Spill Over by Jolene Perry

him to? Why am I such a mess over this?
    “You disappeared.” Her eyes narrow. Anger? I’m still not sure.
    “Yeah, it was a little too cozy in there for me.” I lean back and fold my arms. And I don’t like games.
    “Crap.” She sits in a slump. “Okay. I’m about to take my mom’s advice , and this really sucks, okay?”
    I chuckle at her poutiness . “Okay.”
    “It’ll be easier if I don’t look at you.” She rests fingers on either temple, blocking her peripheral.
    “I don’t like Kent that way. I just don’t. It was stupid and not nice for me to invite him last night. And I think I like you that way, but y ou scare me because I’ve never…”
    The pause is excruciating, and her face doesn’t move or twitch or give any indication of what she might be feeling.
    “W ell, I can’t talk about that. A nd you don’t strike me as the kind of guy who’s happy waiting around for a girl to make up her mind , and I don’t know that you’d even want me, which would make all of this moot , and I’m a little confused, and I know you’re probably going somewhere fancy for school , and there’s no point in starting anything , and I’m afraid to start anything , and I don’t know what I’m saying , and really, really wish I hadn’t taken my mom’s advice.”
    She stops talking , breathing hard after her rant, and h er eyes close .
    She likes me. I hadn’t realized how much uncertainty I felt until she said it out loud , and now I’m feeling something like relief .
    “I’m going to school at NYU. ” That’s what I co me up with?
    Our eyes meet. “Probably me too.”
    “What?” I ask. Amber in New York?
    “It’s one of my final three, ” she says.
    “Oh.” What else did she talk about? “I think I only understood about half of what you said. ”
    She stands, her cheeks redder by the second. “Let’s just pretend I didn’t say anything. Okay? I think that would be better.” She shifts her weight a few times and scans the carpet with her eyes.
    “ Alright , but I’m sort of confused by the whole thing.” At least I’m being honest.
    She likes me, but isn’t sure, and also isn’t sure if she wants to start something?
    “I’ll tell you what. I’ll go outside for a bit, and then I’ll come back down so we can start over.” Her shoulders are t au t, her face is tight , and her hands are clenched together on the table.
    I reach forward and touch my fingers to hers. Mostly because I’m an idiot, but partly because I’m really starting to like her . A lot.
    Our eyes meet. “I’m nervous , and we’re going to pretend I didn’t say anything.”
    “Fine.” I pull my arms away , chest back to tension . Why am I even bothering?
    She jogs up the stairs and out to the back deck.
    I’m left alone, in the silence of Dad’s boat. Three set s of feet are padding around up there, preparing to take off . P robably I should, too. Only no w I’m more confused than ever about what’s going on with Amber.
    After a few more minutes, I step outside, and the sun’s out. Wow. Even in the winter it’s beautiful here. The reflection off the small ripples in the water is unreal.
    “T he weather’s supposed to be crazy warm for March. Aren’t you excited?” Amber’s smile is wide.
    Two seconds ago we were in awkward-ville. I guess we’re okay now. “Uh…yeah .”
    She laughs. “You’ll love getting out of Kingston for a while and up into Canada . It’s the perk of living on a boat.”
    “Okay.” I nod.
    “Besides, your dad’s boat is really nice.” Amber finishes typing up her line and stops next to me. Dad and Lynn are looking at charts on his small screen by the steering station.
    “It is?”
    Her eyes widen. “Are you kidding? This is an Oyster, and a big one.”
    “This is big?” I guess it’s one of the biggest on the docks, but still.
    “For a sailboat, yeah. These things run over a millio n,” she whispers.
    “ What ?” Where did my dad get that kind of