The clinic was pretty slow that day, and a nurse came out almost as soon as Logan had handed in his papers at the front desk. She led him through a door and he’d followed without another word to Cassie.

“All set?” Cassie looked up from her magazine as Logan came out of the door fifteen minutes later. He nodded.

As she took her purse and stood up, the doctor pushed through the door, waving a piece of paper at Logan. Cassie’s heart sank. She hoped it wasn’t another bill. Her dad had told her to be nice to Logan, not pay for his medical care. Seeing him with his sling and how much pain he was made her feel so guilty, though, she’d have paid whatever it took to make him better. But how would she explain it to her dad? He was the one that got the credit card bill.

“Logan, here’s your prescription,” the doctor said, handing him the paper. Cassie breathed a sigh of relief. That wouldn’t be too expensive. “Remember it’s best not to drive or bike for at least four weeks. No heavy lifting. Don’t let anyone pull too hard or lean on your arm.” The doctor winked at Cassie, clearly assuming she was Logan’s girlfriend.

Logan’s face turned such a bright pink he hopefully hadn’t noticed that Cassie’s had done the same.

“So, no bike for four weeks?” Cassie said once they were in the car. She’d been silent on the drive to the clinic, terrified that she’d just blurt out what she’d done to him. Now it seemed she’d be in chatterbox mode to hide her growing guilt. “Can I drop you off anywhere?”

“No, I’m not working today. I was supposed to go swimming for the first time this summer but…” he shrugged, then grimaced. Her heart sank at the pain on his face he was clearly trying to hide.

“I can take you to the pharmacy. Get you your meds.”

“Look, Cassie, I appreciate the lift to the doctor’s, but I can handle things. You don’t have to be driving me around like some charity case.”

“You’re not! I’m just helping you out. It’s a thing for Columbia.” She was thinking so fast, it just slipped out. Crap, how would she explain knowing about that without revealing her social media stalking?

“What? You’re going to Columbia?”

She nodded. At least it turned out to be the right Logan Hanes in her freshman group.

He groaned and leaned his head back against the seat.

“Great.”

Cassie bristled a little at this.

“It’s a big school, I’m sure you won’t have to put up with me once we’re there.” She wasn’t sure why she was so upset at the idea he didn’t like her, but she didn’t want to dig too deep into that right now. “For the summer, however, you’re stuck with me.”

Logan raised an eyebrow, and her heart raced as she grasped for the threads of an idea to pull together.

“My dad’s an alum and there’s this alumni…match…thing. But he’s really busy this summer. He told me all about it though, wanted me to reach out since we already know each other from school.”

She was talking at super speed now, her stomach churning at the spontaneous lie. It was never this hard to make things up for her parents or teachers. Amazingly, he seemed to be following what she was saying, despite the rapid-fire delivery.

“Alumni match? I haven’t heard of that.” He frowned.

Ignoring how cute he looked when he was confused, Cassie waved her hand, her heart rate slowing somewhat.

“It’s a new thing. I’m sure you got a letter or something at home, but you’re here for the summer. Call your mom to check.”

“No, she has enough to worry—” He stopped short and shifted in his seat. “I mean, she’ll let me know if I get anything from them.”

Cassie drove a while longer in silence, thinking through the details of this invented alumni summer connection. It was kind of brilliant, actually. A way for her to check in on him without it looking like that’s what she was doing. She’d be able to see if he needed more money for the doctor or a ride somewhere. And it was a good excuse for hanging out with him if Spencer asked. And she really hoped Spencer would ask. Soon.

“Why didn’t you just say that when you came by this morning?”

Cassie shrugged.

“I was more worried about getting you to the doctor. You looked really bad last night.”

He was silent for a minute.

“Thanks for worrying about me.”

“Well, Lions look out for each other.” Cassie cringed at the sugary sweetness of her voice. She sounded fake even to herself, but she couldn’t expect to break a years-long habit in just a few hours. Giving people what they wanted and expected was what she did best, after all.

Logan raised an eyebrow.

“‘Lions look out for each other?’”

“Yeah, it’s lame, but you gotta get used to it. Welcome to Columbia!” She smiled her perfected cheerleader smile just as she turned into his driveway. He didn’t react, just stared out the window, not getting out of the car.

“So what does this whole match thing involve?” he said slowly.

Her heart raced as fast as her mind did, scrambling for something to say. But she’d been in trickier situations before. The rush of competition and pressure was as familiar to her as the shores of the lake. So why was it so much harder to lie to Logan?

“It’s just a few check-ins over the summer with an alumnus. To answer your questions about the school, or about New York, whatever.”

“You know New York.” It was a statement, not a question, and he said it with a sigh behind his words.

“Oh yeah, really well.” Cassie was at her chattiest, brightest best. The peppier you were, the less people noticed anything was wrong with what you were saying. “We go maybe once a year, sometimes twice. For Mom and Dad to see friends, and to go shopping. It’s fun. You’ll like it.”

Logan nodded slowly. Cassie held her breath. Could this actually work? It would make her dad happy. And helping Logan would help her feel a little better about what she’d done, too. She’d put in some time with him this summer, and it would be like the accident had never happened. Spencer would get jealous enough to break up with her and turn to Marissa for comfort. Everyone would get what they wanted.

“So you’ll be there to answer my questions instead? Or do I need your dad’s number or something?”

Cassie shook her head.

“He is so crazy busy this summer, he’s barely even up here at the lake,” she lied, thinking about the days that went by with no sign of her dad returning to Helena for work. He’d been on the couch when she’d left that afternoon, watching ESPN and eating cereal.

“Could I get your number then?” Logan stumbled a bit over the words.

The little flutter in her stomach caught Cassie by surprise. A guy hadn’t asked for her number since freshman year. She knew it wasn’t because Logan was into her—he clearly still wasn’t a big fan—but it was a nice reminder that she had her whole life ahead of her for guys to be asking for her number. Spencer would be ancient history by the time she got to New York.

“Just add me on messenger,” she said, not wanting to appear too available. No sense getting too close, even if they did end up heading to the same school in the fall. She didn’t want the constant reminder in her phone of the guy she almost ran over. It was easier to block someone on social media.

“Done,” he said, tapping on his phone. He opened the car door, then turned back to look at her and smiled, his dimple making a brief appearance. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll talk to you later.”

Cassie sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly as she watched him walk into the house. She could do this. Just hang out with him a few times, tell him stuff about New York, make sure Spencer knew about it, and then be done with it. It wasn’t even a sure thing she’d go to Columbia, but Logan didn’t need to know that. All he needed to hear was whatever would make him think she was great, just like her dad had asked.

As she pulled out of the driveway, she thought of messaging him that night to meet again the next day. If she could turn on the charm, it might even all be over by the time the Fourth of July party rolled around. She was already thinking about the crazy good food her mom ordered, and the annual tradition of jumping into the lake from the dock with her sister and Marissa, right as the fireworks started.

She was definitely not thinking about how her heart had skipped a beat when Logan had smiled at her.