After the secondhand clothes store, Cairo took me to his favorite diner. It’s a quirky little cafe away from Main Street— one of those places that’s hard to discover but people become regulars once they do.

Cairo grinned and smiled at the staff as we walked in. He’s obviously well known in this town, which, to be honest, makes me nervous. I slipped my hand out of his and made sure I sat opposite him at the table. We shared a plate of nachos and talked about music. It’s so easy with him. He doesn’t hold back.

Any question I asked him, he answered without hesitation. He told me all about his family, how the band started, how he and Latifa used to date but then became just friends. He told me about how Roman and Latifa really like each other but are both too scared to do anything about it.

I talked a little about Columbus but tried to shift the conversation back to him. I didn’t have anything to hide, but his life is so much more interesting than mine.

All I can really talk about is baseball… and school.

My sisters are interesting, so I told a few stories about them. But then we got onto music, and I swear it was like the world turned gray outside of us. We both leaned forward in our seats, enthusiastically talking about the bands we love, sharing opinions over albums and songs. We even broke into spontaneous singing. Both of us know the lyrics to so many songs, which led us into a game of “Sing the next line.” After that came “Name that song.”

Cairo pulled out his phone and I had to guess the song as quickly as I could. I basically knew them all.

“You have the best playlist.” I wipe my hand on a napkin and then drop it onto the empty plate.

“I bet you do too.”

I grin and scoop my hair over my shoulder so I can play with it.

“Actually that gives me an idea.” He snaps his fingers and quickly leaves the booth to pay. Before I know what’s happening, he’s pulling me out of the diner and walking me down to an old record store that looks ancient.

I’m surprised to hear the bell tinkle merrily as Cairo opens the door. The place seemed dead from the outside.

“Come on.” Cairo grins and tugs my arm, leading me into a cluttered mess. Every spare space of the store is filled with CDs, books, DVDs, figurines from movies, posters. You name it. If it has something to do with entertainment, it’s here.

A smile bursts across my face as I brush past Cairo and get busy checking out a CD collection. “This place is amazing.”

“I know. So old-school, right? Check it out.” He points to a table of vinyl records.

“No way.” I laugh and join him, thumbing through the old records. “Do they even have record players anymore?”

“My dad has one.”

I let out a delighted gasp and look up at Cairo. “That is so sick. I’d love to see it sometime.”

“Okay.” Cairo bobs his head. “Let’s go.”

“Uh, what?” I take a step back from him, still holding Michael Jackson’s Thriller album.

“We should go to my place. We can hang out in the music room, listen to vinyl records, play a little guitar. It’ll be fun.”

“Will your parents be there?”

“Maybe.” Cairo shrugs. “I don’t know what they’re doing today.”

I work my jaw to the side, instant nerves attacking me.

“Hey.” Cairo slowly takes the record from me and lays it down so he can cup my face. “You don’t have to worry. They’re just parents.”

“You wouldn’t say that if you knew my dad.”

“Is he really that scary?”

“Not scary, per se, more… It’s just easier to do things his way.”

“And I take it bringing home a guy he doesn’t know isn’t doing things his way?”

“He’s a cop.” I shrug. “He struggles with trust.”

“Hmmm.” Cairo tips his head to the side. “Well, my mom’s a poet-slash-artist and my dad’s a music teacher, so there’s really nothing too scary about them.”

I snicker and try to drop my head, but he gently forces me to look at him. “Come hang out with me at mine. Let me show you how I live.”

It’s so damn hard to resist. Not when I’m having the best day of my life.

“Okay,” I whisper, and let him lead me out of the little record store and into a whole other world of coolness.

* * *

I take a seat beside Cairo as he pats the bed and encourages me to sit down next to him. I’m in his room and kind of nervous, but it was actually his mom’s suggestion that we come hang out in here.

She’s awesome.

I mean, talk about cool and laid-back.

My mom’s like a taut wire compared to that beautiful Indian woman who is cooking us something delicious in the kitchen.

Stretching out my legs, I pat my jeans, totally aware of how close I am to Cairo right now.

We’re sitting on his bed together.

The butterflies in my stomach are making me dizzy. No, not butterflies, a herd of elephants, a charging rhino, a pride of roaring lions.

A line from that song “Starving” floats through my head and I snicker.

“What?” Cairo picks up my hand and starts playing with my fingers, threading them in and out of his.

He’s so natural and confident with the way he touches me.

He must have held girls’ hands before.

