“Fair play,” I laughed. “But it’s the endings that bother me with rom-coms. You know, where they get together or get married or whatever and you’re supposed to think it’s happily ever after but you never see the sequel where the guy dumps her for her best friend or the girl gets sick of picking up skidmarked pants from the bedroom floor.”

“That would be a terrible movie.” Ruby’s eyes twinkled. I think she thought my unbridled cynicism was funny. It made my cheeks warm.

“So you said you were staying the summer?” I said casually.

“Until September.” She nodded. “My family are away, but they didn’t want me staying alone all summer.”

That was strange. If they didn’t want her being alone, why didn’t they just bring her with them? But their loss. I could keep her company for the summer. I was capable of spending a few weeks with a pretty girl and not needing to kiss her again. I wasn’t some kind of sex pest.

“I’m glad you came tonight,” she said, changing the subject. I watched her lips as she spoke. “You came late, but you came.”

“I probably should have mentioned I was going to.”

“But you didn’t decide until the last minute.” It wasn’t a question. Her teeth toyed with her lip ring, twisting her bottom lip. She pushed her hair from one side of her head to the other with her fingers.

“Sort of.”

“So what made you come?”

I thought we could hang out. I wanted to be friends.

“I wanted to kiss you again.”

For some reason I let the truth out. Even though I hadn’t admitted to myself until now that although we barely knew each other I felt like there was some kind of intangible connection, a grabbing, reaching, searching feeling that meant I hadn’t so much chosen to come here as much as I found myself pulled in her direction.

Ruby leaned her elbow on the desk beside her chair and put her fist to her mouth like she was musing on something very serious.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said eventually.

I dipped my head to hide my amusement. I could endure a little teasing.

“So are you and Oliver really friends?” she asked.

“Oh God. No. Absolutely not. I think mortal enemies is a more accurate depiction.”

“And why is that?”

“He stole my girlfriend in second year . . . and technically I dumped him before that, in sixth class. Broke his poor little rich boy heart. He was utterly devastated; I’m sure he’d tell you that. I think he stole my girlfriend as part of a long-game revenge plot. Poor fellow couldn’t handle that once I accepted I was a lesbian I had way more game than him.”

Ruby laughed.

I liked making her laugh.

“I don’t think either of you have game.”