“She was cranky,” Penny said softly. “But Scotty’s so good with her. He calmed her right down. And yes, we kissed that night, but we didn’t do anything else at your house. You don’t have to sanitize your couches.”

“Scotty,” Josie, Gemma, and Crystal said in unison.

Penny rolled her eyes. She sat forward and lowered her voice, and everyone leaned in. “Can we keep this on the down low? Just between us girls? I don’t know what this is yet. Scott said he’d wanted to ask me out for a while. And honestly, I’ve been into him for a while, too, but he’d always kept his distance, so I thought he wasn’t interested. It turns out he thought Quincy and I might get together. I was cockblocked by my best guy friend, and he wasn’t even trying.”

“We all thought you two would get together because you’re such good friends,” Sarah said.

“I know.” Penny looked at Roni and said, “But it was never like that. So…girl code?” Penny asked.

“Of course. Consider the girl code enacted.” Dixie looked around the table and said, “Nobody says a word outside of this table. That includes you, Roni. You’re one of us now, so you can’t tell Quincy.”

It felt good to be included. Roni had never been part of a group outside of dance, and those groups weren’t built on friendships that went any deeper than sharing a common goal. But as much as she wanted to be part of their girls’ club, she didn’t want to lie to Quincy, so she said, “I won’t say anything, but what if he saw them? What if he asks? I don’t want to lie to him.”

“Actually, Quincy already knows,” Penny said. “That’s why I wanted to talk to him before. I thought he’d be hurt if I didn’t tell him first, and just so you know, I told him he could tell you, Roni, as long as he swore you to secrecy. But he already knew. Apparently Scott talked to him last week and said he was into me. Bro code and all that. But you’re right, Roni, Quincy would be hurt if you lied to him. Honesty is important to him.”

“Following the girl code isn’t lying,” Dixie said sharply. “Quincy knows that.”

“She’s right,” Finlay chimed in. “The same way our guys can’t talk to us about what happens in that clubhouse out back. It’s the same thing, only we’re in control.”

As they talked about what constituted lying, Tracey said, “I’m really happy for you and Quincy, and Penny, I’m happy for you and Scott, too. But I swear I must have a black cloud over my head. Not that I want a man in my life, but I escaped an abusive jerk, finally found my footing, and while you guys are falling into happily ever afters, I can’t even get tips because Diesel scares them all away.”

“The only reason Diesel scares them off is because he wants to eat you alive,” Izzy said.