Can’t say I agree with that, Dana.

  After a few minutes, Coach sets his elbows on the table, steepling his hands. “You know, kids, you’re all about to enter a really important stage of your lives.”

  “Ah, here we go,” my mother says.

  We laugh. No visit from Coach is complete without a little pep-talk.

  “Now, let me finish,” he says, waving her off with a smile. “These next few years are going to shape who you are.” His kind gaze wanders from face-to-face around the table. “The person you are right now might be a shadow of who you’ll be a year from now. Two years, four years. Twenty,” he adds, gesturing to the adults. “As tempting as it is to waste it partying or blowing off classes — and you can certainly learn a lot about yourselves doing just that — I urge you all to dig deep and look inside yourselves and envision the person you want to be. Twenty years from now, when you’re sitting around this table, who do you want to be? Now is the time to figure that out.” He looks at me and grins. “This is your time. These are the moments. Make ‘em count.”

  I nod, the words lighting a flame in my chest.

  This is my time.

  My mother groans into her wineglass. “Gonna need a bigger table.”

  We laugh.

  CHAPTER 4

  CONNOR

  I place the last plate in the drying rack. Mom and Dad cook. The kids clean. Always. Especially on party night when cleaning up the kitchen takes just about as long as dinner itself.

  Just as I finish drying my hands, an extra plate plops down onto the counter beside me. I fire a glare at my sister, who simply shrugs.

  “Missed one,” Courtney says before reaching for some fresh paper towels.

  I wash it quickly, keeping one ear on the conversation behind me in the living room. Shop talk and sports from the dads. Gossip from the moms. Coach simply listens, though he clearly has his ears pointed more towards the gossip. Alex and Ben wrestle-play with Aster on the floor with Violet keeping a big sisterly eye on them to keep her baby brother from getting hurt, but he’s in safe hands. Alex and Ben might play rough with me, but they’d never put Aster in danger. None of us would.

  As I dry off the counter, a shape catches my eye through the windows above the sink. Dana is outside, alone, sitting on the old swing hanging from a thick tree branch across the yard. Her back is to the house, blonde hair lightly flowing past her shoulder blades as she rocks back and forth, her sandals gently kicking the grass beneath her. That pretty yellow sundress dances against her knees. Orange light of the setting sun stains her pale skin, casting a shadow on the lawn beneath her.

  “I forgive you forever, Connor Morgan,” she whispered, her smile banishing the autumn chill in the air.

  I toss my towel into the sink before heading out the back door. As the door latches behind me, Dana glances over her shoulder and hides her phone away in her dress pocket before sitting a little taller on the swing. I can’t tell if she wants me to go or not, so I continue forward across the lawn.

  “Hey,” I say.

  “Hi,” she says with a smile.

  “You want some more cake?” I ask. “Last chance before your brothers devour the rest of it.”

  A chuckle. “No, I’m good.” She looks at her shoulder again toward the house. “They still chatting away in there?”

  “Oh, you know they are.”

  “Have I missed anything good?”

  “Nope.”

  She lightly nods as she kicks the ground with her sandal. Golden locks blow in the breeze, her clean scent teasing my nose. I realize I’ve lingered for far too long, though I’m not sure why it matters. This is Dana. I used to push her on this swing all the time.

  Higher, Connor! Higher!

  “Hey, Connor.”

  I blink. “Yeah?”

  “Did you really read my story?” Dana asks, her eyes primed to judge my response.

  “Yeah,” I answer. “I did.”

  “Really?”

  “Twice.”

  A short squint. “Hmm.”

  “Why?” I ask, stepping forward to lean against the tree.

  She shrugs. “Just curious.”

  “Have you written anything else since?”

  “No,” she says. “It was just for an English assignment, anyway.”

  “I think you should write some more,” I say.

  Her eyes tilt downward. “I dunno. Maybe.”

  “No, really. You’re good at it.”

