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My mouth falls open. “Wh-What?”
He stands up. “Let’s go to the boardwalk.”
“Oh, um, I don’t think—”
“You like ice cream?”
“Uh, yeah. But—”
“Cool.” He starts for the door. “Let’s do it.”
But I just stand here, totally dumbfounded.
Why is he asking me to go to the boardwalk with him? Why would he even want to do that? And what if someone sees us? Or we run into his friends? This is just… really sudden. And unexpected. And such a bad idea.
He glances over his shoulder once he’s in the hallway and stops. “You coming?”
“I don’t think this is such a good idea, Sebastian.”
“First of all, it’s a fucking great idea.” He gives me one of those crooked grins. “Second, no one calls me Sebastian. Except like, my grandmother. And a couple teachers who really can’t stand me.”
“Um, okay. But, I still don’t think I’m going to go out. I have homework I really need to finish.”
He rolls his eyes. “Bullshit.”
“I do. I have, uh, a paper for English that—”
“You were literally lying on your bed reading a fantasy book when I showed up.” He takes two strides back into the room, and before I have a chance to say anything else, he takes my hand and pulls me toward the door. “C’mon. I swear I won’t do anything to make you uncomfortable. No crowds. No water slides.”
“I never said I don’t like water slides.” I feel the need to clarify, because when the words come out of his mouth, I sound like a buzzkill.
“Okay, well, no water slides in front of a bunch of people watching, then.”
He guides me through the hall and down the stairs. So comfortable and relaxed, like he’s been here a hundred times. He doesn’t let go of my hand, even when we pass the living room where my parents are both sitting, watching season two of The Crown. Instead, he just slows to a stop when they turn to see what the noise is.
“Is it alright if Caroline comes for ice cream on the boardwalk?” Sebastian asks, looking between both my parents. Not even slightly intimidated.
But then, of course he’s not intimidated. This is totally normal for him: taking a girl out to the boardwalk for ice cream. Or to any number of places, no doubt.
Wait. Not a girl—a friend.
Only…Arewe even friends?
If he’s asking to hang out with me at Scoopies, that means we must be friends, right?
“Of course,” my parents say at the same time, and so eagerly that it’s obvious this is totally not a normal thing for me to be doing. They are beaming up at Sebastian like he just asked if he could escort me to a black-tie gala for the Nobel Prize nominees.
“Cool. You guys want us to bring you anything back?”
Seriously? He’s even offering to bring myparentsice cream?
“Oh, that’s really nice of you,” my mom says, still beaming like she’s auditioning for a toothpaste commercial. “We’re fine though. You guys have fun.”
“You sure?” Sebastian does that lifted eyebrow thing. “They have really good Oreo milkshakes.”
And okay, this is more than I can take. Now, I’m the one who tugs him toward the door. “It’s fine. They don’t need ice cream.”
He shrugs. “Okay, then.”
