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I escape out the front door. “Riley?” I whisper into the dark.
“Hey.”
I follow his voice, quickly finding him standing behind the tall bushes at the bottom of the porch stairs. “Hey,” I say.
Riley glances over my shoulder at the door to make sure we’re alone. “So, you want to go get that drink now?” he asks.
“What?” I shift back a step. “No, Riley. I don’t want to go get that drink now.”
“Why not?”
“Uh…” I release a nervous chuckle. “Because our parents are getting married in two days.”
He stares, seemingly unbothered by that little tidbit. “So?”
“So?” I repeat. “They’regetting married.Husband and wife. Stepmother and stepfather. Which would makeus…”
I don’t say it.
I’m not sure I even can.
“Step—”
“No,” I say, not wanting to hearhimsay it, either. “Don’t say it. Please don’t say it. It’s just so…”
He smirks. “Hot?”
I grimace. “No! Wrong! It’s wrong!”
“You know, for some people, that’s kind of the appeal,” he jokes.
“This isn’t funny, Riley.”
“Oh, come on. It’s a little funny.”
“No, it’s not.” I cross my arms, giving the neighbor’s houses a quick look to make sure no one’s watching. “This is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“You’ve lived a very fortunate life if that’s true,” he says. “This isn’t that bad, Tish.”
“Well, it feels not good. It’s… it’s not fair.”
“I know.”
“Wejustmet. And last night was...” I pause, truly unable to find a word that covers it. “I really wanted to see you again.”
Riley pauses. “We still can.”
“No, we can’t.”
“So, our parents are getting hitched.” He shrugs. “It has nothing to do with us. It’s not like we grew up together. We met as adults, just like they did.”
“It’s not that simple,” I say. “You don’t understand.”
“Make me understand, then.”
“My mother raised me all by herself,” I say with a sigh. “She came here to Small Town with nothing but a beat-up old car and a bassinet. She was sixteen years old. For as long as I can remember, she’s always put me first. She’s worked so hard,sacrificed so much to give me a good life. And now? Now that she’s finally done something just for her...” I shake my head. “This is her chance to have the family she’s always wanted. So, I’m sorry, Riley, but I can’t take it away from her.”
Riley nods slowly, every word carrying a heavy weight on his shoulders, too. “So, you want to go get that drink now?” he asks again.
