Page 24

“Drew, come with me to her house to say hi.”

“Right now?” I ask hesitantly, exhausted from a long day of exams.

“Please, man! Come on!” He begs, shaking my shoulders.

“Alright, fine,” I say, throwing the car into park on the curb.

“Yes!” he cheers, throwing his door open. “Just let me run inside and check my hair first!”

This guy is ridiculous. He darts out of the car and sprints up his driveway, leaving the door open and leaving me alone with Cami. We both unbuckle our seatbelts and reach for our door handles at the same time.

“Hey, Cami?” I say before she can slide out. She pauses, looking up at me.

“I’m sorry about your breakup,” I say carefully, keeping my voice gentle. “Are you really okay?”

“Yeah. I’m really okay, thank you, Drew.” She gives me a sweet, small smile as she pushes open her door, stepping onto the pavement.

I watch her walk up the path to her house, and I'm flooded with butterflies. I grip the steering wheel tightly, taking in a deep breath. Shake it off, Drew, that's your best friend's little sister.

Cooper and I are walking up the driveway to the new girl's house when she emerges from the garage to grab another box. She pushes a strand of blonde hair from her forehead, pausing when she sees us approach.

“Hey!” Cooper says confidently, giving her a small wave. “We’re your neighbors. I’m Cooper, and this is Drew.”

I smile, offering her a polite wave of my own.

“Oh hi, I’m Ivy.” She smiles, walking closer to the edge of the driveway. “I just moved here from Michigan.”

“Oh nice, are you still in high school?” Cooper asks, taking the lead.

“Yeah, I'll be a senior in August. I’m going to Ocean View High.”

Cooper's smile grows big, “No way! That's where we go. We’re going to be seniors too.” He points between the two of us.

“Really? That's a relief, I'm glad I will know someone when school starts!” She smiles.

“You should come with us to the beach bonfire this Friday night.” Cooper offers. I glance at him, impressed. It’s actually a really good idea to help her make introductions. “Meet some of the other kids from our class before the summer ends.”

Ivy’s face lights up with excitement. “Yeah, I'd love that, thank you. I’ll just have to check with my parents first, but I'm sure it'll be fine.”

“You’ll probably be getting a visit from my mom anyway, she always bakes cookies for new neighbors. I’ll tell her to put in a good word with your parents about the bonfire.”

“That would be great! Thank you.” She says.

“Here, let me see your phone. I’ll give you my number, text me what your parents say, and we can arrange a pickup time.” Cooper says.

Ivy bites back a smile as she grabs her phone from her back pocket, handing it over to Cooper. I have to admit, the guy is pretty smooth.

“It was really nice meeting you, Ivy. Hopefully we’ll see you on Friday.” I say as Cooper hands the phone back and we start taking a few steps back toward the street.

“It was nice meeting you both.” She shouts.

Once we made it back to our property line, our backs to Ivy’s house, Cooper grabs my shoulder.

“Dude, I think I just met my wife.” His eyes are beaming with pure excitement.

It’s Friday, and Cooper has been at Ivy’s house every day after school these past few days, helping her unpack moving boxes. Danielle, Cooper's mom, brought homemade cookies over to her parents, and of course they instantly hit it off. They agreed to let Ivy go to the bonfire as long as she’s home by midnight.

It’s 6:45 PM, and I'm standing in Cooper's kitchen as we wait for Ivy to come over so we can head to the beach. The doorbell rings, and Cooper's face lights up as he bolts to the door. A second later, Cami walks into the kitchen, freezing in her tracks when she spots me leaning against the counter.