  “It was just one good story.”

  “And if I scored touchdowns my first night on the field, people would be demanding more from me, too.”

  Dana goes quiet, her body still drifting an inch back and forth on the swing.

  I raise my hands. “All I’m saying, think about it. Better yet, talk to Grant. He’s teaching a writing class at Chicago North this semester.”

  “He is?”

  “Well, playwriting. I think. But it might be worth looking into.”

  “Maybe I will.”

  She studies me a little longer before standing up, her hands absently pushing her skirt down as she rises. “You wanna take a walk?” she asks.

  “A walk?” I ask.

  “Yeah, I think I’ll head back home.” She glances at the house behind her. “Doubt anyone will miss me, and if you go back in there, you’ll just have to clean something else,” she jokes.

  “You’re not wrong,” I say, cringing at what else Courtney has probably dropped in the sink over the last few minutes.

  “So, walk me home?” she asks. “There’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about.”

  The phrase lurches my gut; an instinctual tripwire. “O-kay,” I say, carefully.

  “It’s nothing serious,” she adds quickly with a smile. “Just a... proposition between friends.”

  “A proposition,” I repeat.

  “That’s right.”

  “Sounds serious.”

  “It’s not,” she says, that little smile curling up again. “In fact, it’s probably going to be stupid and embarrassing — for me, specifically — but I’m banking on the idea that we’ll be laughing about it. Eventually.” A pause. “Hopefully.”

  “Are you sure this isn’t serious?” I ask.

  Dana exhales softly. Then, she starts across the lawn toward the sidewalk without a word, her slow gait expecting me to follow her.

  One more peek at those smooth legs and I do just that.

  We reach the road, habitually falling into step together on the path toward their house. The Kirbys have lived three blocks away for as long as I can remember. I still know the quickest route between our backyards. The quietest route, too. You know, for the nights when we were all supposed to be fast asleep, but Alex, Ben, and I snuck out for bouts of childhood mischief.

  And Dana watched safely from her bedroom, little eyes shining through the branches of the big tree outside her window.

  She never tattled, though.

  Her throat clears, barely audible over the summer breeze rustling the trees around the neighborhood. “So, we’ve known each other for a really long time,” she says.

  I chuckle. Understatement. “Since birth.”

  “Right. And since then, since our births, I would say that you and I have become... friends.”

  “Friends?”

  She stalls her stride. “Aren’t we?”

  “Yeah. Of course.” I pause as she does. “Dana, what’s this about?”

  “Nothing,” she says, the word quick, stiff. “We’re friends.”

  “We are...”

  “And, as your close, personal friend, I would like to ask you for a favor.”

  I nearly laugh. “All right. What is it? I’ll do it.”

  “Well, now, I haven’t told you what it is yet.”

  “Won’t matter.”

  “It might.”

  “Dana, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. Just ask.”

  Dana pauses, her breath held in tight as the breeze sends a lock of her blonde hair over her nose. "Okay, well…” She reaches into the pocket of her dress and withdraws her phone. “I wrote down what I wanted to say so I wouldn’t… lose track…”

  I can’t help but smile as she taps and scrolls.

  “Dear Heartbreaker—” She cuts herself off. “I don’t know why I wrote that. Dear Connor…” Her eyes meet mine for a millisecond, then… “I want you to be my first.”

  My smile drops. Another gush of wind rolls past, but it’s not enough to stop the heat filling my cheeks. I stare at her, unblinking, wondering if I misheard her.

  “First?” I ask.

  “Now,” she continues reading after swallowing hard, “I know what you’re thinking. But you’re—”

  “First what?”

  “Let me finish. I know what you’re thinking. But you’re Dana Kirby. You’re Alex and Ben’s sister. I can’t have sex with you. But I’m also—”

  “Sex?”

  I definitely didn’t mishear her.

