“Well, at least this outfit doesn’t blink,” Olivia says. “Okay, my bad, I may have accidentally posted it.” The way she’s smiling tells me it was no accident.

“Olivia!” I grab her phone. The photo shows the dress from the back, which is almost as pretty as the front. We decided to leave my hair down and Olivia curled it into loose waves. In the picture, my face is turned to the side and I’m looking at the mirror so you can only see my profile. The light from the window is pouring in, making the dress really shine.

“See how beautiful you look,” she says.

I can’t help but smile. Then I see the caption—Cinderella getting ready for her big night out! — and groan. “Really, Liv? Cinderella? Does that make y’all the mean stepsisters?”

“Only if that means we get to go to the ball, too,” Addie says.

And then the comments start coming in. Most of them are about how pretty I look, but I notice Griffin has been tagged twice already. I groan again.

When my phone starts dinging, I’m not surprised. I swipe it open and see his latest text.

GRIFFIN: I don’t know what’s going on but I have to talk to you. I have to see you.

My finger hovers over the keyboard, but I have no idea what to say to him. Would he be texting me like this if I was sitting at home, crying over him? That’s the part I can’t get past.

So instead of texting him back, I throw the phone in the small chair by the window.

“I bet Nonna has a necklace or bracelet that would go perfectly with that dress,” Olivia says, then heads to the door.

Addie bounds off the bed, following her out. “Oh, I want to come see.”

For the first time all day, I’m alone. I glance at the phone and realize I haven’t heard from Margot since this morning.

I sit down in the chair and pull up our conversation.

ME: What’s up? You’ve been ridiculously quiet today

She doesn’t respond immediately, which worries me. Leaning back in the chair, careful not to mess up my hair, I stare at the phone until a constant thumping from outside gets my attention. I peek through the blinds and look down on the driveway that runs in between Nonna’s house and Wes’s.

And there he is, dribbling a basketball. He looks like he’s been at it awhile, because his shirt is off and his hair looks damp with sweat. Wes bounces the ball a few times, then shoots. It swishes through the net. Rinse, repeat. He’s got a pretty good average going, only missing one out of every four or five shots. Every time he shoots, I can’t help but stare at the muscles in his back.

What is happening to me? I’m just now feeling like I’m part of the Fab Four again. I can’t screw it up by thinking about Wes like that.

Our group went down that road before, and it ended disastrously. Olivia and I both decided at the beginning of freshman year that we had a crush on Wes, but since she swore hers was stronger, I backed off. They tried to date for a few weeks, but it just didn’t work. Then they didn’t speak to each other for months, which was horrible for all of us.

Charlie brought us all together and told them to get over it. We all agreed our friendship was too important to risk it, and we decided that we would all only be friends. And that’s all we’ve been ever since.

But the thoughts floating through my head while I watch him are not the way you think about a friend. Seriously, when did he get all of those muscles?

Sara pops in the room and lets out a squeal. “Sophie! You look perfect!”

I almost fall out of the chair. I close the blinds so she won’t know I’ve been practically drooling over a half-naked and sweaty Wes. Grabbing the small beaded bag, I check my phone once more to see if Margot has texted me back before dropping it inside. “Thanks, Sara. I’m trying not to be freaked out about this party. Or the college guy you set me up with.”

She’s so excited she’s practically shaking. “Well, he’s here! Are you ready?”

I want to sink down to the bed. I’m not sure I’ve ever been so nervous for a date, especially since I have Judd’s list scrolling through my brain.

Then Olivia and Addie are back, armed with necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. Once they think I’m finally dressed and ready, Addie says, “Okay, let’s go check this guy out.”

The house is packed, like I knew it would be. Everyone wants to be a part of this date thing. I don’t know the guy I’m going out with, but I feel sorry for him already. I can’t imagine what it’s like to pick up a girl for a date and have twenty people staring at you.

At the top of the stairs, I take a deep breath. The foyer is crowded, but I didn’t expect to see the betting sheet taped to the wall next to an old family portrait. Graham’s standing next to it holding a couple of pens, and he’s acting like that guy at the fair trying to entice anyone who passes by to stop and play.

How embarrassing.

I get to the bottom of the stairs, and a guy in a tux takes a couple of steps toward me.

