Fifteenth Summer

f i f t e e n

That was the thing about living in a house full of women (and one not-exactly-macho accountant). Boys were a complete mystery to me. My main impression from my friends with brothers and/or boyfriends was that boys were always hungry. And in those rare, satiated moments when they weren't dreaming about food, they were obsessed with sex.

Which was a step up from middle-school boys, I guess. They'd seemed to devote most of their energy to coming up with new fart or burp jokes.

So when Killian dashed, I didn't know if "Hold on a minute" meant, "I'll be right back" or "Nice talking to you. Off to mingle with other cute girls now. Don't wait up!"

He was taking a long time at the refreshment table, which was pretty much a disaster by then. He poked around the wet napkins, crushed chips, half-empty soft drink bottles, and discarded paper plates.

I scanned the party for my sisters. It was hard to find anybody among the lanterns, but I finally spotted Regina leaning back against the railing on the other side of the dock. Pressed up really close to her was Robin. He had one arm wrapped around her waist, and he seemed to be aiming his lips for her neck.

Regina laughed and shoved him away—but not very far away. And she didn't seem annoyed that this guy was trying to kiss her in front of fifty strangers.

I was, though. She'd just met the guy! Okay, re-met him, but still. Your first kiss with someone new should be at least a little private, right?

Ruby clearly agreed with me, because suddenly she appeared at Gina's side. She gave Robin a quick, insincere smile before she tugged Gina away.

I watched them tuck their heads together for a quick conference. Surely Ruby wanted to leave.

But it looked like Gina wanted to stay.

And me?

Well, that depended. I returned my gaze to the refreshment table and felt my heart sink.

Killian wasn't there.

I searched the rest of the party, squinting to try to find him in the sea of lights. At that moment I couldn't remember what he was wearing. All I could picture was his shy, sheepish smile.

Like he was sort of nervous/excited to see me.

Until, maybe, he realized that girls like Milah found him irresistible, and going on a "food run" had become incredibly important.

I ground my teeth in frustration and looked down at my feet. Even in the dim light I could still see my blue shoes and turquoise toenails. They were so bright, they practically glowed. And yet they'd been planted in one spot for most of the night, waiting. Waiting for my sisters, waiting for Killian.

Well, I wasn't going to wait anymore. I started to head over to Ruby and Gina. I was going to poke my head into their little conference and announce, "That's it. We're leaving!"

And really, really hope they listened to me.

But just as I started across the dock, I heard a voice.

"Emma!"

I whipped around to see Killian standing right where he'd left me. He held two red plastic cups and, in the crook of his arm, a bowl of pretzel rods.

He held one of the cups out.

"I got you something to drink," he said formally.

I smiled tentatively and walked back to him. He'd braved the gross refreshments table to get me a drink. And snacks! Nobody had ever gotten me drinks and snacks at a party before, except maybe my dad. It seemed like such a grown-up thing to do!