herself draped around Troy the entire time.
“It feels good to be back,” Summer said, even enjoying the familiar scent of stale, sweat-tinged air. After the big blowout fight she and Cody had about her going places with Troy, she’d stopped coming to Equinox altogether.
“Let’s go find a place close to the stage,” said Kevin, a friend of Troy’s they’d picked up on the way. “Then we can see how they set up.”
Troy bounced on the balls of his feet, the way he did when he was especially excited about a show. “Sounds good.”
Summer wanted a read on Ashlyn, so as they followed the guy toward the front, she bumped into her, making sure their arms brushed. No grim scenes flashed before Summer’s eyes, but Ashlyn shot her a dirty look.
“Sorry,” Summer mumbled. “It’s kind of crowded.”
“
“That’s a good one. My personal fave is
“Yeah, every poseur likes that song.”
Summer’s mouth dropped open. Before she could respond to that accusation—she was
Troy glanced back at her, then jerked his head to gesture her over. “Can’t take my eyes off you, remember?”
It took her a moment to realize he was echoing Dad’s orders. “Right,” she said, stepping next to him.
“Hey.” Troy put his hand on her back and leaned close enough to be heard over the guy announcing tonight’s line-up. “We’re about to watch one of our favorite bands. You shouldn’t look so sad.”
Summer glanced from Ashlyn back to Troy. “Ashlyn hates me. I’ve tried to be nice, but she’s determined to keep disliking me for whatever reason.”
“So? Why do you care if she likes you? She’s a cool girl and all, but you have other friends.”
It would be nice to be able to tell the truth. The whole truth would be hard to swallow, though. Summer struggled to get it down herself, and she’d started seeing…whatever Gabriella was. She shrugged. “I just got a feeling that we would be friends. I have excellent intuition you know.”
“Well, I’ve seen who you hang out with most of the time, so you’ll understand if I doubt your intuition.”
Summer elbowed him. “Hey, I hang out with you, Mister Bond. Apparently, I’ve chosen some of my friends well.”
A grin spread across his face. “You’ve got me there.”
The crowd around them erupted in cheers as Unicorn Stench took the stage. Summer went ahead and hollered along with them. She yelled even louder when they opened with
Francie’s scratchy voice echoed through the room as she sang out the lyrics.
During intermission, Ashlyn headed toward the edge of the crowd. A mix of determination, fear, and this weird feeling in her gut drove Summer to follow. Tonight might be her last chance to get through to the girl, and she planned on giving it all she had.
“They played your song,” Summer said when she came up blank on anything else to talk about. “I’m gonna listen to it more now. Maybe it’ll help me through my rough spot.”
Ashlyn gave an exaggerated sigh. “What could you possibly have in your life that’s rough? You’re on the dance squad, and your boyfriend’s a football star and one of the best-looking guys in school. Forgive me if I doubt your problems are real problems.”
Summer kept trying to tell herself she didn’t need Cody, but her heart still clenched whenever she thought of her recently-exed-boyfriend. “For your information, my boyfriend and I broke up because I wouldn’t have sex with him. So maybe it’s not a life-threatening problem, but it sucks, and I’m trying to have fun tonight if that’s all right with you.”
Summer spun around and almost bumped into Troy. His jaw was clenched and he looked ready for a fight, fists clenched at his sides. She lowered her eyebrows. “Why do you look so mad?”
“What did you just tell Ashlyn?” he asked. “Tell me I heard that wrong.”
“It’s nothing. And it doesn’t matter anyway. Any boy would be the same way.”
“That’s not true,” Troy said. “That guy’s just a loser.”
“Actually, it’s pretty true,” Ashlyn said, and Summer whipped her head back to the girl, her mouth hanging open. “Come on. You’re supposed to be a dancer, right?” She motioned to the dance floor, where several people were moving to the beat of the music they played during intermission. “Let’s go dance.”
Summer followed Ashlyn as she moved through the crowd to the center of the room. The next song started and they moved to the beat. The bass line vibrated through Summer until her body hummed with it. The music, the dancing, the fact that Ashlyn wasn’t scowling—tension leaked out of Summer’s body, until she felt floaty and light.
That was the magic of music and dance. They were a language all their own. Speaking of dancing, Ashlyn knew how to move.
“You’re a good dancer,” Summer said. “The squad’s full right now, but we’re going to add a few more girls for basketball season. You should…” It hit Summer then. Ashlyn might not have that long.
Ashlyn cupped her ear. “What? I can’t hear over the music.”
Summer raised her voice. “I said you’re a good dancer.”
Ashlyn swung her head from side to side. “Unicorn Stench’s new stuff was so awesome, right? I’m totally buying a CD before we leave.”
“Me, too. You’ll have to let me know which song is the most poseur-like, so it can be my favorite.” Summer grinned to let Ashlyn know she was kidding.
Ashlyn’s smile lit up her face. “You know, I think I misjudged you. You might just be okay.”
It wasn’t exactly where she needed to be for her supposed job, but she’d take it.
Troy parked his Jeep alongside the curb of Summer’s house. “Hey, Sunshine? You’re not going to get back together with Cody, are you?”
Summer shook her head. “Definitely not. It’s over for good this time.”
“Good. Then you won’t mind when I kick his ass.”
“Don’t. Seriously, Troy. Just leave it alone. I didn’t even want you to find out why. I didn’t want
