“Good! Okay, all done.” He smiles at me, all dimples and deep-blue eyes and black-framed nerd glasses. He’s at his charming best, and I know it’s because there are things he wants from me, most of which hinge on Homecoming, which is fast approaching. He’s not a bad person. But if he had a trig identity, it would be uncomplicated and easy to memorize. Like A = B. Boy = horny. Homecoming night = score.

As if to prove my theory, he leans over and brushes my hair out of my face and says, “Hey. Have you thought about Homecoming night?”

I lean away from him and move my hair back so it covers the birthmark on my forehead, which I’ve always been self-conscious about. The sweep of hair from my side part keeps it covered nicely.

“We’ll talk about it later, okay?” I say, the irritation in my voice coming through loud and clear. I feel a small stab of guilt for being so prickly about Homecoming, but the pressure of his expectations is getting to me — especially attached as they are to this particular event. I don’t know that there’s anything magical about Homecoming that makes it the night to have sex for the first time. The more I think about it, the more it seems like not the right time. The focus is on friends and partying, obviously. Adding sex to the mix is maybe fine for people who do it all the time or have a casual attitude about it, neither of which describes me. Unsurprisingly, Hunter seems kind of oblivious to this sort of idea. I guess to him sex is the icing on the Homecoming cake.

To be fair, I know it’s not just the “after” on his mind; it’s the “before,” too. He wants to pick me up and greet my family and take photos — the whole formal dance ritual.

I’m happy to go to the football game and the dance with him, but with everything that’s happened in my family in the last year or two, my house has become a no-fly zone — even among my best friends. If Cammie, Syd, and Erin can accept that, then shouldn’t Hunter be able to as well?

“It’s senior year, Zoe.” He turns wounded eyes to me. “We’ve been together a long time. I want to get to know your family better. Your parents must think I’m an asshole.”