Page 53 of Septembers

“Keep at it. You’ll finish a sentence someday.” Her words were dismissive, but she was positively sparkling. She’d done something special and she knew it. “Delete the video.”

“Hear me out.”

“No.”

He was moved, excited, desperate. “Jordan, the world deserves this.”

She gently placed Dottie Hinson on her bed, then twisted towards him again with crossed arms. “You know how I feel about my online presence.”

“I’ll disable the comments. I won’t include your name. I’ll blur your face. Please let me post this.”

She chewed her lip, her leg bouncing under her. “No one will even watch it.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about.”

She rolled her eyes, then circled back and rolled them again for extra effect. “This is so stupid. It was just a dumb song.”

“It was glorious, and you know it. Look what you did to me!” He held out his arm to show her the goosebumps.

She stared at him—hard—for a nerve-wracking eternity, then sighed. “Okay, fine.”

He whooped and immediately went to YouTube.

“Not right now, Theo! I don’t want to see it happen. And don’t tell me if people watch. I’m serious.” Her stern, pointed finger took up the majority of his vision, and he had to swat it away. “Not a word. Or even a smile or hug. I don’t want any body language on the subject.”

“Got it.” He crawled off the couch-bed and threw on his coat.

“You’re leaving? We haven’t finished the movie.”

“It’s a romcom, Jordan. Spoiler alert: They overcome whatever is standing between them and live happily ever after. Goodnight, Rockstar.”

Her eyes rolled again. It was possible Jordan had the strongest eye muscles on the planet. “Bye, Current Best Friend.”

༻𓆪 𓆩༺

Dae was back by the time Theo got home. He, Jason, and Caleb sat around the kitchen table picking at nachos. The open windows did little to air out the smell of burnt cheese.

“A gathering. Perfect.” Theo took out his phone, his blood still pumping on overdrive. “You guys need to see something.”

Caleb offered the plate to him as he sat. The nachos were soggy, but whatever. Theo never refused cheese. “First, Dae has an announcement. We were waiting for you.”

Dae’s hair was chaos, as if he’d been pulling at it. “It’s not an announcement. I just have something to tell you.”

Caleb gave him finger guns. “Pretty sure that’s an announcement, bud.”

“Okay. Well. The thing is…” He slowly spun his World’s Best Nephew mug with his fingertips, watching the rippling tea as if reading his own future. Then he heaved a deep breath, and his words came out mushed together. “I was on this waiting list, and I got in, and it’s kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I’m going to go, but I’ll pay for the room until you guys find someone.”

Theo’s body was reacting to the words—a boulder forming in his stomach and his skin going clammy—before his brain caught up.

“Start again.” Jason leaned his elbows on the table. “Where are you going?”

“Korea.” Dae said the word as if it wasn’t bringing complete devastation.

“Whoa,” Caleb said as Jason asked, “For how long?”

“A year.”

“A year!?” Oh shit, that was Theo.