Page 3 of Sunkissed Colorado

“Hell, no.”

Her mouth opened on a belly-laugh. “That’s what I thought. It’s really okay. I promise. I don’t wanna hang out with people who don’t like my best friend.” Jessa slurped foam from her can.

I dug the toe of my Chuck Taylor into the soft dirt. “That’s sweet of you.”

“Plus Leo’s going to the bonfire, and he’s mad at me.”

“Why?”

“Just…stupid sibling stuff. Trust me, you don’t want to know the gory details.”

Leo was a year younger than us and far more popular. I knew that bothered Jessa. How her brother was having the wild and crazy high school experiences she didn’t. He wasn’t a football player, but he had the cheerleader girlfriend and that cocky swagger. She loved him, though. Jessa and Leo had always been close. I was surprised they’d fought at all, but they’d probably make up in no time.

“What about your super-secret guy?” I prompted. “Didn’t you want to meet up with him?”

Her smile turned smug. “We still might.”

“Wait, what?”

She chewed her lip. “He said he’d text me later. He’s at the bonfire right now because his friends expect it. But he knows we’re at the creek, and he said he’d come hang out. He really wants to see me.”

“Won’t you just tell me who your crush is? He’s not Tommy Pickering, right? Because ew. We shouldn’t have secrets from each other.”

Jessa’s expression did something complicated. “I don’t want to keep secrets from you, Z, but some secrets aren’t mine to tell.”

Wait, were we still talking about her crush?

I laid my head on her shoulder. “Pleeeease tell me his name? This mystery is killing me. I’ll be your best friend,” I sing-songed.

Jessa laughed, seeming to shake off whatever had been bothering her. “You’re already my BFF. But I just don’t want to jinx this yet. I don’t want you to tell me you hate him.”

“Mehate someone?” I asked innocently.

She elbowed me. “He’s not the love of my life or anything. I just don’t want to go to college a virgin next year.”

“So what? I’m a virgin.”

“By choice. You’re so gorgeous, Z. Your long, straight hair and your eyes. Guys are always into you, but they’re just too intimidated to do anything about it.”

“Shut up. You’re way prettier than me. I want blond curls and an angel face like you.”

“Youshut up.”

We cackled. “Fine, we’re both gorgeous supermodels,” I said, “and we’ll be breaking hearts left and right in Denver next year.” Because we’d be heading off to college in the city. We didn’t know yet where we’d get accepted, but we’d applied only to Denver schools so we’d be together. Jessa would become a kindergarten teacher, while I was going for a business major.

That was all that mattered to me. Jessa and I would escape this small-town prison. She was the only thing about Silver Ridge that I truly cared about, aside from my family and all.

Jessa made a worried face. “It’s going to be so different in college.”

I held up my beer like I was making a toast. “Let’s promise to always be friends. We’ll always find a way to be in each other’s lives, no matter what.”

Jessa tapped her beer against mine. “Friends forever.”

“Friends forever.”

We sipped and relaxed for a while. Talked more about next year. The beer went straight through me, creating a pleasant buzz in my head. Even though my stomach was less happy about it. I’d been having a lot of stomach aches lately.

“I’ll be right back, okay?” I said. “Need to pee.”