Free So Totally by Gwen Hayes

you sneak out a lot?”
    She shrugged and tore out a page with a prom dress. “Usually I tell them I’m going to Tracy’s house.”
    “I don’t think I’ve met Tracy yet.”
    “There is no Tracy; I made her up. That way they can’t call her parents. Do you think this color would look good on me?”
    You have got to be kidding me. Mom had a “Hannah”? I almost told her about mine, but then I realized I didn’t want to ruin it for future me. If there would be a future me. “I think that color would look fabulous on you.”
    She shoved the rest of the magazines off the bed and lay on her tummy, bending her elbows to prop her chin in her hands. “So, what is it about Nate? I mean you just met him last night. You haven’t given yourself an opportunity to scope out the rest of the male population yet.”
    “He’s…different from other guys. Kind of intense, you know?”
    “So you go for the alternative type. Skaters and anarchists?”
    “Not usually. I’m generally the original white-bread girl.”
    “Well, I suppose there is something to be said for varying your diet now and then.”
    “And he’s not an anarchist. Though he sort of follows his own road more than some guys.”
    Heather inspected her split ends. “He hangs with nerds—by association, that should make him undatable. But, you’re right; he has that intense artist thing going for him.”
    I would just die if she dated him after I went back. God, was that even possible? I shook my head. Borrowing trouble again. Mom used to say I worried like it was my second job.
    “Heather?”
    “Hmm?”
    “I just wanted to say, well, thanks for everything. You haven’t asked me about my…strange family stuff…and I know it must be killing you. So thanks. If I could tell you more, you know I would.”
    “I know you would. I just want you to be safe. You bring out my protective instincts for some reason. You know what we need?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “Ice cream. Let’s get some, and then we need to pick out an outfit for your big night out. You naughty girl.”

    Nate picked me up a block away from my grandparents’ house.
    “I wasn’t sure you’d make it,” he said as I buckled my seatbelt.
    “According to my mother , sneaking out is easy.”
    He curled his lip and made a face as he pulled away from the curb. “I hadn’t really thought of how hard it must be to hang out with one of your parents. Does she like…ask you stuff?”
    I nodded. “You mean, does she ask me about you?”
    He shrugged. “Does she?”
    “Yes. And the kiss at school that made the school newspaper by lunchtime too.”
    He grinned. “What did you tell her about the kiss?”
    Grateful for the cover of darkness to hide my famous blush, I answered, “I told her the truth. That you are infatuated with me and that you’ve already picked out the names of our children.”
    “Anyone can see it’s completely the other way around. I mean, who traveled backwards two and a half decades just to meet me?”
    “Who dreamed of me before he’d ever laid eyes on me?”
    “Touché.”
    We kept up the witty banter for the rest of the short drive. “We’re here.”
    He got out and rounded the front end of the car, so I waited for him to open my door. How nice was that? I wondered if all ‘80s boys automatically did that, or I just happened upon a rare gentleman.
    I placed my hand into his and felt it in my toes as soon as we made contact. He pushed the door closed behind me, and I leaned back into the side of the car, trapping myself between the steel and the boy. “What are we doing, Nate?”
    He threaded the fingers of his free hand through my hair. “Daring fate, I guess. It doesn’t make sense, but I can’t walk away yet—even knowing that it’s probably gonna hurt a lot.”
    I closed my eyes. It already hurt.
    He kissed my cheek tenderly, as if I were a treasure. “Come on, spitfire. Let’s go for a walk.”
    He pulled two flashlights and handed me