After the guys were done playing football, they got out the fireworks and were setting them off in the driveway and on the street. There were certain laws in Minnesota about what kind of fireworks you could have and set off, especially in town. Not that the guys cared about the rules too much. Elise was pretty sure there were a few that would get them in trouble if someone turned them in or if the police drove by. But the neighbors who were outside around Rachel and Sean’s house were pretty much doing the same thing.

Up until now, Barbie had been leaving Luke alone. It had helped that he was playing football and then helping Sean grill the burgers and hot dogs they had for dinner.

But, now, she was marching up to him and holding out her hand for him to look at. A second ago, Barbie had been near a firework that went off. She had squealed and jumped away, startled, but in no way had she looked hurt. Until her eyes had focused on Luke with determination.

Elise wanted to pull Barbie aside and tell her to lay off the man. Not because Elise was jealous or anything like that, but because it was so obvious that Barbie wanted Luke, and it made her look desperate. Elise had heard a couple of people snicker behind Barbie’s back, and her heart went out to the girl. She remembered what it was like to be young and unsure of herself, and then to add liking a boy on top of that was the worst.

Molly, Barbie’s older sister, was a few feet away, and her attention was drawn to the situation. Molly’s face fell when she heard one guy’s comment about how, if Luke didn’t want Barbie, then he would screw her, like her little sister was some kind of thing. Molly hurried over to where Luke was inspecting Barbie’s hand and shaking his head, like he didn’t see anything wrong. Molly pulled Barbie away and spoke into her ear. Barbie looked around before hurrying off to run along the side of the house. Molly sighed as her shoulders slumped, obviously frustrated, and ran after her sister.

Luke walked over to Elise.

“So, did your admirer have a boo-boo she needed you to look at?” Elise felt bad for Barbie, but she still had to tease Luke a little.

“She was just fine.”

“If you say so.”

Luke ignored her joking. “Are you ready to set off a firecracker?”

Elise laughed, shaking her head. “No way. I’d probably shoot myself in the face and have to go to the hospital.”

“No, you won’t. Besides, I’ll help you. I won’t let you get hurt.”

Elise squinted at him. “What about the fact that it’s illegal?”

Luke stuck his fingers in his ears. “La-la-la-la-la. I can’t hear you.” He put his hands down. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what you’re talking about. Now, are you going to do this or not?”

“Not.”

“Wrong answer,” he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her over to the corner of the driveway. He bent over and sifted through the assortment of fireworks there. He grabbed one, stood up with a huge grin on his face, and handed it to her.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” she asked.

It was cylinder-shaped, about two inches in diameter, and six inches tall. It did not look small, and she was already worried.

“Go and set it in the middle of the road, and light it.”

When she just stood there, he pulled her out to the street, took it out of her hand, and set it down.

“Now, you have to light it.”

“Are you sure I won’t get hurt?”

Luke held up three fingers. “Scout’s honor.”

She snorted. She doubted he’d ever been a Boy Scout.

She bent, pulled the tape off of the fuse, and drew it away from the firecracker.

Luke handed her something. “It’s called a punk.”

She snatched it from him. “I know what a punk is.”

He chuckled and raised his eyebrows. “Well, excuse me.”

Elise lit the firecracker, and then she quickly stood and backed up.

She made it almost to the sidewalk when Luke pulled her onto the lawn. “Watch out!”

“Shit!” she screamed as she ducked.

What kind of firecracker had he given her? That’d teach her to always read the label.

She heard a pop and turned around. Luke pointed up in the sky to what looked like a parachute.

Yep, that’s a parachute. Why all the excitement then?

She turned to Luke, who was stifling a laugh.

“You are such an ass,” she said as she pushed him, which only made him laugh harder. “You scared me. I thought it had exploded all over.”

Luke kept on laughing, as did everyone else around him.

“I hate you. It’s not funny,” she said as she walked away.

“It’s kind of funny!” he shouted after her.

She reached Rachel, Tera, and Heidi, who were all giggling but at least looked like they were trying not to.

Rachel said, “That was hilarious. You should have seen your face. You looked so afraid.”

“Hardy-har-har. I was terrified. He had me thinking I was going to blow up or something.” She added, “The big jerk,” loud enough for Luke to hear.

He turned, smiled at her, and winked.

Elise rolled her eyes.

Heidi looked at her. “Gurl, did he just wink at you?”

“Yes, but only because he thinks the stunt he pulled is hilarious.”

“Uh-huh,” Tera said.

But it didn’t look like she believed Elise, and Rachel just stared at her but didn’t say anything.

Elise was done talking about the whole thing, so she changed the subject. “Hey, Rachel, how come Shelly and Joe didn’t come today?”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. Shelly is on bed rest these last few weeks of her pregnancy. She was pretty disappointed she couldn’t come. And Joe decided to stay home with her.”

“Aw, that’s sweet. Tell her hi for me the next time you talk to her.”

“Will do.”

