Page 81 of Notice Me, Jameson Hart

“Anytime.” His expression grows serious again. “But Kevin? Whatever Hart was going to say, you’ll never know unless you ask him directly. Stop waiting for the perfect moment. Learn from my mistakes and talk to him.”

“When are you going to talk to Robbie then?”

“I plan to tell him this weekend. I promise. No more excuses.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You were right. He needs to know sooner rather than later. I’ll sit him down on Saturday and?—”

The door bursts open, and Robbie barrels in. “Guys! Best news ever!”

“Dude! Ever heard of knocking?” Adam grumbles.

Robbie ignores him. “Jameson called. His uncle got a boat—a real boat, not one of those dinky fishing things—and he’s inviting us out on the water this weekend! All of us! You, me, Matthew, Tyler, and Rita!”

My heart gallops. A whole day on a boat with Jameson? I don’t know whether to laugh, cry, or do a rain dance.

“When?” Adam asks.

“Saturday. We’d leave early and spend the whole day out on the water.” Robbie turns to me, grinning. “And get this—Hart specifically asked if you were free. Said he wanted to finish yourconversationfrom that day on the beach.”

Adam shoots me a meaningful look. “Sounds like someone really wants you there.”

“I…yeah, I’m free.”

“Awesome!” Robbie high-fives me, then Adam. “This is going to be epic. Sun, water, good friends. Rita in a bikini…”

“Gross,” I say automatically.

“Oh, and Hart said to bring sunscreen. Lots of it. He’s worried about people burning.” Robbie waggles his eyebrows at me. “Isn’t that thoughtful?”

“Shut up.”

“What? All I’m saying is the guy sounded extremely concerned about skincare.” Robbie plops down on Adam’s bed beside me. “So, what were you two talking about before I interrupted?”

Adam and I exchange glances. This would be the perfect opening for him to bring up Stanford, but he shakes his head slightly.

“Brother stuff,” I say.

“Boring.” Robbie stretches out, taking up most of the bed. “Let’s talk about cooler, more important things. Like, what snacks we should bring on the boat. I’m thinking fruit roll-ups, maybe some chips…”

As Robbie launches into a detailed analysis of optimal boat snacks, I catch Adam’s eye again. He mouths “Saturday,” and I nod. Two conversations that need to happen, both scheduled for the same day.

My phone buzzes.

Jameson

Hope you can make it Saturday. Would love to have you there. Plus, I still owe you the rest of that beach conversation.

I show the text to Adam, who reads it and grins.

“Told you,” he says quietly. “He’s into you.”

“Think so?”

“Know so.” He ruffles my hair. “Now stop overthinking and enjoy it.”

Robbie notices my phone. “Is that Jameson? Tell him I’m bringing my Bluetooth speaker. We need boat tunes.”