“Yeah. Why not?” It’s dark, so I can’t be sure, but I think his cheeks are a little red. Gesturing back toward the house, he tacks on, “But also, I’m sure the guys on the team will throw a bunch more parties like this one. It’ll be chill. You should come.”
“Maybe.”
“Sounds like a no.”
“Parties aren’t really my scene.”
“What is yourscene, then?”
I shrug noncommittally.
“Come on. That’s all I get? A shrug?” Sighing, he shakes his head. “Josephine Valentine. Always so mysterious.”
A scoff pops out. “I’m not even slightly mysterious.”
“Then tell me something about yourself. What do you like to do? You know, when you aren’t boycotting fun parties and kicking ass at beer pong.”
“Um…”
“Don’t overthink it. Just spit it out.”
“Sailing,” I blurt abruptly. “I like sailing.”
“That’s cool. You have your own boat?”
“Yeah, a 20-foot Alerion. She’s fast, but also small enough for me to take her out single-handed.” I smile at the thought of my most prized possession, bobbing at her slip back home. “It was a sixteenth birthday present from my parents.”
“Most girls probably would’ve preferred a convertible.”
“I guess.” I shift against the stone, uncomfortable. “But I usually get a ride everywhere with Archer, since he lives right next door. I wouldn’t have much use for a car of my own.”
“Right, I forgot. You and Reyes.” He sighs. “You’ve been his little shadow for as long as I can remember. Before he joined the team, I don’t think I’d ever seen him without you by his side.”
I’m not sure what to say to that, so I don’t say anything at all. We lapse into silence. It’s not an uncomfortable one, though. Just the sound of the waves and the thudding of my pulse, beating a bit too fast inside my veins.
“So what’s the deal with you two, anyway?” Ryan asks suddenly.
“Me and Archer?” I squeak. “There’s nodeal. We’re just friends.”
“Uh huh.”
“You don’t sound very convinced.”
He shrugs. “Just not sure I buy it.”
“Buy what?”
“That a guy and a girl can ever really bejustfriends.”
Feeling brave, I nudge his shoulder with mine. “What about you and me — we’re friends now, aren’t we?”
He’s silent for such a long beat, I begin to regret my words.Damn. Maybe I overshot. Maybe I misread this entire situation. Maybe he’s just a nice guy taking pity on the weird loner girl at the party and—
“What if I said I didn’t want to just be your friend, Valentine?”
My mouth gapes in shock at his question. I blunder with fragments of disbelief and incomprehension, trying to cobble them into a single coherent thought… trying to figure out what I’m supposed to do next.
Ryan doesn’t seem confused. Not at all. He’s following a script no one bothered to share with me — looking into my eyes, leaning closer. So close, I can smell the beer on his breath, can see the freckles dotted across the bridge of his nose.