Chapter Four

Startled, we jumped apart. Luckily, Tanc had his I-pod on and was singing along to a Green Day song so he wasn’t looking at the two of us when he walked in. He did, however, notice when I tripped and landed on the floor. Grinning, he unplugged his earphones and said, “Sheesh! Way to be a klutz, D’Lacey!” My face burning, I rose to my feet, rushed out of the room, and promptly smacked into Jessica. “Like, watch it, doofus!” she complained. Muttering what I hoped would pass for an apology, I crossed over to Chad’s room and knocked on the door. Almost immediately the door opened. “What’s up, Rob?” he asked. “Um, Em- er, me and the others were wondering if we could sleep outside tonight,” I answered. His face visibly brightened. “That’s a great idea! Sure you guys can. Just remember to take some bug spray and flashlights with you.” “Sweet!” I exclaimed. “I’ll go tell the others.” I walked back to the room to find Mikey engaged with Emma in rapid conversation and Tancred telling a story to Jessica. “Hey guys. Guess what?” I said. Not waiting to hear their answers, I continued. “Chad said we could slumber under the stars tonight if we wanted to.” Jessica wrinkled her nose. “You mean, like, sleep outside?” she inquired. I grinned nervously. “Uh, yeah.” “Hey, that’s cool! Great idea, Robby!” said Mikey. Tanc nodded in agreement. “Ditto. Great job,” he responded. Emma bounced off the bed she had been sitting on. “Seriously, Rob?” she asked, her eyes lighting up. I nodded. “You’re the best!” she exclaimed excitedly, rushing forward and kissing me on the cheek. Everyone else looked at me, and I could feel my face start to get hot. “What?” I murmured. “It was her idea.” Jessica whipped out her phone and started texting furiously; Mikey waggled his eyebrows at me, and Tanc looked like he was going to fall off his seat. Still smiling, Emma left the room, Mikey and Jessica close behind. Tancred was still staring at me, a grin slowly spreading across his face. “What?!” I asked, irked by his expression. “Somebody has a crush on Emma”, he said in a sing-song voice. I could feel my face almost burning now. “What? No! Don’t be ridiculous, Tanc. She told me this great idea she had so I asked Chad permission to do it.” Tanc’s grin had almost grown to his ears. Suddenly, he stopped smiling. “You’re right”, he said. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to compete with my best friend for a girl’s affections.” He left the room, leaving me to my thoughts.