The-Lucky-List-Rachael-Lippincott

“Maybe?” I squeak back, clutching my bra and underwear to my dread-filled chest.
What will he think of me now? Kissing someone else at prom. Swimming naked in the Huckabee
Pool. Oh God, I’ve just ruined—
And then he starts to laugh.
“That’s actually pretty badass,” he says, his voice sounding… slightly impressed, not pained for once.
“You won’t tell anyone?” Blake asks, and I can tell she’s nervous, the expression on her face
unfamiliar. He pops one of his eyes open, opening the other when he sees we’re fully clothed.
“Matt doesn’t snitch,” I say, and I know this because before he was my boyfriend, Matt was my
middle school partner in crime. e one who refused to break under pressure, staying strong even
when Kiera tapped out.
“I dare you,” Matt had said aer lunch in sixth grade, holding up a tiny green garden snake, “to set
this loose in math class.”
“Deal,” I’d said without as much as a second thought.
Half an hour later, Mr. Benson’s sixth-grade math class had to be evacuated, each of us getting
individually grilled in the hallway while the school janitor, Mr. Wibble, scoured the classroom for the
snake.
Matt knew it was me and didn’t say anything.
“He won’t even rat you out when Mr. Benson threatens detention,” I say.
e corner of his mouth ticks up into a smile at my words. “Not even then.” His eyes meet mine,
and he nods to the main road. “A patrol car drives past in ten minutes to check on the place aer a
couple of freshmen broke in last month. You may want to get out of here.” He holds up a key ring, his
eyes flicking to Blake. “I’ve got a spare. I can lock up.”
“anks, Matt.” I reach out to give his arm a squeeze. He closes o just the tiniest bit, a pained
wince, but it’s a fraction of what it’s been.
en Blake grabs my hand, and in a blink the two of us run into the night, dripping our way to the
exit, happiness filling my chest. The feel of her hand in mine takes me back to that moment in the pool,
her eyes locked on mine, her lips…
I push it away, giving it a name. A source. e rush of the list. at’s all it was. I’d gotten swept up in
the experience, the exhilaration of skinny-dipping.
I glance back at Matt and he shakes his head, but he’s smiling. Our first conversation in more than a
month. Well, our first good conversation in a month, the list and my mom guiding me in the right
direction.
And just like that this night is a step closer to making everything more than right.
Maybe it’s a step to making it better.