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“No, Lauren lied. I just didn’t correct her.”

“Which is basically lying.”

“You’re actually wrong about that,” Jordy says without skipping a beat. “If you look up the dictionary definition, you won’t see a word about staying silent. You can’t just lump one term in with another because you think they’re equally morally wrong, now, can you, Skye?”

“Seems to me like you’re using semantics to get away with something you know is immoral.”

“You told me once you liked my moral flexibility.”

“If you’re referring to the time we skipped bio to make out in the bathroom—”

“One of my favorite memories.”

“As far as crimes against humanity go, that particular piece of flexibility was victimless.”

“Speaking of flexibility, do you think they ever repaired that tap we broke that day?” I glare at him, and he tugs on my jacket. “Don’t tell me you’ve gone all Goody Two-Shoes on me, Skye. That’s no fun at all.”

I pull away. “You’re irritating me.”

“And you’re cute when you’re irritated.”

It’s fascinating. Before Maya’s reveal, it hadn’t occurred to me how… smug, I suppose, Jordy is. But now I’m aware, it’s all I can see, to the extent where I’m baffled I never noticed earlier. I suppose when you trust someone not to hurt you, red flags look heart-shaped.

To think I’d fancied myself careful then.God,I was barely scraping the surface of how careful I actually need to be.

The team keeps us waiting for what feels like an eternity, until twilight eases into dusk and the trees begin to glitter noticeably. Then, finally, we’re allowed to sit. Sit, but not eat.

“Just chat for a while,” Isaac says. “We won’t be able to pick you up clearly if you have a mouthful of food, and chewing sounds terrible on film.”

Great. So, I’m starving, and we have all this Happy Cow chocolate sitting in front of us teasingly, and we can’t even eat it? They might as well have just gotten us chocolate made from regular old morose cows.

Jordy, at least, doesn’t seem surprised by this. “You look beautiful tonight, Skye,” he says, shaking his head as he talks like he can’t quite believe it. “You’ve always been beautiful, though. I used to look at you and think, huh, that girl is beautiful the way a sunset’s beautiful. You just can’t look away.”

“Oh. How poetic. Thank you, Jordy.”

He looks awfully pleased with himself.

After we finish not eating dinner, Isaac and Wai set me upon a garden swing hanging from a nearby tree, and film some talking-head lines.

“How did you feel when you saw the setup?” Isaac asks.

I make sure to include the question in my answer so it can be used as a voiceover. “When I saw the setup, I was blown away. It wasjustlike our first date, except more magical. The chocolate fondue, the fairy lights… Jordy… it was perfect.”

Isaac winks at me. “You’re getting good at this,” he says.

“Practice.”

We take a break after this to plan the next shots and review the footage they’ve got. I stay on the swing, and Jordy lowers himself beside me. He leans forward and gently tugs on the length of my hair. “I’m so glad you decided to grow this out,” he says. “It’s so… feminine now.”

My fingers trail unconsciously to it. “I’ve been meaning to cut it again,” I lie.

“You should consider keeping it.”

I blink, and shift in place. “I don’t remember you having a problem with it short?”

“Not when we were kids. But you’re… a woman now, right?” He laughs at himself. “Did that come out corny?”

Cornyisn’t the word I’d use, no. “I see.”