I try not to let that thought sour my moment.

“I was…” I lick my lips. “I was just thinking about a song.”

“Which one?”

“Oh…uh…” I let out a breathy laugh and turn away to hide my embarrassment.

“Max?” Cairo draws out my name, gently guiding my face back with the tips of his fingers. His brown eyes are dancing with amusement. “What song?”

“I’m not telling.” I laugh and lean my head on his shoulder.

“Okay.” He kisses the top of my head. “I’ll tell you my song, then.”

I go still as he starts to softly sing “Beautiful Soul.”

It’s so sweet and romantic, but it gives me the giggles. I slap a hand over my mouth while my stomach shakes with laughter.

“Am I being too romantic for you right now?” Cairo’s voice is dry but when I look up, I can see the hint of a smile in his eyes.

“I’m sorry.” I try to swallow my giggles, but a few more burst free before I can stop them. “It’s just that no one’s ever sung to me before. It’s very romantic, and I obviously don’t know how to handle it.”

His face warms with a soft smile as he skims his fingers down my cheek. “You’re one in a million, Max. I should be calling you Max-a-million.”

“Well, no one’s ever called me that before, so…”

His lips brush mine and I tilt my head to deepen the kiss. It’s not hard. My body knows what it wants. It’s been moving on instinct all day, and it’s a heady rush.

Cairo glides his hand around my waist and pulls me against him. I arch my back, trying to get as close as I can while tipping my head to explore a little deeper.

His tongue tastes so good. Feels so amazing.

This kissing thing could easily get addictive.

That should make me cautious, but instead it thrills me.

The song I’m too shy to sing to Cairo whistles through the back of my mind, capturing everything I’m experiencing at the moment.

I didn’t know I was starving until I tasted Cairo Hale.

And I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to sate this hunger…

But I’m quite happy to spend the rest of my day trying.

* * *

It’s with a slightly heavy heart that I let Cairo drive me home. All that awaits me is a whole heap of trouble. I didn’t have my phone with me all day, so my family has no idea where I’ve been and I’m not sure how I’m supposed to fess up and tell them.

I make sure Cairo drops me at the end of the street. He offered to come in and introduce himself. It’s sweet that he wants to back me up and everything, but I’m thinking no. Things are kind of tense in my house at the moment, especially with Mads getting attacked, and I don’t want to throw a Cairo bomb into the mix.

“Thanks for a great day,” Cairo turns to me, the streetlight highlighting the left side of his face.

I smile at him. “It was the best. You have a very cool life.”

“It’s only getting cooler.” He smiles and takes my hand, gently kissing my knuckles.

Brushing my teeth over my lower lip, I can’t fight my grin. “You’re very smooth.”

“I’m not trying to be.” He shakes his head. “You just… Being with you today has been so easy. I feel like I’ve packed a week of awesomeness into eight hours. You are amazing, and hanging out with you is very cool.”

“Thank you,” I whisper.

Reaching for my face, Cairo runs his thumb over my lips before leaning across the car to kiss me.

I grab his shoulder and have my final taste of the day. It’s delectable.

When he pulls back, I bite my lips together and reach for Cairo’s phone, searching for a song on Spotify.

“What are you doing?” He smiles.

Opening the car door, I hold his phone out to him and press play before slipping into the cool night air.

The opening riff to “Starving” floats out of the speakers and I close the door before my cheeks actually catch fire.

I glance back at the car as I’m walking away. Cairo’s turned on the interior light so I can see him and he’s smiling at me like he’s just won a million bucks. I grin back and do a giddy spin before jogging for my house.

Bubbles are rising and popping in my chest and it’s impossible to quell the smile on my lips. Wrapping my arms around my mitt, I let out an unabashed giggle as I open the kitchen door.

The TV is on in the living room. Hopefully I can sneak to my room without being noticed.

Tiptoeing through the dining room, I keep my head down and rush past.

No one calls my name.

Sweet. I made it.

A triumphant smirk is just forming when I hear someone softly saying, “Max?”

I grit my teeth and hold in a sigh when Chloe’s door creaks open.

“Where have you been? We’ve called like a hundred times today. I’ve been lying through my teeth covering for you with Mom. You’re lucky Dad’s been held up at work all day!”

I wince. Holding my breath, I turn to face her. “What did you say?”

“The usual.” She shrugs. “That you went to that fantasy movie no one else wants to see. And don’t worry, when Mom remembered that you’ve already ‘seen it’”—she does air quotes with her fingers—“I casually said you loved it enough to go twice.”