Pleasantly surprised doesn’t even cover it. Sara was right. He’s hot.

“Hey, I’m Paolo Reis.” He holds a hand out to me and I take it. He’s tall with big brown eyes, and his black hair has a slight wave to it, just enough to give it a little body. “You look gorgeous.”

Okay, Sara won. And from the looks Charlie and Judd are throwing from across the room, they know it, too.

“Thank you. You look really nice, too.”

Sara is beaming. And so are Olivia and Addie. Of course, Olivia is capturing all of this with her camera, so I’d better prepare myself for the posts to come.

Paolo turns toward Papa and shakes his hand. “I won’t have her out too late.”

Papa shakes his hand back and then leans forward to kiss me on the forehead. “You look just like your mother did at your age. Have fun, sweet girl.”

I’m not going to cry. I’m totally not.

A couple of my uncles walk over to Graham and start arguing over one of the boxes. I guess after getting a good look at Paolo they want to change their bet.

“Can’t give you that one,” Graham says. “Aunt Kelsey already claimed it.”

I try to ignore their ridiculousness.

With my hand still in his, Paolo pulls me through the foyer and out the front door. We’re headed down the brick path to where his car is parked on the street when I look toward Wes’s house. He’s still in the driveway — and still has his shirt off — but he’s holding the ball against his hip, watching us.

His eyes catch mine and he gives me a small nod. I nod back and then slide into Paolo’s car, where he’s holding the door open for me.

“So that’s probably the most nervous I’ve ever been picking up a girl in my life,” Paolo says once he’s in the car.

“Seriously? It didn’t show,” I say. If that was him nervous, I can’t imagine what confidence must look like.

He looks at me, just before he cranks the car. “There were just so many people.”

I laugh. “Welcome to my world.”

We pull away from my grandparents’ house. I refuse to look back to see if Wes is still watching. Instead, I turn toward Paolo. “Okay, I’m just going to ask. Why on earth did you not already have a date to this party? I mean, is there something I should know?”

He laughs. “Straightforward. I like it.”

I don’t think he’s going to say anything else, but then he clears his throat.

“There’s this girl,” he starts.

“There always is,” I say, and he laughs again.

“I moved here halfway through high school, but I didn’t meet her until we were at LSU, even though she’s from here. Things are complicated. I thought that maybe when we were both back on break, some of the issues we’re having might work themselves out, but it’s not looking too good.”

“I’m sorry,” I say. I want to add, I’m sure it will work out! but it sounds lame. And I’m certainly not in any place to give anyone relationship advice. I stare out the front window, and Paolo glances at me once, then twice. “So what’s this Sara was telling me about all the blind dates?”

I say, “It’s complicated,” and he laughs again. “I overheard my boyfriend telling his friend that he wanted a break from me because senior year is supposed to be fun.”

“Ouch. What a dick.”

“Yeah. So this was Nonna’s idea of cheering me up.”

Paolo slows at a red light and turns toward me. “Is it working?”

I cock my head to the side. “It’s been different. And I’ve had some really weird and some really fun dates. My ex keeps seeing pics of me dating on social media, and since I’m not curled in a ball, bawling my eyes out, he’s begging to see me, to talk to me. So I guess it’s working.”

The light is still red and Paolo leans a little closer. “Then this is what we’re going to do. We’re going to flood his timeline with pictures of us having fun tonight.”

A car behind us honks as the light turns green, and Paolo returns his attention ahead. I’m glad he misses the ridiculous smile stretching across my face.

“Okay, but I don’t want to do anything that makes things more complicated for you.”

“Don’t worry about me. The ball’s in her court. She knows I’m ready when she is. I’m just glad I didn’t have to go to this thing alone.”

I’ve decided whoever this girl is, she’s a dummy. He’s cute and nice and genuine, and she’s an idiot. “So where did you move here from?”

“Cabo Frio, which is a small town near Rio in Brazil.”

“Oh wow. Do you like it here?”

He shrugs. “There’s things I like and things I miss back home.”

I turn sideways in my seat so I can see him better. “Out of all of the places your parents could pick, why Shreveport, Louisiana?” It’s the same thing I’ve wondered about my grandfather.