The lobby reeked of burnt popcorn and spilled Coke, and it seemed even more crowded than usual for a Saturday night. The place was always full—when you only have one movie theater in your town, that happens—but tonight it was packed, and I suddenly felt a little claustrophobic. “Why?” I asked Ryan as someone bumped into me from behind.

Rolling his shoulders, Ryan stepped a little closer to me. “Because if I’d known I was only going to have a few hours with you, there are a lot of other things I’d rather be doing than watching a movie.”

Maybe it was that unexpected bout of nervousness I’d felt about that very thing earlier. Maybe I was still irritated with my mom and looking for someone to take it out on. Or maybe I was honestly a little pissed off at Ryan. “So, what, if you’d known you’d have to choose between a date and fooling around, you would’ve chosen the latter?”

“Whoa, Harper.” Ryan lowered his voice and looked around us. “Keep your voice down.” Only a few yards away, our old Sunday school teacher, Mrs. Catesby, was buying a box of Junior Mints, and I should have been horrified at the thought that she might have overheard me, but I wasn’t. Not even a little bit.

Ryan, on the other hand, was. “That’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying that I’ve hardly been alone with you since when? Before Homecoming?”

“I’ve been busy,” I insisted, and Ryan rolled his eyes at me.

“Yeah, I know. With school and Cotillion and whatever other stupid shit is more important than your boyfriend.”

I could not believe this was happening. I was fighting with my boyfriend in public. Across the way, I could see Abigail and Amanda, huddled near the ladies’ room. They saw me, too, and as they lifted their hands in greeting, Mary Beth emerged from the bathroom. Her eyes landed on Ryan first, and there was no mistaking the . . . it wasn’t even lust, it was honest to God love, or at least a very deep case of like.

“Don’t call the stuff I do stupid,” I told him, this time pitching my voice near a whisper. I tried to keep my face blank so the other girls wouldn’t be able to tell we were fighting, but they were already heading this way.

“I’m sorry,” Ryan blew out on a long breath. “But, God, Harper, sometimes I feel like your whole life is a checklist, and I am way down at the bottom. And, you know, every once in a while, you throw me a bone to keep me happy.”