out?â I asked. âYou could run the leaf blower or something.â
Kathryn looked like the idea had never occurred to her. Before she could answer, her mom yelled up fromthe bottom of the stairs. âKathryn, Brooke, come help me set the table!â
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Kathrynâs mom made an amazing dinner. And no matter what Kathryn said, her dad wasnât corny. It was just obvious he really loved his family, the way he gave her nicknames and wanted to hear about our school stuff. Kathryn blushed all through the meal, and once she told him, âPlease, Dad! Let Brooke eat!â But mostly, the three of them looked really comfortable in their cozy dining room.
When she walked me to the door later on, I asked what she was doing for the rest of the evening.
âI donât know,â she said. âMaybe Matt will come over and watch TV if this online thing heâs hosting ever ends.â
âOf course he will.â
Her face went bright red. âHeâs just a friend.â
âWhatever. Heâs totally in love with you.â As if she hadnât noticed. It was obvious to anybody with eyes. But Kathryn just shook her head.
âAnd Iâm totally changing the subject,â she said. âWhat are you doing tonight?â
âPracticing.â
She sighed. âThatâs what I should be doing.â
âSo do it.â
âBut thereâs TV! And Matt coming over! Why donâtyou stay here and hang out with us?â
âIâve gotta get my hour in. Two if Iâm on a roll.â
âFine, Miss Dedicated.â She handed me my purse and opened the door just as my mom was pulling up. âGo home and practice.â
And I did go. And I did plan on practicing. But then Bud Dawes called, inviting me and the twins, who were home yet again, to a party at his house. I told him no. I couldnât. I had work I needed to do. And he told me Miles Monaghan would be there.
Twenty minutes later I was in my bathroom, trying to follow the directions from InStyle magazine on how to apply blush so as to âminimize unflattering featuresâânamely, my nose.
âDempsey cab service!â Bill hollered from down the hall. âLeaving in five minutes!â
I gave up on the blush and fluffed out my hair the best I could. Then I put on the outfit Iâd picked out: a gold draped sweater, jeans, and heels.
âHey.â Brice poked his head in. He looked me up and down. âYou ready, Brookehilde?â
I took off the heels and put on flats instead.
âReady.â
When we got to Boodawgâs house it wasnât packed, which surprised me because usually his parties are huge. This was a small group. Mostly basketball players and afew other A-listers. Looking around, I felt betterâlike I hadnât skipped out on practicing to go to a big bash or anything, so that made it okay.
What made it even better was Miles, in the kitchen, pumping drinks from a keg under the gourmet island.
âBrooke! Excellent!â He smiled his adorable crooked smile at me. âI told the Big Bs not to bother coming unless they brought you along.â
His bangs kept falling into his eyes, which were this amazing shade of blue. He had on a navy sweater that made them look even bluer. Miles was a senior. A good friend of Billâs and Briceâs. But he was different from the other guys who hung out at our house. Whenever the twins started calling me Amazon or Brookehilde, he would tell them to shut up. And he never called me Baby B. I could tell Miles didnât go for girls who were just pretty. Miles wanted something different. Someone special.
Miles Monaghan, I had decided, would be my first real boyfriend.
I hadnât told anybody about it. Not even Kathryn, which was kind of dumb, because if I was going to tell anybody, it would have been her. Maybe I felt weird because Iâd never had a boyfriend before. Mostly, though, I think it was
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