  “Hold on, I’m almost done,” she says over me, her words coming faster. “But I’m also a woman. A young woman with needs and urges, just like you. Not that you’re a woman or anything,” she adds quickly, scolding herself. “I didn’t have a chance to proofread this. Anyway—”

  “Dana.”

  “I need to lose my virginity and I want you to be the one to take it. I trust you a lot, and you have experience in this area.”

  “I do?”

  She looks up from her phone. “Don’t you?”

  “Well… yeah, but—”

  “Then, teach me.” She looks me in the eye, so very sure, as she lowers her phone to her side. “I want to learn.”

  Learn.

  She wants to learn.

  “You want to learn how to have sex?” I say it aloud, just to be sure we’re both on the same page. “You want me to teach you… how to have sex?”

  “Yes,” she says.

  Dana Kirby wants me to teach her how to have sex.

  My lungs force me to breathe. Sex. Okay. Sex with me. Also okay — very okay. Sex with Dana? Not okay. That’s…

  Not okay.

  “Why?” I ask after a moment.

  “Because I don’t want to go to college a virgin.”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “Nothing, but with Rush Week coming up soon, I want to be prepared for, you know… what might be expected of me.”

  “So, you’re really pledging Beta Kappa?” I ask.

  She nods. “Courtney is sponsoring me.”

  Courtney.

  I should have known.

  “Did Court put you up to this?” I ask.

  “Yes. No—”

  “Because you know a lot of that Greek Row stuff is overblown, right? Beta Kappa Beauties don’t have to—”

  “This is my choice,” she says. “Sure, your sister told me I should ask a guy friend to take my virginity for me, but I think it’s a good idea. I want to do this, and I trust you. I know you’d make it a good experience for me.”

  “That’s...” I exhale a laugh, turning to pace along the sidewalk. “That’s a lot of pressure, Dana.”

  “You said you’d do anything for me.”

  “Yeah. That was before you said what it was.”

  Dana frowns. “I’m sorry. I really didn’t think it’d be this weird for you.”

  “Well, it is,” I say, pausing my stride. “You’re like the sister I never had.”

  “You have a sister,” she points out.

  “A younger sister.”

  “I’m two months older than you.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  She crosses her arms. “Clearly, I don’t.”

  I sigh. “I’ve known you my whole life, Dana.”

  “So, you only sleep with girls you don’t know?” she asks.

  “No, that’s not—”

  “Or do you think I should just give it up to some stranger?”

  “No!” I say, the idea itself twisting my gut unexpectedly. “I think you should wait to be with someone special.”

  “Did you?” she asks.

  I hesitate. “I...”

  Her head tilts, awaiting my response.

  “I’m a guy,” I spit out.

  “So?”

  “So... it’s different for girls.”

  Dana scoffs.

  “Isn’t it?” I add.

  “Was it different for Jacinda Cunningham?” she asks, name-dropping my girlfriend from junior year.

  “Jacinda?”

  She waits for an answer.

  “Jacinda was…” I pause, my hands fidgeting at my sides. “And you’re...”

  “I’m... what?” Her annoyance is clear now, the tiny wrinkle between her eyebrows firm and dark. “Weird? Unpopular? Ugly?”

  “No. You’re beautiful.”

  Dana snaps her mouth shut.

  “I mean...” I clear my throat, taking the split second to stall. “I just think you should wait for someone who cares about you. That’s all,” I say, finding a few words that don’t sound dumb at first thought.

  “You don’t care about me?” she asks.

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  I don’t answer. I’m not even sure how.

  “Look, just forget I asked,” she says, stepping back again. “I only came to you because we’re friends and...” a quiet pause, “you’re the only person who has never treated me like I’m breakable, so I thought that… I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  My chest clenches. “Dana...”

  “It’s fine.” She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “In fact, it’s great. I have other candidates in mind.”

  Candidates?

  A car horn blares from the street, cutting off my question. The Kirby’s car passes by, slowing down as it turns into their driveway, followed closely by the Novak’s car, too.

