I have to check my impulse to punch him. Which means he’s right. “Fuck,” I say. “This is not me.” The two people by the keg get their drinks and leave the room, but I still lower my voice. “This jealousy bullshit and the daddy games. I don’t even know who I am anymore.”

“Well, lucky for you, I know what’s happening. I’ll explain it to you. The girl is under your skin.” I shoot him a look, and he shrugs. “You knew it would happen someday. The daddy games are just hot fun. You need to relax about it. College is for experimenting. Little bit isn’t the only one learning about her sexuality. You look all placid on the surface, but beneath you’ve got some hidden depths, my friend. Let your freak flag fly, I say.”

“I spanked my little sister’s best friend!”

Shane gets up in my space. “You need to let that ‘but she’s my littles sister’s best friend’ shit die. It’s getting old. All three of us know it doesn’t mean dick to you when you’re hard, so stop trying to guilt yourself out of this or you’re going to make her feel ashamed too.”

I clench my jaw. That is the last thing I want. “I hate it when you’re right, douchebag.”

“You must be unhappy a lot then.”

We leave the kitchen together, and Aylie throws herself in my path. “Happy Halloween, Fletcher.”

“Looking good, Aylie. I like the hot nurse thing,” Shane tells her, and I pull a face at him.

“Just because you have a girlfriend doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t appreciate hot chicks in costumes,” he says, though I can tell he’s not really paying attention to her. His eyes are on Velma across the room. Just like mine.

“You have a girlfriend?” Aylie asks. “The same girl from last time?”

“Yeah,” I tell her. And I mean it. Something just happens in my heart when I make eye contact with Penelope. “We’re pretty serious now.”

Shane grabs me in a fake headlock. “My bro is a goner.”

“Shut up, dick.” I pull away from him. “Catch you later, Aylie. We need to go home now.”

I pull Shaggy with me across the room to where our woman is still talking to Jones. “You lost your chance, bro,” I tell him and lean down and kiss her in front of everyone. “She’s my girlfriend. You ready to go home, Penelope?”

She chews her lip, her eyes wide, and then breaks into the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on her. “I am. I’ve been ready for a while.”

We get just outside the door when she stops me. “I feel like I need to tell you something.”