I sighed and knew I had to be honest. “I’m kind of in a weird situation with a good friend. Kind of a crush. And I asked him to go to Crispy Chicken with me tonight, but I haven’t heard back yet.”

“Oh,” said Marina, nodding with a concerned look on her face.

Jeanie raised her eyebrows. “Listen. Give him until five. If you don’t hear back, you can come with us. Okay?”

“Thanks,” I agreed.

By five o’clock there was no word from Colin. I texted Jeanie and Marina to say I’d meet them for dinner at six. I was crushed, but after I had ignored him for multiple weeks, I knew that the treatment from Colin was no more than I deserved. My mom drove me to the restaurant and didn’t ask any questions this time. She just breezed on about some new flavor ideas while I mm-hmm’d distractedly.

“Heyyy!” squealed Jeanie when I entered.

“Over here, Allie!” said Marina.

My heart lifted and I joined them at the table.

We chatted for a minute about what to order, and then I gave them my money and they went to get chicken thighs, kimchi, and pickles while I held the table.

They hadn’t been gone more than thirty seconds when I heard my name.

“Allie?”

I turned. “Hi.” I gulped.

“Is it okay if I sit down?” Colin asked.

“Uh, yeah, sure. Of course.” I gestured at the empty seat and then glanced nervously at my friends in line. They hadn’t noticed his arrival.

“I’m so sorry that I didn’t reply!” Colin began. “I went backpacking with my family and didn’t have any service until an hour ago.”

“Oh!” I said, feeling my cheeks turning warm. I had just assumed he’d seen my text and ignored it. I hadn’t even considered the possibility that he was out of town.

“I should’ve told you I was going backpacking,” Colin continued in a quieter voice. “But I wasn’t sure if I would… uh… hear from you anyway.”

“I—I’m so sorry, Colin!” I spluttered. “I should’ve texted you when I returned from summer camp. But I got nervous… and I didn’t know if you would care.”

“Of course I’d care!” Colin said. Then he smiled at me. “So, we were both worried about the same thing for no reason?”

“Sorry,” I said again.

“It’s okay!” Colin laughed and raised his hand for a fist bump. “Great minds think alike?”

Blushing, I returned his fist bump. “Great minds think alike.”