I look back down at the script. A minute later, everything returns to normal as Sofia and Linli start rehearsing the next scene.

A sliver of suspicion rises in me all the same, but it’s drowned out by how tired I am. Whatever Emmitt’s doing, I’m sure I’ll hear the details soon enough.

32

I expect Emmitt to drag me somewhere after school, but instead I find a horde of people waiting for me once I’m done packing up. There’s Rosie and Sofia talking to each other quietly, gesturing at the script although they’re both flushed like they’ve run a marathon. Emmitt and Grant are fooling around, poking and prodding each other. Kaity and Linli are joined by the latter’s boyfriend, Noojman, who’s smiling good-naturedly as Kaity ribs him.

“Are you guys waiting for something?” I ask as I make my way to Emmitt, shrugging on my jean jacket.

“You,” Emmitt says, grinning crookedly. “Are you ready?”

I blink. “Wait, all of us? Where are we going?”

“You’ll have to wait and see,” he says, tapping my nose. Then he reaches down, grabs my hand, and tugs me along. I’m too surprised to protest, not that I would have if he’d given me proper warning.

He leads me outside, and there’s an SUV already waiting for us. The rest of our classmates follow us, laughing at my bemusement.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

Emmitt presses a finger to my lips, effectively shutting me up as he climbs into the SUV. “Patience, love.”

I sigh but allow him to help me up, taking the seat beside him. Everyone else climbs into the back, Kaity taking the other seat beside me.

She wiggles her eyebrows at me suggestively, and I shake my head, but she doesn’t let that deter her.

“Does everyone know where we’re going except me?” I ask, turning to glance at the back row.

Rosie grins back at me. “Have I ever led you astray?”

“Many times.”

“Well, this isn’t one of those times,” she says, before poking my forehead. “Turn around and buckle your seat belt.”

I grudgingly turn back around, but when I go to reach for my seat belt, Emmitt is already there, tugging it down for me.

His face is suddenly too close to mine as he pulls it across my chest and down to my lap. His fingers brush against my waist, and a chill runs through me despite the heat blowing from the ventilation system. “I’ve got you,” he says quietly, his breath ghosting against my cheek.

I nod slowly, my eyes lingering on his, even as the seat belt clicks into place and he no longer has an excuse for being as close to me as he is. “Thank you,” I whisper in the liminal space between us.