Annie laughed and went to the fridge and asked Bones when the next Instagram post was coming. The goon responded like she had just asked him when he was going to create his next Mona Lisa. “I never know. They just come to me.”

I looked at the clock again and knew we had to go. “I’m sorry, Annie. We have to get going . . . you know, finish the game. The other guys will be looking for us.”

Not surprisingly, Bones didn’t catch on. “What other . . . GUHHH!” I elbowed him in the gut. (I nearly had to jump up in the air to do it.) I gave him the look, and Bones finally got it. “Oh right, the other guys. We have to go. We should go out the back door.”

Annie closed the fridge, smiled, and said, “Okay, maybe another time.”

We headed out the back door, and Annie turned off the lights in the backyard so we wouldn’t be seen. I just couldn’t believe how cool this girl was and how the odds I’d ever get to be with her were . . . astronomical.

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