“Did she buy it?”

“Of course she did.”

I sag with relief. “Thank you.”

Chloe’s eyebrows rise with a pointed look that demands more.

“Sorry, I left my phone in the locker room. That’s why I didn’t text.”

She eyes my clothes and spots the bag of dirty baseball gear. Folding her arms, she gives me a narrow-eyed glare that reminds me of Mom.

I roll my eyes. “Oh, stop.”

“You have some major explaining to do.” She points up and down at my clothes, and then her lips part when she spots the chunky bracelet on my wrist. “Where did you get that?”

“I went shopping, okay?”

“You? Shopping? Without me having to hold your hand and force you?” She crosses her arms and leans against her doorframe. “Wow. Armitage is seriously changing you.”

I snicker, hyperaware that it’s changing us all.

“If it makes you feel any better, I bought them at a secondhand clothing store, so…”

Chloe’s eyebrows flicker with a confused frown.

I counter it with a sweet smile and spin towards my room. It seems to be my best method of dealing with these lies—blatant avoidance.

But Chloe doesn’t let me get away with it.

As I flick my door closed, she pushes it back open and takes a seat on Maddie’s bed, her gaze demanding and expectant.

I try to distract her. “Where’s Mads?”

Chloe tenses, gripping the edge of the mattress for a second. “She’s gone to see Holden.”

“Why?” I drop my bag of dirty clothes next to the hamper.

“To…tell him how she feels.”

“Excuse me?” It’s impossible to hide my surprise.

Chloe’s shoulders slump and before I can stop her, she starts rattling out the truth about her afternoon. How after the game Chloe found out that Maddie suspected Luke of being the guy who beat her up and so they went to talk to him.

“He got really shitty and tried to stop us, but thankfully Holden arrived to save the day. He took Luke to the police station to fess up and I encouraged Maddie to go and find him.”

“You did?” I point at her, my voice high with astonishment. I’m still trying to process the Luke thing, let alone the fact that Chloe told Mads to go see Holden.

“She really likes him, okay?”

“I know, but…so do you.” I plunk onto my bed, still dumbfounded.

“It was the right thing to do,” Chloe whispers. “They should be together. And I’m okay, you know?” She stands up and shuffles over to me, sitting down and leaning her head against my shoulder. “It sucks, but I want her to be happy. And at least I still have you.” She threads her arm through mine and gives it a squeeze. “We don’t need boyfriends. We have each other. Two single girls who don’t need some guys to make us happy.”

My mouth dries up like the desert. It’s a struggle to croak, “That’s right.”

“I’m so glad you don’t have a boyfriend. It’d really suck to be the only single one. I already feel like the odd one out sometimes.”

Leaning my cheek against her head, I murmur, “You’re not, Chloe. You’re one of us. You’re a Barlow sister, and we stick together.”

I pat her hand, not sure how the hell I’m supposed to bring up Cairo and the fact that I’m swiftly falling for him.

“So.” She sits up and clears her throat. “Tell me about your day, Houdini.”

I snicker and shake my head. “There’s really not much to tell. I shouldn’t have abandoned you and Mads. I should have been there when you went and saw Luke.” I dip my head, but Chloe gives me a friendly nudge with her shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it. You looked kind of bummed out after the game. I just assumed you went somewhere quiet to lick your wounds. I know what you’re like. You take baseball so personally.”

I manage a weak smile and decide to just go with her assumption. “I just needed some time away to make myself feel better.”

Her blue eyes fill with kindness as she grins at me. “And you chose shopping. Did it even work?”

“Yeah,” I whisper, fingering the bracelet. “I feel much better now.”

“Wow. My brain’s really struggling to compute this side of you, Maxy. It’s like your inner woman is trying to break out. How are you going to handle that?”

“Shut up.” I nudge her with a laugh.

Chloe giggles, kisses me on the cheek, then jumps up. “Come watch a late-night movie with me. I need the distraction. Nothing romantic.” She sticks out her tongue, then snaps her fingers and points at me. “Let’s go for one of those weird fantasy films you love. You know, with the dragons and the magic and the ugly creatures. You’re still into those, right?”

I give her a dry glare, which makes her giggle as she pulls me off the bed and down to her room.

I don’t have the heart to tell her that all I feel like doing is lying on my bed listening to “Beautiful Soul” and reliving every one of Cairo’s kisses.