“Mistakes were made,” he said, the corners of his mouth lifting. Then he grew more serious and added, “Let’s just say I was trying to be someone I used to be.”

I raised an eyebrow.

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “A year ago, I would’ve loved this. I would’ve been the one turning the music all the way up. I would’ve been the one showing up with tequila and making everyone take shots. But now it all just seems—I don’t know.” He sighed. “Pointless, I guess. Now it’s like I don’t even understand any of them anymore, like we exist on different planets. I’ve moved on.”

That was how I felt too. Everyone pretending to be somebody else, everyone trying to lose themselves. What Elise and I had was different, I thought. What we had was real. I couldn’t understand why she’d choose anything over me.

“But it’s easier, sometimes,” Jack continued. “To try and be the guy you were. Everyone liked that guy, everyone thought he was fun to be around.” He didn’t sound angry, only sad.

I looked at him more closely this time, really trying to place him, but still couldn’t. His eyes were dark and soulful, betraying what had to be a deliberately crafted appearance of someone carefree, maybe the person he used to be. Maybe he wasn’t like them after all, maybe he understood.

He turned toward me, and when our eyes made contact for the second time, my heart did skip a beat.

“Hey, do you want to get out of here?” Jack said. I hesitated and glanced at the Pink Caddy. Elise really wasn’t coming back for me.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said, shaking my head a little to clear it. “Yeah, let’s get out of here.” I thought briefly about going to the football field again, but even if I did go, Elise would just give me a quick hug and spend the rest of the night making sure everyone else had a good time.

Inflexible, that’s what she’d called me.

Jack stood up, offering a hand.

A little uptight.

“Let’s go,” I said.

• • •

Jack had a motorcycle. He saw the apprehension on my face when he passed me a spare helmet.

“This your first time? Don’t worry, I’ll go slow and steady. Just hold on to me.” At first, I held on to his sides gingerly, my fingers barely touching his Superman tee, which made Jack laugh. “You can also hold the bar behind you, but it’s less comfortable.” I placed my hands, then arms, around him, and it hit me—I was really doing this. I’d never been on a motorcycle. I’d never left with someone I’d just met.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Have you ever been to Morgan Falls?”

“No.”

“It’s basically my favorite place.”

We passed by the school, then merged onto the highway. For twenty minutes we rode in silence, the bright overhead lights of 400 flying past us. His body was warm, hot even, despite the chill from the wind all around us. I wondered if he could feel my heart pounding against his back. I didn’t dare breathe too much, afraid I’d somehow cause us to tip over.