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HARRY

“Oh my God! I can’t believe you squirted his lube on your shirt!”

“It’s not like I meant to do it!”

Madeline laughed so loud I had to shush her—while not trying to laugh myself—until the sound of it floated away on the night summer breeze.

“I’m sorry,” she giggled. “But the question begs to be asked: why on earth were you in Dean’s bathroom playing with his lube?”

“I… I… I have no idea,” I stammered as I lied. “I guess I hadn’t seen that brand of lube before and—”

“Wait. You’re an expert in lube brands?” She grinned mischievously. “Harry Dalton, clearly you’re a man of many talents.”

My face went red again.

I had rushed out of Andy’s place ten minutes earlier. I was so embarrassed in front of Dean I didn’t even say goodbye to him, let alone try to explain why there was a splodge of his lube on my shirt… in front of his father… who was also my best friend!

I figured it was easier to just throw down a smoke bomb and vanish.

I was halfway out the door when Madeline called after me—“Harry, wait! Would you mind walking me home?”

I exhaled, paused, and knowing it was the right thing to do I said, “Of course.”

It was already dark outside. Mulligan’s Mill was probably the safest place to live in the whole nation, but I still knew all too well that regardless of how safe a town might be, it was a gentleman’s duty to walk a lady home.

Madeline caught up with me on the road.

She slipped her hand through the crook of my arm.

She rested her head against my shoulder, and I felt my back stiffen.

I think she felt it too, because she lifted her head off me and asked, “So what exactly is that stain on the front of your T-shirt? I have to know.”

“Do you?”

“Yes. I like getting to know you. Tell me everything… starting with that stain,” she giggled.

I didn’t want to tell her everything , but I figured I needed to own up to the mess in Dean’s bathroom, no matter how humiliating it was. I huffed out a sigh. “If you must know, I saw his bottle of lube in the bathroom, and it said it was peach-flavored on the label and…”

“And you wanted to taste some peaches?”

“No! Not taste it. I just… I don’t know what I was thinking. Clearly, I’m regretting the whole thing now.”

Madeline laughed. “Oh my God! I can’t believe you squirted his lube on your shirt!”

“It’s not like I meant to do it!”

I couldn’t help but laugh myself.

She stopped walking for a moment, and with a slight sway of her head she said, “Harry, would you like to go out with me sometime?”

I stopped. Kinda blanked out for a second. Then said, “Oh!”

She laughed. “That’s neither a yes nor a no.”

“Sorry. I’m… I wasn’t expecting… You’ve taken me by surprise with that one. I don’t get asked out on dates very often. Actually… never.”

“We don’t have to go out. We can have dinner at my place. Or yours. Whatever you like.”

I wanted to say no .

I wanted to say no, I’m in love with Dean and he doesn’t even know it.

Instead, the people-pleasing words that fell out of my mouth were, “Sure. Yeah.”

Madeline smiled. “Great! How about Tuesday night? Say, seven o’clock? You wanna come over to my place? I can cook you something nice.”

I smiled. “Sure!” But internally I was spiraling into a panic.

What if she was already planning something intimate and romantic?

What if she was going to light candles?

What if she played music for slow dancing?

I’d be completely at her whim if I went to her place.

I jumped in and quickly changed the narrative in my head. “Actually, I’d like to cook for you at my place… if that’s okay. I don’t get a chance to cook for two very often. Whaddaya say?”

She gave an easy-natured shrug. “Sure, sounds great. I love a man who can cook.”

And all I could think was—

Why couldn’t she be Dean?