“I lived in Florida my whole life until now. It’s a huge change, but I’m happy about it,” I say. The truth is, I’m cool with never going back to Florida as long as I live. The only fond memories I have of the place are with Becca, and she can just come visit me in Cali instead.

“I can show you around if you want,” he says. “There’s some cool stuff out here. We’re a little limited ’cause I don’t have a car, but there’s still some awesome stuff, especially if you like the outdoors.”

I do not, in fact, like the outdoors. Bugs, wet grass, spotty cell service? Yeah, sounds like a living nightmare. But it could be cute to do some outdoorsy things with a date. Maybe a short hike or a field of flowers or stargazing in the moonlight.

I smile. “Sure, I’d like that.”

He smiles back. “My friends are doing a bonfire tonight if you want to go.”

Oh, bonfires are sexy. Definitely in.

I’ve never been to a bonfire before, so I already feel like I’m leveling up. Not only is this one of those cutesy events that only really exist in old Taylor Swift songs, but it’s perfect for getting some more shots for the Diary.

When we get our food, I scarf mine down, and Drew’s eyes widen like he didn’t realize it was physically possible for me to eat that much. When I was younger, my mother always used to say that you shouldn’t eat too much when you’re getting to know a guy—if he thinks you have a big appetite, he won’t want to date you. It only seems fair that now that I’m old enough to make my own decisions, I do the exact opposite.

“I’m glad you interviewed to work at the store, even if you didn’t get the job,” Drew says, and I freeze, duck grease dripping down my chin.

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah,” he says. “I’m glad I met you. Like, actually met you. Being a fan of the blog doesn’t count.”

I smile because how do you not smile about something like that?

“And I’m glad you’ll be my date for the bonfire.”

I freeze. “Wait,” I say, because we have to play this right. Steps one and two were simple, but was last night the first date or would that be the bonfire? I guess it really depends what I consider to be the Invitation, which, for Diary purposes, was when he suggested the fake date, but that can’t count as a real Invitation because that was obviously staged. The bonfire could be the second date, but that would mean we never had a proper Consultation, which could really screw us over in the long run. . . .

“Noah?” he says.