Free Moon White: Color Me Enchanted with Bonus Content by Melody Carlson Page A

us. Play hard to get, you know.”
    “Oh. Yeah.”
    And after about three minutes, just like magic, the two guys spot us and wave, then wander on up and sit down. To my delight, Hudson sits next to me, and Porter sits next to Liz. I didn’t want to admit it, not even to myself, but my greatest fear was that Hudson might be interested in Liz. And, while Porter is okay, it’s Hudson that I’ve set my heart on.
    “What a cruddy game,” says Hudson, rubbing his hands together to keep them warm. “We were actually thinking about leaving just now.”
    “We just got here,” I say. “We almost didn’t come, but town was pretty dead and we didn’t have anything more exciting going on.”
    He laughs. “Yeah, Westport isn’t exactly the hotbed of excitement.”
    “Are you guys still coming to our game?” asks Porter.
    “Sure,” says Liz. “You guys still coming to Heather’s party?”
    “It’s a deal,” says Hudson, smiling at me.
    I give my little white bag a squeeze and smile back at him. I can’t believe what’s happening just now. I mean, only a week ago, my life seemed pretty pathetic and painfully boring, and suddenly everything’s changing. Just like magic!



eight
    L ATER THAT NIGHT , L IZ AND I DECIDE WE ’ LL DRESS UP FOR THE PARTY . W ELL , not too dressy. But Liz’s closet is like a miniature boutique and, lucky for me, we both wear about the same size in both clothes and shoes. So she insists on picking out an outfit for me, deciding on a soft red-and-black rayon skirt that’s got some “kick” in it and a clingy black top, complete with black strappy high-heeled sandals that I’m guessing cost a bundle.
    “You look totally hot,” she says as I stand in front of the mirror.
    “And this will be fun to dance in too,” I say as I give a little twirl. “You think we can get those boys to dance?”
    “We’re dancers, aren’t we?”
    I laugh. Then she holds up several things to choose from for herself. We finally decide on the purple outfit and gold shoes. “Purple looks more autumnal than the pink,” I tell her. “Augustine will appreciate that.”
    Then we stay up late watching a new DVD and talking about boys. Liz has already had a couple of fairly serious boyfriends, and she’s surprised when I admit that I haven’t.
    “Why not?” she asks.
    I consider this. “I’m not sure. I guess it might have somethingto do with Lucy.”
    She frowns. “Lucy? What? Is she gay or something?”
    I laugh. “No, but her parents are really conservative, and she’s only allowed to date boys from her church, and then only if it’s with a group.”
    “Pretty limiting.” Liz pops a chip into her mouth.
    “Yeah. And since Lucy wasn’t dating, well, I guess it was easier for me not to date either.”
    “Looks like times, they are a-changing.”
    We decide not to stay up too late, since we both want to make sure we get enough beauty sleep to look our best tomorrow. Then, after a quick breakfast in the morning, I tell Liz that I better go home and see if Augustine needs a hand before it’s time to go to the soccer game.
    “I’ll pick you up a little before two,” she says.
    When I get home, I help Augustine by hanging her little glass lanterns in the trees outside. Then we start putting out the tables and chairs that she rented. She wants them arranged in groups of four and eight. “This is looking good out here,” I call out to her from across the yard.
    “And the weather is promising,” she calls back. “This might turn out all right.”
    As we hang strings of little white lights around the deck, I imagine Hudson and me dancing here tonight. Then Augustine and I put more lights around the gazebo where the band will play.
    “I think that about does it for out here,” says Augustine, proudly looking around at her efforts. “It should look dreamy by tonight.”
    “Liz is going to be here to pick me up in a few minutes,” I tell her. “Mind if I get ready now?”
    “Not at all.