Apparently, her changing the subject hadn’t worked too well because all three of her friends were studying her. She didn’t understand what the big deal was. So, Luke had played a joke on her. It wasn’t like it’d meant anything.

Tired of being scrutinized, she told them, “I’m going to get something to drink.”

Before heading over to the beverages, Elise went into the house and used the bathroom. She dawdled in there for a bit, needing some time away from people. Everyone was outside, so she was alone—thankfully. Next, she cleaned up some plates and cups that were sitting around the kitchen and living room before heading back to the garage.

She mixed herself a drink when she realized she could hear voices coming from the backyard. There was so much commotion up front that she hadn’t heard other voices drifting from the opposite direction until that moment.

Curious, Elise stepped outside, into the back. At first, she didn’t see anyone, but then, off to the right, almost hiding behind the deck rails, were two people sitting down. She stepped closer, suddenly realizing it was Luke and Tera.

Tera looked up at Elise, and a look flashed across her face that almost appeared to be guilt, but it was gone so soon that Elise thought she might have imagined it. Tera threw her arm in the air and waved Elise over. When she reached them, she stood behind Luke’s chair, so Tera was facing her. She saw that Tera had her leg on Luke’s lap, and he was running his hand down her calf, pausing to squeeze it as he moved his fingers lower.

“Hey, Elise. Luke here was kind enough to look at my leg. Some dummy shot a bottle rocket, and it slammed into my calf.”

“How nice of him,” Elise tried to say in a perfectly normal voice.

But watching him touch Tera like that made her uncomfortable. And, worse, it made her jealous.

So much for not feeling possessive.

Luke seemed to be inspecting Tera almost clinically, and he didn’t even look up at Elise. That hurt. Like he didn’t even care that she was watching him touch her.

She told herself to let it go. But hadn’t he just kissed her several hours ago? And hadn’t he asked her to be his pretend girlfriend? And to rescue him from Barbie? And, after she had, he’d put his arm around her and kissed her cheek, like she was special. And then he’d had the gall to come behind her and sing the naughty lyrics of a song in her ear, as if he really had wanted to get inside her again. And then the joke and the wink? They weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend, but she had thought they were friends. Or was he just using her for his own amusement?

Normally, Elise prided herself on being pretty levelheaded and calm. She got angry and upset like everyone else, but in her line of work, she had really mastered having patience and not showing others when she was mad or distressed.

But, today, almost as if someone else had taken over her body, Elise took a swig from her big red Solo cup and then proceeded to dump the remains down Luke’s back.

Luke cursed and jumped up from his chair, knocking Tera’s leg off his lap, and Elise immediately regretted her childish act.

“Oh my God, I am so sorry,” Elise told him.

She couldn’t believe she’d done that. She had no claim on Luke. They weren’t in a relationship. She didn’t even think she wanted one.

What the hell is wrong with me?

Luke stood, hunched over, back still to her, with his arms out, just standing there and letting the liquid drip off him.

She wanted him to turn around and look at her, so she could read his face.

She didn’t get a chance because Sean and Rachel came out from the garage.

“Tera, Rachel just told me—” He stopped when he saw Luke. “Oh, man, Luke, what in the hell happened to you?” Sean started laughing at his friend.

“I think Elise got revenge on him for the fireworks thing,” Tera said, giggling.

“What? No. I didn’t—I mean—it was an accident, okay?”

Rachel held her hand over her mouth to try to stifle her laugh as Elise shot past her and into the house.

Elise ran to the bathroom where she quickly grabbed a towel and took it outside to Luke.

When she got back out there, he was stripping off his shirt, and he still had his head down, so she couldn’t see if he was mad. He took the cloth from her and began drying himself off.

“Give me your shirt, Luke, so I can throw it in the wash,” Rachel said.

“It’s okay. I can take it home.”

“Don’t be silly. Give it to me.”

Luke handed it over while he dried his head and back. “I’m going to head to my house to change real quick,” he said.

Because he was broader and larger than Sean, there was no way Luke could wear a shirt that belonged to Sean.

Luke handed Rachel the towel and took off through the neighbor’s yard, in the direction of his home.

After he left, the backyard was silent.

“That was awesome,” Tera finally said. “You should have seen his face. Classic.”

Elise didn’t even try to tell her again that she hadn’t done it as a joke. What was she supposed to say instead? That the green-eyed monster had taken over her body, and she had acted immaturely? No, she definitely wasn’t going to say that.

“Remind me never to cross you,” Sean told Elise.

Rachel took Luke’s shirt and the towel into the house. Sean turned and followed.

Tera stood up from the chair and approached Elise. She patted her on the arm. “Don’t worry; he’ll get over it.” Then, she continued on into the garage and disappeared.

Alone, Elise admitted to herself that she’d acted juvenile, and she felt guilty. She was maturer than that, and the grown-up thing to do was go and apologize.

Not bothering to say good-bye to anyone, Elise took off after Luke.