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“Wanna come with?” he offered. “There’s still room.”

“I wish,” Keisha said with a sigh. “Halloween is a big day for us out on the farm. I’ll be in a corn maze all night, making little kids pee their pants.”

Cameron chuckled. “That sounds fun too.”

“It can be.” Keisha walked with him across the stage as they headed for the exit. “Just not as fun as a haunted house. Although, if you have room for one more, you could always invite Mindy.”

“Oh yeah?” Cameron asked, unsure what Mindy had to do with anything. “That could work. I’m going with Anthony Cullen and Omar Jafari. She knows them already. Oh, and little Ricky too. He’s a freshman,” he added after she shook her head in confusion. “They’re in the same journalism class, come to think of it. She’ll fit right in.”

“That’s nice,” Keisha said, “but I think Mindy will be most excited to go with you.”

“Really?” Cameron asked in surprise. Then he saw the meaningful expression. “Oh.”

“Unless you’re not interested,” Keisha said. “If not, it’s fine. I can let her know ahead of time.”

Cameron eyed her. “This conversation didn’t happen by chance, did it?”

“Nope,” Keisha said with an easy laugh. “I’m supposed to find out if you like her or not.”

“We don’t know each other that well,” he said lamely.

“But do you want to get to know her better?” Keisha pressed.

“Mindy is really pretty,” Cameron said, feeling like he was trying to escape quicksand. “And nice, so she isn’t the issue.”

“But you are?” Keisha asked.

Cameron snapped his mouth shut. He hated this. In an ideal world, he would simply explain that he was into guys, they’d laugh about it, and the subject would never come up again. He didn’t want to lie, but even tiptoeing around the issue was enough to rouse suspicion. Keisha already had a funny look on her face.

“This is the second time we’ve done this,” she said. “Remember last year?”

“Oh. Right.”

“Angela Simmons,” Keisha said anyway. “You didn’t want to go out with her either, even though most guys were—and still are—desperate to catch her eye. Why is that?”

“Because she gets straight As?” Cameron joked.

“No, why weren’tyouinterested in her? If there’s a reason, I’m exactly the sort of person you can trust. At the very least, it’ll give me something to think about while I’m standing in the middle of a corn maze tonight.”

“I thought that was tomorrow?”

“It’s both nights. Are you determined to avoid the question? We can have a heart-to-heart, right here if you want. I’d welcome the excuse to be late.”

He was tempted to tell her. The worst that could happen is that she wouldn’t approve. But then she also wouldn’t approach him with another offer like this again. If he only had himself to consider, his answer might have been different. Instead he tried making another joke. “Maybe I’ll show up at your farm for a therapy session later.”

“Hmm,” Keisha said, not giving him any more material to work with.

“I’ll ask Mindy if she wants to go with us,” Cameron said, “but it won’t be a date. That would be weird with the other guys around.”

“You can get to know each other better and take it from there,” Keisha said, pulling out a folded piece of paper. Once he took it, she picked up the pace. “See you next week,” she called over her shoulder. “Have fun!”

“You too,” Cameron murmured.

He unfolded the paper. Along with Mindy’s name and number was a drawing of a heart. Great. Then again, Halloween was the perfect time for pretending to be something that you weren’t.

CHAPTER 27

October 30th, 1992