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Carter laughed and clinked his beer bottle against Kieran’s.
I shot Elias a quickkeep an eye on the two of themlook. He nodded swiftly.
“Anyway, drink?” Kieran asked again.
“No, I’m good,” I told him.
I didn’t drink. Ever. It wasn’t my thing. And I knew I wasn’t going to be able to drink much while I was in basic training or after I was deployed, so I figured I should get used to it now.
“How long till you leave?” he wondered.
“Two more weeks.”
“And where are you going?”
“Parris Island.”
Kieran threw back more beer and nodded.
“That’s badass, man,” he said.
Carter scoffed. Elias got weirdly quiet. I checked my phone to see if Cindy was on her way.
Cindy: Just got here.
I looked around for her, expecting a brown-haired girl wearing a T-shirt, jeans, and dingy Converse sneakers that she’d scribbled all over. Instead, a girl stepped into the lot wearing a light blue dress and sandals. Her hair fluttered around her shoulders. She almost looked like she was floating toward us.
“Wait, that’s not Cindy, is it?” Carter asked, pointing across the field.
I did a double take because… holy shit, it was.
She approached us a little cautiously with her arms wrapped around herself.
I swear, every guy at the party was checking her out, and it made me angry for a reason I couldn’t quite explain.
“Um, hey, guys,” she finally said.
Carter spoke first. “Hey, Cindy. You look nice.”
Elias and Kieran nodded their heads in agreement, but I just kind of stood there with my mouth partly open. For the first time since I’d met Cindy freshman year, I struggled to find something to say to her that didn’t sound stupid.
“Yeah. You do look nice,” I managed.
“Thanks. Luke, um, do you think we can talk?”
“Sure.”
She looked over at my brothers and Kieran, and I realized she wanted privacy.
“Let’s go to my truck,” I offered.
I led her over to my truck and opened the tailgate so we could sit on the bed. I climbed up and offered her a hand, pulling her up with me.
“Thanks. I don’t think you’ve ever done that before,” she mused.
“Done what?”
“Offered me your hand like a gentleman.”
