Virtually in Love by A. Destiny Page A

us to spend the entire day together.
    But I bit my tongue. He knew all that; he was going to try to work it out but didn’t want to make any promises he couldn’t keep. Family first, right? I could only imagine what my own parents would say if I wanted to skip out on some big family reunion to hang out with my boyfriend. Not that our family reunions were a big deal, since we pretty much all lived within half an hour from one another. Still.
    â€œOkay, sure,” I said. “Let me know when you find out.”
    â€œWill do. I can probably work it out,” he said. “Anyway, it’s going to be so weird being back in my old stomping grounds, you know? I haven’t been back in a couple of years.”
    â€œYeah.” I tried to imagine that. I’d lived in the same town—the same house—for my entire life. “I can’t believe I’m finally going to see you in person again after all this time!”
    â€œHope you won’t be disappointed.” His voice took on a teasing tone.
    â€œWe’ll see,” I teased back. “I hope you haven’t been sending me some cute guy’s pictures all this time.”
    He laughed. “Uh-oh—busted!”
    My bedroom door slammed open, and my brother stuck his head in. “Mom says it’s time for lights out,” he announced loudly.
    â€œHey,” I said. “Did you ever hear of knocking?”
    â€œWho’s that?” Trevor asked.
    â€œMy rude little brother.” I made an ugly face at Timothy. He responded with an obnoxious gesture and then slammed the door shut again. “But I guess I need to go. I don’t want to annoy my parents so they ground me or something—I want to be free as a bird to spend tons of time with you while you’re here!”
    â€œCool.” He chuckled. “Okay, guess I should hit the sack too. The guys and I—um, I mean the band, you know—will have to pack in as many rehearsals as we can before I leave on Friday. Zoe still thinks she can get us in at the club soon, and we need to be ready.”
    â€œYou will be. You guys are supertalented, and that’s the main thing, right?”
    â€œI guess.” He didn’t sound too certain.
    But I wasn’t really focused on his band just then. I couldn’t believe I was going to see him in less than a week! “I’ll text you tomorrow so we can start making plans and stuff, okay?”
    â€œSure,” he said. “Talk to you then. Good night, Chloe.”
    As soon as I hung up, I immediately called Vanessa. When she picked up, I didn’t bother to say hello. “Oh my gosh, you’re not going to believe this . . . .” I began, barely pausing for breath as I filled her in.
    She was almost as excited as I was. At first all she could manage were some squeals and chirps and other noises. Finally she said, gasping, “This could totally be another verse!”
    I knew what she meant without asking, and started to sing the chorus of our favorite song: “ True romance, it’s the air that we breathe. Just us two together. Yeah, just you and me .”
    About two words into it, Vanessa joined in. We sang it twice, and then I collapsed onto my bed with a sigh, resting my head on Gordo’s soft pink belly.
    â€œI can’t believe this is happening!” I exclaimed. “It’s seriously like a dream come true. A daydream, at least.”
    â€œI know, right?” Vanessa sounded wistful. “I hope I meet a guy as cool as Trevor someday.”
    â€œYou will. I still want to find you your own romantic date for the dance, remember? Now we can double!”
    â€œDon’t bother,” she said. “Since you’ll be with Trevor now, I might as well just go stag with Kaz.”
    Kaz. I gulped, realizing I’d sort of forgotten him when I’d heard Trevor’s news. My gaze wandered to the window, where I’d looked out