Page 29 of Talk Swoony to Me

Well, that was easy.

“Rematch!” Seth shouts at me.

I laugh as I take a step back from the table. “Nah, man. I’m out.”

“You give up?” he asks. “I win!”

“You win, I win, too!” I say.

We raise our cups again. “Delta Xi!”

The battle cry echoes throughout the room again.

I glance around, suddenly noticing that someone is missing. “Where’s Heidi?” I ask.

Seth squints, thinking hard. “Air!” he finally says. “She went outside to get some air.”

I pat him on the back as I step around the table. “You should switch to water,” I say.

“Dude…” He admires me. “Always looking out for me. I love you, man.”

I laugh. “I love you, too, buddy.”

As I weave through the thinning crowd, I check my phone for the time. It’s nearly 11 PM already. Man, tonight has gone by fast, but it’s still young. Still full of possibility.

I step outside onto the porch. A few couples linger on the banister, chatting quietly against the smooth music Jack switched on to change the mood. I guess it is about that time that some make their parties a little more private.

One girl sits by herself on the porch stairs.

I pause above her. “Hey, Ms. Fujimoto.”

Heidi glances up at me and chuckles softly. “Hey,” she says.

“Mind if I join you?”

“Uh, yeah. Sure.”

She shifts a bit to the right, giving me room to sit down on the step beside her. I take a deep breath of the autumn air, attempting to cool off a bit of my buzz.

“Nice night,” I say.

Heidi bobs her head. “It’s on the surreal side for me, but…” I chuckle. “Yeah. It’s been nice.” She looks at me, then quickly turns her head again. “So, where’s Jenna?” she asks.

“Oh, she’s with Jack.”

“Jack?”

“Yeah, I think they’ll be very happy together.”

Again, a look of surprise. “I thought you two were hitting it off there.”

“Nah,” I say. “She’s not really my type.”

Heidi nods politely then turns away again, this time to stifle an adorable yawn.

“Tired?” I ask.

“It’s…” she composes herself, “a little past my bedtime.” She looks over her shoulder into the house. “If Jenna found herself a new boy toy, then I might be waiting here a while.”