City Love(16)

It’s a hole in one.

“Woooo!” I jump around like a maniac. The group behind us cheers.

“How did you do that?” Austin wants to know.

“I can’t reveal my secrets. Then they wouldn’t be secrets anymore.”

Austin places his ball where I put mine to take his shot. “Why does it feel like I’m being hustled?”

“You’re not. That was pure luck. I have no idea what I’m doing. Except, um, I don’t know . . . getting a hole in one on the hardest hole?”

Let’s just say Austin isn’t as lucky. His lead unravels from there. By the time we get to the last hole, I’m up by four points. I end up crushing him.

“You wanted to keep score?” I say. “Bring it.”

Hole eighteen looks simple, but there’s some tricky tilting involved. Austin takes his shot. His ball doesn’t even come close to the hole.

“Now you’re giving up,” I tease. “You’re just falling apart.”

“You didn’t tell me you had mad mini-golf skills. Anyone playing with you would crumble.”

I like that even though Austin is competitive, he’s not a sore loser.

He insists on celebrating my victory as we’re walking down Leroy Street. It’s late enough that there aren’t any cars coming down this little street. We stand in the middle of the street, arms up in Vs for victory.

“Wow,” Austin says.

“What?”

“I didn’t think it was possible to meet someone as dorky as I am.”

“There’s a difference between being dorky and dorktastic.”

“Which one am I?”

“Dorktastic.”

“How can you tell?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Austin lowers his arms. He comes right up to me. I lower my arms and try not to panic. Something is definitely about to happen.

He hugs me. Right here in the middle of Leroy Street. A street that I’ve walked down a million times before. If I had known even one of those times that this scenario would unfold in my future, Leroy Street would have acquired significance of extraordinary proportions way before tonight.

“Thank you for saying that,” Austin says. “Achieving dorktastic status has been a goal of mine for a really long time.”

“Keep dreaming big,” I say against his shoulder. Could I just live here with his arms around me in the middle of the street forever?

Austin pulls away from me a little. “Nope, not done.” He hugs me close to him again.

Could tonight be any more magical? No. No, it could not possibly be.

Eventually we break away from each other. I hate that he’s walking me home because that means I have to go home. But I love that he’s walking me home because it’s the perfect opportunity for him to kiss me.

“This is me,” I say when we get to my building.

“Thanks for destroying me at mini golf,” Austin says.

“Thanks for treating.”

“Thanks for being awesome.”

“Thanks for being dorktastic.”

We’re smiling at each other like complete idiots when the front door of my building flings open. Darcy flies down the steps before she realizes I’m the one awkwardly lingering by the stoop with a boy.

“Hey!” Darcy says. One look at Austin and I can tell she’s dying to know who he is.

“Hot date?” I joke. Because why would Darcy be leaving for a date when I’m getting home from one? It’s after ten.

But Darcy says, “Absolutely,” like she’s serious. The girl is hardcore. I have a feeling I’m about to learn a lot from her.

“Have fun,” I say.

“No doubt.” Darcy takes a last look at Austin before diving into the night.

“That was my roommate,” I tell Austin.

“She seems fun.”

“She is.” We’re smiling at each other like complete idiots again.

“Do you want to go to a party with me tomorrow?” Austin asks. “It’s at my friend Trey’s place in Brooklyn.”

“Totally.” Austin doesn’t need to know that it will only be like the second time I’ve gone to Brooklyn. I feel bad enough that I’ve never been to Jersey City. How far is Jersey City from the West Village? Two miles? Yet it feels like twenty.

“Okay, well . . . I better get going. Can we talk tomorrow about what time I’ll pick you up?”

I’m so relieved that we’re not meeting at the party. Attempting to navigate my way around Brooklyn would be an epic fail. “Yeah. Wait, did I give you my number?”

Austin whips out his phone. “Hit me.”

After my number is securely stored in his phone, we linger awkwardly some more. Is he going to kiss me? Or does he think the first date is too soon?

“See you tomorrow,” he says. Then he hugs me goodbye.

I can wait for our first kiss.

Our first kiss . . . which I’m pretty sure will be happening tomorrow night.

Tomorrow night . . . which I’m pretty sure will be even more magical than tonight.





EIGHT

DARCY


THAT BOY SADIE WAS WITH on our stoop is super cute. She didn’t say anything about having a boyfriend. She doesn’t seem like the casual dating type, but the way they were ogling each other when I came out made it clear that what they have is anything but casual. Sadie better be ready for me tomorrow. I’ll be drilling her for all the hot details.