Elodie swallowed. “Thanks for the coffee, Levi. I’ll see you at the center.” With one last, inscrutable look my way, she flew out the door toward her waiting friends.

Lucy, Levi, and I watched as two sedans made their way to the main road.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I said, even though I was secretly thrilled he did. “You would have had fun with them.”

“I’d rather have fun with you,” Levi said with a shrug. “And we can make plans to go to Bangor whenever.” He surprised me by cupping my cheek in front of Lucy. “Honestly, it wouldn’t matter that much to me even if we didn’t go.” His thumb idly caressed the bottom of my jaw. “I’m fine right here.”

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Lucy quietly slipping away. I leaned forward so we could meet halfway across the counter, and pecked Levi’s lips. “You’re sweet,” I murmured, gently butting his nose with mine.

“Sweet on you,” he said, and it was so corny that I dissolved into giggles. But not before I kissed him soundly.

sixteen

The next morning, I woke up to an iMessage from Chad saying he’d broken up with Penny overnight. My fingers flew over the keyboard: Why?????

The response came immediately. You were right.

I didn’t want to crow. I didn’t feel victorious. Nothing about it felt good.

The sun scorched my back as I made the short jog to the pier, where the last stragglers of Penny’s never-ending party were leaving. Their red, bleary eyes avoided meeting my face, although I got a couple of “Hey, Babe” mumbles and tired nods. Like a line of ants, they all trailed from Penny’s houseboat.

I cringed at the heavy, musty smell of weed. “Penny?” I picked my way over a pile of clothes and flattened cans of beer. “You decent?”

I couldn’t give up on my friendship with Penny, despite her anger and accusations at the pageant a few days ago. I would give it another try. It wasn’t hard to guess why she’d erupted that day. Seeing me there with Lucy and Lorcan must have made her realize that I wasn’t as alone as she thought I would be without her. This time, she was the one who didn’t have me or Chad. I hoped that revelation would make her more open to talking things out with me.

The galley kitchen was speckled with red sauce, and the empty jar of Ragu and random pieces of spaghetti on the floor made me think someone had had a late-night craving for pasta.