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Barrett tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, ignoring the eyes boring into his head from three different directions.

They’d left the house five minutes ago, and none of them had uttered a word.

Not when he got in the car, grinning and flustered. Not when Nell emerged soon after, looking eerily similar. Not when he’d stared in the rearview mirror as she waved goodbye until he couldn’t see her anymore.

When he did finally look away from her, he was met with three twisted stares that he was determined to ignore until they forgot about it.

Except he’d underestimated their nosiness. He could only last so long before the purposeful silence got under his skin.

“Sooo . . .” Toni was the first to break. “Nice clouds out today. Really . . . cloudy.”

“Jesus, fine. Just say it.”

Toni turned his entire body now that he had permission. “What just happened?”

“Thank god I’m not the only one who thought that was weird,” Dennis said and ran a hand over his hair.

“Are we missing something here?” Toni added.

Barrett looked at them, gauging their expression to tell if he would be able to downplay what had happened. But that might be difficult, considering when he himself was driven mad by the memory of what he’d just done.

“Eww, what’s that smile?” Paulie pointed at Barrett, eyes wide. He turned to the other two. “Why is he smiling like that?”

“Spit it out, Barrett, or we’re going to assume you just got handsy with Duncan behind my garage,” Toni said.

Barrett bit his lip. The smile stayed.

“No fucking way.”

“Holy shit.”

“You’re lying.”

Their reactions overlapped, growing more outrageous by the second.

“I didn’t get handsy. I just kissed her.”

The car flew into uproar. Barrett kept his eyes on the road as they merged onto the freeway. It shook a little as Paulie bounced in his seat, with his hands holding his head in disbelief.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Scott fucking Barrett.” Toni clapped slowly, curls swinging as he shook his head. “With Janelle fucking Duncan. Unbelievable.”

“For your information, she confessed her feelings for me.”

“Oh, now I know you’re full of shit.” Dennis kicked the back of Barrett’s seat.

“What kind of voodoo did you whip up for that to happen?” Paulie asked.

“Now, now, gentlemen. Lay off him.” Toni shushed them and turned to Barrett. “So, what, you got the girl?”

Barrett’s eager smugness and still pounding heart slowed slightly. “I mean, I think so?”

“You think so?” Toni laughed and patted him on the shoulder. “Ah, man. The first thing you’d better do when you get back is know so. Good thing patience is a virtue, and you’ve waited almost five years. That’s gotta count for something.”

Minutes passed before they all calmed down and drove the rest of the way. All he had to deal with was a few more classic ribbings and a couple of sideways glances that said: “Damn, Janelle Duncan. Who knew?”

When they weren’t talking anymore, Barrett caught himself also wondering the same thing in the throes of his highway hypnosis, stuck on her sparkling blue eyes and the way he knew her breath caught when he kissed her.

He sighed and wondered: Janelle Duncan. Who knew? Who knew?