Cover

Morgan Matson

New York Times bestselling author

Take Me Home Tonight

A Novel

New York Times bestselling author

Morgan Matson

Meanwhile, Back In Connecticut

Road Sign: Interstate 90

She's out of her depth. They're up past their bedtime…

Title Page

Dedication

For Maux, Sarah, and Derick TCMC forever

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Justin!I

Thank you to Emily van Beek, my brilliant agent. And many thanks to the entire Folio team—Elissa Alves, Melissa Sarver White, Katherine Odom-Tomchin, and Madeline Froyd.

I’m beyond grateful to get to work with the best of the best at Simon & Schuster, my home for the last decade. Thank you to Chrissy Noh, Alyza Liu, Anne Zafian, Anna Jarzab, Lisa Moraleda, Jenica Nasworthy, Devin MacDonald, Chava Wolin, Christina Pecorale, Michelle Leo, and Jon Anderson. And thank you to Lucy Ruth Cummins, the genius cover designer I’m so lucky to work with. You knocked it out of the park again!

Thank you so much to Anna Carey, Jennifer E. Smith, Jenny Han, Adele Griffin, and Diya Mishra. And a big hug to Rebecca Serle, my write or die, who kept me on track during the first draft.

This book exists because of a conversation I had with my brilliant friend Siobhan Vivian, as we drove across Western Pennsylvania. Thank you for your early encouragement, brainstorming help, and fifteen years of friendship.

Thank you to my family—Jane Finn, Jason Matson, Katie Genereux, and Catherine Matson.

And finally, I would not have been able to write this book—or get through this year—without Maurene Goo, Sarah Enni, and Derick Tsai. Thank you for the text thread that is my lifeline, the conversations, the boba and fried chicken deliveries, the pizza and rosé nights, the movies and the hangs. You’re the best, fronds.

I. Jus-tin Chan-da! (Clap, clap, clap, clap.) What can I even say? As ever, there is no book without you. I would be lost without your patience and brilliance and good humor during the hardest time. Let’s not revise books in a pandemic ever again, deal? Thank you for everything—I’m the luckiest author ever to get to work with you. (Also, you were right about the footnotes but I couldn’t leave the book without just one, mwahahahaha.)

PART ONE 1:30 p.m.–4:15 p.m.

All those theater kids

With bigger dreams than this auditorium can hold

Kiss me after curtain call

I’ll wait for you backstage.

—The Henry Gales

CHAPTER 1

By the time the bell rang, I was already halfway out the door.

I didn’t look behind me as I hustled down the hallway of Stanwich High School, knowing I was missing last-minute assignments and instructions, but at the moment, not caring.