“We played a lot of Mortal Kombat and drank scotch, so … perfect.”

She chuckled and looked out the window. I wanted to reach for her, kiss her. Touch her. Anything. But, I’d promised not to like an idiot.

“What’d you end up doing last night?” I asked, trying to keep my mind off of the fact.

“Not much. Went to Habits to hang with Rosie for a bit and then headed home and crashed. I didn’t even read, which is weird. I’ve just been so tired lately. It’s hard going from doing nothing to having a ton to do.”

“I can only imagine.”

She rolled her eyes, amused.

“Tell me how you like work. I feel like we’ve barely talked about it.”

“Truth or Dare didn’t leave much time for idle chit chat.” She smiled at me knowingly.

I smirked back. “Guess not.”

She settled back into her seat. “Work is great, although now I have the added pressure of impressing your mother.”

I laughed. “I really wouldn’t worry about her too much.”

“Easy for you to say.”

I thought about the guy who had been hitting on her. In fact, I’d been thinking a lot about him ever since Patrick brought him up. I smiled, hoping I wasn’t being too obvious. “Meet anyone else at the shelter?”

“Oh, sure, almost everyone. Why?”

I shrugged, realizing I had no idea how to handle jealousy. “No reason.”

She narrowed her eyes, though she was clearly entertained. “What’s your angle, Mr. Moore?”

“No angle.”

“Liar. Are you asking about Brian?”

“Who’s Brian?”

Maggie laughed at me. “Wow, Coop. Who told you about him?”

There was probably no way out unscathed, but I threw West under the bus anyway. “Your brother.”

“Ugh. I knew Lily would end up telling him, but I didn’t think he’d blab it to you.”

“To be fair, Patrick brought it up.”

“Dammit, he knows too?” She rolled her eyes. “I don’t know how y’all ever keep secrets.”

“It’s not easy. So, what’s the deal with him?”

“Nothin’. He asked me out, and I shot him down. Twice.”

I smiled. “Good.”

“Why, you jealous again? Like the harmless boy at Habits who was devastated that I wasn’t thirsty?”

“Nah. Just, you know, the rules. If I’m not allowed to see anyone else, neither are you.”

She shook her head. “Throwing the rules at me, just like that.”

“Paybacks.”

“Now I know how you feel.”

I smiled, wondering just how true the statement was.

I’d woken up that morning feeling determined. There was something deeply satisfying about testing Maggie’s boundaries. I’d persuaded her to come on a date with me under the guise that it wasn’t really a date. I had to believe that she knew what I was doing, but she’d come with me anyway.

Every time I nudged her closer to the edge, she’d move with barely any resistance. And if I could keep nudging her, I could make her fall for me.

That is, if she hadn’t already.

But I kept my promises. I’d keep my hands to myself and my money in my wallet for the day, if that was what it would take to prove it to her. It took every ounce of willpower I had not to kiss her in the Soopk-A-Rama that afternoon, but I just kept reminding myself that the anticipation of not touching her for an entire day would pay off when I took her home with me.

I was so right.

Maggie

The afternoon was gorgeous, clouds high in the sky, the ocean breeze crisp. We’d already ridden the big wooden roller coaster and went through the Spook-A-Rama, which was so over-the-top campy, with giant animatronic rats eating plastic entrails, or the robot serial killer in the electric chair. He’d kept his promise — he hadn’t offered to buy me a single thing or even tried to so much as hold my hand. I’ll admit I was a little disappointed that he didn’t try to kiss me in the spook house, but I’d never admit it to him.

We found ourselves walking up the boardwalk, eating our Nathan’s Famous chili cheese dogs.

“Mmm,” I hummed as I took another bite. The wind blew my hair across the chili and stuck in the cheese, and I groaned, glancing at my full hands.

Cooper chuckled, setting down his dog in the paper tray before he reached for my hair and wiped it off, his fingers barely grazing my cheek. He winked at me.

I shook my head, smiling.

“So,” he said, “what do you think so far?”

I looked around at all the people, the long, wide boardwalk, the big Ferris wheel as it spun around. “I like it,” I answered definitively.

“You should see it for the Mermaid Parade.” He smiled and looked down the boardwalk like he was imagining it. “It’s insane — people everywhere, a complete madhouse — but it’s a riot. Everyone drinks all day and dresses up like sailors, mermaids, fish. I once saw a guy dressed as a sea cucumber.”

“Oh?”

“He was basically naked and painted green, head to toe.”

A laugh burst out of me.

He smirked. “The parade itself is great, and they have an art festival, shows, big fireworks. Definitely worth seeing at least once.”

I imagined the park packed with mermaids and smiled. “Sounds like it. What’s next?” I took another bite, being sure to turn my face to the wind.

“The Wonder Wheel. Not gonna lie, it’s a little terrifying.”

I swallowed and shook my head. “It’s a Ferris wheel, you wuss.”

He jerked a chin at it with an eyebrow up. “Look at it.”

I took a good look, watching one of the cars near the top as the wheel spun. It was on a track, and when it hit the tipping point, it careened toward the edge and rocked out past the end just shy of horizontal.

“Oh.”

Cooper smiled. “Don’t worry. It’s safe. And anyway, there are stationary cars, if you’re scared.”

I made a face at him. “I’m not scared. Death cars it is.”

We finished our dogs and bought our tickets — Dutch, per the rules — and made our way to the line, under a creepy-ass sign with a clown on it that said THIS WAY. There was almost no line, and before long we were climbing into a red swinging car with bright yellow doors. I might have been second guessing things as I took a seat in the front bench — there were two rows that faced out, and I assumed he would sit in the back. But of course he slid in next to me, because Cooper Moore. I raised a brow, and he shot that crooked smile at me.

“What? This is the good seat. How else am I going to watch us plummet to our deaths?”

“Funny.” I elbowed him, which took almost no effort, since we were sitting arm to arm. The attendant closed the door, and within a few seconds, we were moving.

Once we were out of the dock and the wind was against our faces, I sighed, feeling lighter as I looked out across the island and into Brooklyn, then to Manhattan off in the distance. It was peaceful, quiet. We were all of a sudden very alone. I resisted the urge to lean into him, threading my fingers in my lap instead to keep my attention anywhere but on him. It was pretty much pointless.

The day with Cooper had been easy and fun, just like being with him always was. He was like a kid sometimes, so excited to show you things you hadn’t seen before. He’d watch you experience the thing for the first time, full of satisfaction. Pride, almost. Like it was a way for him to connect.

It was infectious. It made me want to experience it just for him. It made me feel carefree and lovely and alive.

Nine days left.

Nine days, and we would just be friends. I told myself I could be just-friends with Cooper. I mean, we were already close, and I definitely didn’t want to lose that. So I was attracted to him. After a little space, it wouldn’t be a big deal. I was certain that would fizzle away after a little time and distance.

Surely we’d both be able to walk away from that part of the relationship. No one had to get hurt. Then, maybe I could date someone else. He would too, probably the night that we ended things. The thought of him with another woman made me squirmy, but I took a breath and talked myself down. We didn’t belong to each other. We were just having fun. That was it. And we’d walk away and be buddies after all this. Hooking up wasn’t necessary. I pictured us hanging out just like this. Just as friends.