  “See you on campus, Connor,” Dana says, her tone light and playful, as if she didn’t just reach her hand into my chest and squeeze. “Go, Bearhawks.”

  Her family hops out of the car. Alex and Ben included.

  Be cool, Morgan, I tell myself. In the rush of thoughts and emotions attached to Dana’s request, I hadn’t considered them.

  If I said yes, they’d kick my ass.

  A lot.

  “What’s going on here?” Alex asks, his eyes bouncing between us.

  “Just… walking her back safely,” I say.

  “Thank you, Connor,” Rose says, extending her arm to hug Dana as she walks past. “That’s very sweet of you.”

  “Yeah, whatever,” Ben says, his hand jingling his car keys as he pulls them from his pocket. “Wanna go get tacos?”

  “We just ate, man,” I say with a laugh.

  The twins shrug.

  I glance at Dana as she follows her parents into the house, followed by Daisy, Hunter, Violet, and little Aster, taking one last look at her yellow sundress, showing off more skin than she ever did in high school.

  “No, I’m good, guys,” I say. “Gonna head back and hang out with my grandpa while he’s here.”

  I wave goodbye, promising to catch them on campus tomorrow.

  Our first day of college. The beginning of an era full of new experiences.

  For some, more new experiences than others.

  I glance upward, following the tree branches toward Dana’s bedroom window.

  Candidates?

  CHAPTER 5

  DANA

  Well, that was a bust.

  Honestly, Connor’s reaction wasn’t what I expected. I’m not sure exactly what I did expect. Jumping up and down? No. But I at least thought he might be interested. I mean... it’s just sex. He’s done it. And a lot. He and Jacinda practically copulated in the hallways between fourth and fifth period every chance they had last year.

  But he doesn’t want to do it with me.

  It stings a little.

  I’ll figure something else out.

  Leaving that problem for later, I skim the online Chicago North course catalog. It’s a long shot. Classes start tomorrow. Most everything is full or wait-listed, but I still head over to the theatre department to be sure.

  Playwriting 101. Instructor: Grant Wilson.

  Seats open: 1

  I bite my lip, letting my fingers hover over my touchpad.

  “Knock, knock.”

  I laugh instantly as my father pokes his head into my room. He never just... knocks. “Hey, Dad,” I say, closing my laptop. “What’s up?”

  He steps through the open doorway, his broad shoulders brushing the frame. “I come bearing a gift.”

  I turn my desk chair to face him, my attention fully locked on him now. “A gift?”

  With a chuckle, he presents a small box to me, shiny and white, and tied off with a sapphire ribbon. “For my only daughter on the eve of her freshman year.”

  I take it from him, smiling as he takes a seat on the edge of my bed. “What is it?”

  “Open it.”

  I pull the ribbon, letting it curl into my lap. “Ah!” I chuckle at the card as I pick it up. “A parking pass.”

  “With all the hustle of this week getting you three off to school, we completely forgot about parking and since I’m the idiot who bought all of my children new cars for their eighteenth birthdays this year...” He gestures to it.

  “Thanks, Dad.” I set it on my desk next to my phone. “I’m sure I’ll make good use of it.”

  “G-lot is the nearest to the quad,” he says. “Central to almost everything. But E-lot is right next to the campus wellness center, so you should park there instead.”

  I exhale through my nose, perhaps a bit too hard. “Yeah, I remember,” I say, recalling the countless times they pointed it out to me every single time we visited campus.

  He notices. “I don’t mean to nag you, honey.”

  “I haven’t had an asthma attack in over two years, Dad.”

  “That makes you overdue for a big one.”

  I tilt my head, annoyed. “That’s not how it works.”

  “I just want to make sure you’re taken care of. That’s all.”

  “I’m eighteen. Isn’t it about time you trust me to take care of myself?” I ask.

  His arms flex, wounded. “Man, I hate that.”