“Oh. Did you . . .”

When she didn’t finish her sentence, I looked over and followed her gaze. On the bench, the two from our astronomy class looked like they were about to practice making babies right then and there.

“Now that is an interesting form of stargazing,” I said.

She watched them for a couple of more moments, her eyes wide like she was trying to figure out exactly what they were doing. Which was obvious. There was a lot of tongue involved.

I poked her with my pen.

“What?”

“Nothing. It’s just that . . .” I had no idea how to say this. “You’re watching them like . . . you’ve never seen a couple do that before.”

“I am?”

I nodded. “So unless you were raised in a convent, I imagined you’ve been in a lap a time or two, right?”

“No, I haven’t!” She cringed, focusing over the cornstalks. “I mean, I haven’t been in a guy’s lap.”

A grin teased at my lips. “What about a girl’s lap?”

Her mouth dropped open. “What? No!”

I smiled broadly, picturing her in a girl’s lap and that wasn’t a bad image. Made even better when I pictured her in my lap, though. “I was joking, Avery.”

Her chin jutted out stubbornly. “I know, it’s just that . . .”

“What?” I poked her arm with the pen again. “You what?”

“I’ve never been in a relationship.”

Never? Never as in ever? No way.

Clutching her notebook, she glanced at me. “What? It’s not a big deal.”

I opened my mouth, said nothing. I blinked and then shook my head as I tipped my head back, staring at the sky. “You’ve never been in a relationship?”

“No.”

“Nothing?”

“That’s what no means.”

I had no idea what to say. “How old are you?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m nineteen.”

“And you haven’t been in a single relationship?”

“No. My parents . . . they were strict.” She swallowed. “I mean, really strict.”

“I can tell.” I tapped the pen on the notebook, beyond curious, like obsessively curious as to how someone as pretty as Avery made it this far without ever being in a relationship “So have you gone on a date or anything?”

A deep sigh emanated from her. “I thought we were supposed to be mapping stars?”

“We are.”

“No, we’re not. All I have is a scribbly line and you have nothing.”

“That scribbly line is between the Delta and Gamma.” I leaned over, connecting the dots. “Here is the Theta and this is the Alpha—brightest star. See, we are halfway done.”

She frowned, slowly shaking her head as she turned her gaze to the sky. While she was distracted, because I was done with the astronomy shit, I leaned in further, my shoulder pressing into hers as I finished the map, completing our homework assignment.

I turned my head. “Now we’re done mapping stars . . .” Our faces were inches apart, and I heard the soft inhale of breath. She didn’t move away, and my smile went up a notch. “See? That wasn’t hard.”