#debutantes

Sadie-Grace checked her phone nervously for what had to be the millionth time. Sawyer caught her looking and snorted. “Are you still waiting for him to text? It’s barely been two minutes since you replied to him.”

Sadie-Grace’s foot was now doing little circles on the floor. This would surely morph into dancing very soon. “Sometimes,” she replied, “people reply very quickly.”

“You’re a fast replier, aren’t you?” Sawyer asked, leaning back in her chair and stretching her hands over her head. The two of them, plus Lily, were occupying a corner table in a tiny local cafe that Lily had raved about for at least two hours beforehand. Sadie-Grace and Boone were supposed to have their first date here. Sawyer and Lily were present as backup⎼⎼in case something went wrong.

Something usually went wrong.

“You might not be aware of this,” Sadie-Grace told Sawyer seriously, “but things usually go wrong in my relationships.”

“I’m sort of aware,” Sawyer replied. “You break boys, right?”

Sadie-Grace nodded fervently.

“She doesn’t break all of them, per se,” Lily chimed in delicately. “There are just… accidents.”

“So you’re saying,” Sawyer interpreted, “it’s Murphy’s law? Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong?”

“I’ve never heard of that,” Lily replied primly.

“Well, good thing I just explained what it is.”

“However,” Lily continued, ignoring Sawyer, “it does seem to be a fitting description.”

Sadie-Grace’s phone chimed, and she quickly read the text before exhaling in relief. “There was not a car crash,” she reported happily.

“Were you expecting there to be a car crash?” Sawyer asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.

“You never know.” Sadie-Grace squeezed her phone in her hand and peered out the window. “I guess I should go wait at a different table?”

“If he’s close, that would be a good idea,” Lily agreed.

Sadie-Grace stood up, her foot still tapping nervously.

Sawyer pulled out a pair of sunglasses from seemingly nowhere. She passed them to Lily and then produced another pair that she put on herself. “Guess we’re going incognito.”

“We’re inside,” Lily argued. “This will make us look more suspicious.”

“Sunglasses indoors is the new fashion trend, Lily.”

“I assure you, it is not.”

“Then I’ll make it one.” Sawyer pushed her sunglasses up her nose and flashed Lily a confident smile. “Watch and learn, Lily. Watch and learn.”

Sadie-Grace picked a table across the cafe from Sawyer and Lily, far enough that she couldn’t hear them arguing about sunglasses and the current fashion trends (both things that Sadie-Grace did not pay much attention to on a regular basis). She waited as patiently as she could, leaning forward ever so slightly to get the clearest view of the door. After two minutes, the bell chimed, signaling the door was opening, and Boone Mason walked in.

It took absolutely everything in Sadie-Grace to not break out into ballet steps right there in the cafe. She lifted her hand as if to wave at him, and he caught sight of the movement and started towards her. “Good morning,” he said when he was close enough, tipping an imaginary hat in her direction.

Sadie-Grace straightened her posture. “Good morning,” she chirped.

Well. They were off to a surprisingly calm start.

“It’s the weirdest thing,” Boone continued, sliding into the chair across from Sadie-Grace and leaning forward conspiratorially, like he was about to share a life-changing secret. “That girl wearing sunglasses looks really familiar.”

Sadie-Grace blinked at him. “In what way?”

Boone shrugged. “I have no idea. She just does.”

“Maybe you recognize her aura,” Sadie-Grace said thoughtfully.

Boone winked at her. “Valid possibility.”

Sadie-Grace felt her cheeks flush. She steepled her hands on the table and changed the subject. “What are we supposed to talk about?”

“Whatever, I guess,” Boone replied, shrugging again.

Sadie-Grace was tempted to send a panicked look in Sawyer and Lily’s direction. The only reason she didn’t was because Boone would see it. They had not prepared enough for first-date conversation. Instead, they had several contingency plans in place for if something went wrong.

Which Sadie-Grace was expecting.

“Uh… what’s your favorite color?” Boone asked.

“Pink,” Sadie-Grace replied. “I also like blue,” she added thoughtfully. “Very light blue. Like a gender reveal.”

Boone considered this. To Sadie-Grace’s relief, he did not seem to find this extremely weird.

“What about you?” Sadie-Grace asked, shifting her position so she was sitting on her hands.

Boone gave the matter great thought. “Dark green,” he finally decided. He thought for a few more seconds, and then changed the topic. “Do you think Sawyer’s going to end up with anyone?”

Sadie-Grace’s brows furrowed together. “I don’t know. Why?”

“Don’t worry, I’m not interested in her,” Boone quickly continued. “However, you cannot deny she is very… magnetic.”

“In a good way or a bad way?” Sadie-Grace asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Unclear.” Boone leaned forward a little. “I can certainly say that you are also incredibly magnetic, but definitely in a good way.”

Or maybe a bad way. Depending on your perspective.

“I don’t know about that,” Sadie-Grace replied thoughtfully, squeezing the edge of the table.

Boone arched his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

Sadie-Grace hesitated for a second, unsure if she should share her stories of breaking boys on the first date or if that waited until they made it to a second date. Eventually, she gave in to the urge to tell him. “I… break boys,” she admitted.

“You break them?”

“Yes.”

“Fortunately, I am indestructible.”

This did not seem remotely likely to Sadie-Grace, but she let it slide. She changed the topic again, and let their conversation bounce from topic to topic. As the afternoon wore on, Sadie-Grace found herself slowly not glancing nervously at Lily and Sawyer or running through possible escape plans in her head. It was sort of a strange concept, but she was having fun.

When Sadie-Grace and Boone finally parted ways, Sadie-Grace was relieved to report to Lily and Sawyer that she had successfully not broken a boy for once.

“He ran into the door on his way out,” Sawyer noted, temporarily ruining the mood. “But I think he’s just clumsy.” She shook her head. “Congratulations.”