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“It’s what? You can consort with the enemy, and I can’t hang out with a nice man who’s treating me like a princess?” She hadn’t said as much, but after that moment I’d caught between her and Nate, something was going on. I wouldn’t call her on it, as I’d been just as secretive about Agan for this very reason. She was trying to talk me out of dating him.
“And if you have your fun, how will you feel when he’s gone?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know, Avery. But I want to feel. I need to feel.” It was the truth.
She gave in. “Okay. I’ll find Zoe. You do you. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
I didn’t want to get hurt, either. So after she left, I cut my conversation short with Agan. Avery made excellent points that I should consider regardless of what I’d said to her.
Only Agan proved us both wrong. He continued to show up in my life. Which was why several weeks later he called to ask me to go to a barn dance with him.
It felt like I’d been asked to prom. I texted Avery, but she didn’t text back. During my break, I drove to the auto shop where she worked.
Tugboat, a mechanic at the shop, greeted me. “Hey, Haley,” he said.
He had an innocent smile that made you smile back. Mine was huge. “Is Avery busy?”
“I’ll check,” he said.
Tugboat had been the captain of the football team in high school, but an accident had killed his chances at the pros. His head injury had affected his speech, but he was still an attractive guy.
“Thanks.”
He disappeared through the door that led to the bays. A few minutes later, Avery appeared. “Hey. What are you doing here?”
“I need to know if you’ll go with me tonight.”
Her eyes narrowed. “That couldn’t wait?” Avery asked, only half-annoyed.
I was vibrating with excitement. “I texted you, but you didn’t reply.” I glanced over at Tugboat, who hadn’t left.
“Oh, I’ll leave you two,” he said and rushed back to the bays.
“Anyway, I need to let Agan know,” I said once he was gone.
“Agan?” she asked.
“He was invited to a barn dance in Mason Creek and wants me to go.”
“Okay. What has that got to do with me? Do you need me to babysit Zoe?”
I clapped and finally started bouncing. “No. She has a sleepover tonight.” That in itself was progress. The girls—or their parents—were starting to accept her. “I need you to come. I don’t want to go with just him. If he has to talk to people, I don’t want to be standing alone.”
“Great, so that would leave me standing alone when you’re dancing the night away with him. No, thank you. You’re on your own.”
I grabbed her hand. “Please. I’ll tell him I’ll meet him there. If I ride with him, I’ll do something stupid. So far I haven’t been stupid.”
She looked me square in the eye. “You’re saying you haven’t had sex with him yet?” I shook my head frantically. Avery ran a hand over her head. “Fine. I’ll go. But you owe me. And I don’t get off for a couple of hours.”
When we arrived, Agan was waiting. I tried to play it cool, but I couldn’t get out of the car fast enough.
As I reached the door, Agan had a box in his hand. “Did you bring dinner?” I asked. Though the box was only big enough for a single sandwich.
“I’ve always wanted to do this,” he said, pulling a corsage out.
I put a hand to my chest. “Oh, my God, this is…”
“You think it’s too much like your American prom?” he asked.
