“Hey, brother,” he says, sounding like he’s in a jovial mood. “Glad to hear from you.”

“You are?” I ask.

“Very.”

Okay, something’s going on, because this is not the usual Mika.

So because I have very little time, I ask, “What’s going on? Why do you sound happy?”

“Oh, just got done talking to my good friend Denise. She went and told me that you and Scottie are having a good time at camp.”

“Did Scottie call Denise?”

“Oh yes, she did.”

“What did she say?” I ask so quickly that it sounds like one giant word all smushed together.

“Oh, just that you two made out.”

Well, news travels fast, that’s for damn sure. That’s what she was doing instead of going to the bathroom like she said she was—she called Denise, just like I called Mika. I’d be amused if I wasn’t so irritated.

My voice comes out stern as I say, “Tell me everything she said.”

“No ‘How are you? How are you doing? Everything okay over there?’”

“Mika, you know I don’t have a lot of time on these phone calls. You good?”

“I’m good.”

“Okay, then tell me everything.”

He chuckles and says, “Just that she was freaking out that you guys kissed and that she really liked it and that she thinks you’re really hot, and Denise called her out on having a crush on you.”

I feel like a crazy man, because what?

“Wait, so she was freaking out about the kiss?”

“She was. Big time. Why? Is she acting differently?”

“Uh, yeah. Really fucking differently, as if the kiss didn’t even affect her in the slightest.”

“Oh, it affected her. Pretty sure she used the word ‘throbbing’ when talking to Denise.”

Throbbing?

That liar!

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I say as I shake my head. “Jesus, here I was thinking that she couldn’t care less about it, but in reality, she was throbbing.”

“I heard there was a lot of throbbing.”

A lot?

I mean…that does make me feel better.

“Well…fuck.”

I drag my hand over my face.

“What are you going to do about it?” Mika asks.

“I don’t know. What do you want me to do about it?”

“You want my honest opinion?”

“Yeah, I really do,” I say, feeling lost, confused, on edge.

Mika chuckles again. “Brother, listen carefully, okay? I want you to show my best friend a good fucking time. The best fucking time you can give her. She needs it.”

“Really? You think I should?”

“I know you should.”

“And you’re okay with that?”