The-Lucky-List-Rachael-Lippincott

this fall.”
“No way.”
“Yes!”
“at’s amazing!” I say, stopping to quickly backtrack to the place where sympathy should’ve been
instead of celebration. “I mean, like, poor Todd.”
“Oh, yeah, I mean… total dick move. Major bummer,” Kiera says, nodding in agreement as we both
offer up a moment of silence.
“So…?” I say, grinning since I’ve clearly found the reason behind the phone call.
“So…,” Kiera says, smiling around the word. “We maybe made out after the bonfire last night!”
We both squeal, and I do a little excited dance as I make it to the kitchen. is has been two whole
summers in the making.
“I can’t believe you actually kissed him!”
“Oh my gosh, I know,” Kiera says, swooning a little bit. “And let me tell you, it was WORTH the
wait.”
I put the phone down on the counter just for a second, reaching up on my tippy-toes to grab a box
of pasta out of the pantry.
I’m about to ask for more details when I hear her say, “So is there any—”
She cuts out, the image freezing suddenly, her voice coming out in garbled spurts.
“Kiera?” I say, watching as her face finally starts to move again, the glitching fading as the
connection returns.
“Sorry,” she says with an eye roll. “I asked if there was any news on the Matt front.”
I groan internally. I was really hoping we’d get cut off before we got to this.
“No,” I say, shaking my head as I slam the pasta box onto the counter with more force than I
intended, the bow ties rattling noisily around. I meet Kiera’s gaze. “I did see him, though. And everyone
else. Two days ago at the bingo fundraiser.”
“You went? To play bingo? Are you… okay?” Kiera asks, a twinge of concern in her voice.
“Yeah! I mean, I’m fine,” I say quickly, grabbing a pot from inside the oven to fill with water. “And I
didn’t really play. I played for my dad. I was forced to go because THE Johnny Carter moved back into
town this week.”
“Oh my gosh! I totally forgot that was this week!” Kiera says, surprised. “He’s got a daughter, doesn’t
he?”
“Yeah,” I say, Blake and the list popping back into my head. “ey came over to help us pack this
weekend.”
“Is she cool?”
“Too cool,” I say, thinking of all the jaws that dropped Friday night. Growing up in Hawaii
apparently instantly made you way cooler than growing up in Huckabee ever could. ough, I couldn’t
help but feel like Blake’s chill demeanor was probably cool just about everywhere.
“She’s nice, too. And she’s in our grade. You’ll definitely like her.”
“Mmm,” Kiera says, her voice distracted. I watch the pot fill slowly with water, knowing she’s about
to drag the conversation back to what I was hoping she’d forget about. “So you saw everyone? At the
bingo fundraiser?”