Under the Same Stars(40)

Brows furrowed, heads cocked, and noses wrinkled. “Why not?” Courtney asked.

“Because,” I didn’t mean to sputter but totally did, “the guy has an evil twin!”

And then I rewound the tape back to May.

***

“Who are you going with again?” Da asked as I dug through the mudroom parson’s bench for my ice skates. Their blades were dull from the winter, so I planned to arrive at the rink early to get them sharpened. “Connor?”

I shook my head. Connor actually had asked if he could come with me. He had been less than impressed by Davis and didn’t like the idea of me not having a wingman today. “Come on, we can make it a double date,” he’d said. “I’ll text…”

No, I’d thought, feeling a little ache. No, thanks.

I was torn with Connor. If he was in the picture, I knew I’d wish our dates would disappear—only wanting it to be the two of us. The idea of seeing Connor on a date made me nauseous.

But ever since Samira had planted the seed for a true crush on him, I’d still tried to discourage it from growing. Friends-to-lovers didn’t always end in a happily ever after. Connor and I could be perfect for each other, but what if we weren’t? What happened then?

“No,” I told my dads. “It’s someone from Princeton.”

“Town or school?” Dad inquired, because at the moment, no one was a fan of the latter; I’d told them all about what had happened during my visit, right down to spending the night at Hotel Gallant instead of Forbes College. I’d burst into tears when I’d walked into the kitchen and saw Katie’s mom pulling a sheet of warm chocolate chip cookies out of the oven. She wore a ruffled apron over her pajamas. “Do you want a glass of milk, Mads?”

Now, I felt my stomach spin. “School.”

My parents gave me a joint Are you for real, Madeline? look.

“Amanda knows him, though,” I said calmly. “She tutored his older sister in algebra, but Chad’s a genius and my age. He skipped a couple grades.”

“But his name’s Chad,” Dad deadpanned.

I tried not to giggle.

Da hummed. “Does Marco know him?”

“What does it matter?” I asked, feeling myself flush. “We know Marco isn’t the greatest judge of character.”

Yes, I’d even told them about Marco and Shelly.

“Tell us you at least know this kid’s last name,” Dad said.

I shook my head. “I’ll find out as soon as we shake hands.”

I’d texted the Princetonians to see if they knew a Chad, but the results had been negative. Each Chad they knew was an athlete, and I somehow knew this guy wasn’t one.

“Oh, no, don’t shake his hand,” Da said. “If this is a date, go in for a hug.”

“Da, you know I’m not a hello hugger.” I folded my arms over my chest for emphasis. “You gotta earn it.”

My parents both laughed, and once I found my skates, I hugged them goodbye and drove off in the Defender. Amanda had given me Chad’s number, and I’d suggested we go ice skating rather than grab dinner. If skating went well, perhaps there was “dinner potential” afterward, but I didn’t want to be committed to at least two hours of small talk if things immediately took a nosedive. Plus, a heat wave hit us this week.

I wanted to cool off somewhere.

I’d run into Davis and Natalie in Ice Land’s pro shop, while my skates were being sharpened. She was browsing the rack of hockey sticks, Davis meandering behind her. “Do you play hockey?” was my greetingless greeting.

Natalie looked up and over at me, and her eyes widened before her shoulders curved in from embarrassment. “Yeah,” she said. “I do.”

“That’s awesome!” I smiled. Because I didn’t care anymore. I really, really didn’t. “I’d try ice hockey in another life.”

Natalie smiled back a little. “I played field hockey freshman year, but only lasted a season.” She dropped her voice. “I really hate running.”

I laughed, and without a word, Davis knew to walk away, and by the time he returned, Natalie had apologized and we were talking about music. Phoebe Bridgers, specifically.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked politely.

“Yeah.” She turned back to me. “We’ll talk details later?”

“Definitely.” I nodded, and after we exchanged numbers, she unexpectedly hugged me.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I thought you were cool the moment we met, but Davis…”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said, breaking out of the hug. “I totally get it.”

Because, hey, I did.

Skates freshly sharpened, I sat in one of the snack bar’s booths to wait for Chad. I’d unlocked my phone and opened my dead-end conversation with Marco, tempted to text him. According to a field hockey teammate, I should never “double-text” a guy, but I wasn’t interested in Marco; he was just a friend—or, a pseudofriend.

Hey, I’m sorry, I typed. I was way out of line. If you like Shelly—

“Madeline?”

I looked up from my phone and felt invisible insects skitter and scatter all over my skin before my heart began to hammer. Penn State, I thought, mind flashing back to State Night at Tiger Inn. The guy in the PENN STATE shirt who wouldn’t let me leave that basement until I’d pepper sprayed the shit out of him. Here he was, right in front of me. Blond hair, brown eyes, dimpled smile.