on a couch and lay low until you’re finished. Okay?”
Jake stood up, but he didn’t walk away yet. “You sure?”
I nudged his leg with my foot. “Of course I’m sure. I think I can handle being on my own for a little bit, Jake. I promise, I won’t do anything drastic. Like attack poor defenseless cheerleaders or something.”
Jake snickered, and then with a quick wave in my direction, took off after Leo and Kent. I heaved a deep sigh and leaned back again. Sarah sat down in the chair Leo had just abandoned.
“Boys, huh? I don’t understand the whole deal with video games. I mean ... I just get bored. Leo was playing this zombie game the other night, and I fell asleep. Just conked right out on the sofa.”
Another hot bolt of jealousy flared inside me at the idea of Sarah sleeping on the couch next to Leo, but I tamped it down. “Yeah, he’s always been a sucker for war games, especially. When we were in elementary school, he and Nate got obsessed with this one—I can’t remember what it was called, but there were guns and bombs.” I mimed an explosion with both my hands. “They played it together practically every day for two months. At first, they tried to get me interested, too, but every time it was my turn, one of them ended up yanking the controller out of my hands to, uh, ‘help’ me.” I made the air quotes. “So pretty soon I’d just wait until they were absorbed in the game, and then I’d sneak upstairs and hang out with Nate’s mom.”
“I have to admit, I’m really envious of you.” Sarah drew her legs up onto the chairs and shifted to face me more fully. “Growing up in one place, I mean, with friends you’ve had your whole life. We moved every few years when I was younger, so until we moved here, I didn’t have any idea what it was like to know people for more than a year or two.”
I remembered, vaguely, that Sarah had moved to Eatonboro right before junior high. Still, she hadn’t seemed to have had trouble fitting in here. She’d slid right into the popular crowd without an issue. I tried not to resent that.
“I guess there’re pros and cons to everything.” I shrugged. “When you’ve spent your life with one group of people, it’s hard for them to see you as anything other than who they decided you were years ago.” I smiled, thinking of one of my classmates. “For instance, one guy in our class couldn’t tie his shoes on the first day of kindergarten, and he cried. He still gets teased about that, even now. Crazy, huh?”
Sarah giggled. “Not anyone we both know, is it?”
“Oh, no. Leo was the first of us to learn how to tie. He used to do my laces, and Nate’s, too. Since he was the only one of us with older siblings, he had the leg up. Simon and Danny would’ve tormented him if he couldn’t tie his shoes.”
“See, that’s what I mean. You all have so much history. I’ve only known Leo since eighth grade. I met his brother Danny, but I don’t know the oldest one.”
“Simon’s awesome. He comes off like this big tough guy, but he’s really a teddy bear. Both of Leo’s brothers were always great to Nate and me. They kind of adopted us as theirs, too.”
Sarah sighed and hugged her knees tighter to her chest. “Can I tell you something? Please don’t laugh. I’ve been a little ... threatened by you since I’ve known Leo. Even before we started dating. He always talks about you like you’re this perfect, amazing person. It’s very intimidating.”
I was silent for a minute, surprised. “Me? He talks about me like that?”
She nodded. “Oh, yeah. I don’t think he even realizes it. But when he mentions your name, something in his voice—it changes. Gets softer.” She paused, biting her bottom lip. “I’ve liked Leo for a long time. Not because of who he is, either. You know, all the cheerleaders ... they look at him like a prize. A status symbol, almost. There’s even—” She flashed me an apologetic glance. “Kind of a title. They talk about bagging the Lion, you know, because of his football nickname?”
I wrinkled my nose. “Ewww.”
“Right?” Sarah shook her head. “But that’s not why I wanted to go out with him. I’ve liked Leo since we met the summer before junior high. He was always nice to me, and we kind of dated a couple of times back then, but you know what that was like. No one was really serious. But now ... it feels more important, you know? He’s so nice, and I’m sure it sounds like what every girl would say, but I really like him forhim. I’d date him even if he were, like, on the newspaper or something.”
I saw the moment Sarah realized what she’d said. Her eyes got wide, and a flush stained her cheeks. “Oh, God, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that like it sounded. I just meant—”
“I know what you meant. Don’t worry. I get it.” I flipped around in the uncomfortable chair so that my legs hung over the armrest. “You’re not dating him for his popularity or his mad skills on the football field. I’m glad.”
Sarah felt around near the side of the chair and brought up Leo’s half-empty bottle of beer. She was about to take a sip, then paused and held it out to me. “Want some? It’s probably warm and flat.”
