Her features were mixed race, Caucasian and more than likely Korean with high, rounded cheekbones, elegantly formed dark brown eyes and absolutely flawless porcelain skin.

She was stunning.

“Hey, Josie,” Amber greeted. “What’s up?”

At Amber’s voice, my fears returned and I tore my eyes away from the girl at her side and looked to her.

“We need to find some privacy, lovely girl. I need a word,” I told her.

Her face went guarded but Taylor came to my rescue.

“Totally, Amber. You gotta hear what just happened.”

Amber looked to her friend, her expression even more wary and we moved away from the concession stand to the open grassy area between it and the bleachers. We found a large patch of grass where no one was standing close and we huddled together.

“What’s going on?” Amber asked immediately.

I opened my mouth to answer but her friend spoke before me.

“By the way, I’m Taylor or, uh…the other Taylor. Amber and Taylor’s bestest bestie,” she introduced herself.

“Lovely to meet you, Taylor. I’m Josephine.”

“I know.” She smiled, her features rearranging subtly into another extraordinary view. “Amber’s makeup tonight is sick. Everyone is checking her out. It’s awesome.”

I was pleased she thought so and I smiled but I said no more as I had more pressing things on my mind.

Before I could share these, boy Taylor stated, “Girl, Noah got behind us in line at the concession stand and I don’t think he saw me because he and his posse trash talked you extreme.”

Amber’s face lost all its color as she stared at her friend.

“Don’t worry though. Josie totally laid him out,” boy Taylor went on to assure her.

Her pale face turned my way and it was clear from the look on it she was not assured.

I got closer, feeling my heart beating harder. “I’m so sorry, my lovely girl,” I said gently. “He was saying some awful things and I simply couldn’t help myself.”

“What’d he say?” she whispered.

Boy Taylor (and girl Taylor) huddled closer and boy Taylor shared quietly, “He called you a tease and said if you like your cherry so much, you can keep it.”

Pink tinged her cheeks at that even as she winced.

“What a dick,” girl Taylor decreed at this point and I looked to her to see her looking at Amber. “I so totally told you, Amber. He’s completely up his own ass.”

“He is, girlfriend,” boy Taylor agreed. “He thinks he’s all that when you’re all that and tonight with your face like it is you’re even more all that. And anyway no guy should trash talk a girl for anyone to hear or…freaking…ever. But he did and he’s so not worth putting up with this. Even if he was, he still wouldn’t be.”

“I believe this is true,” I told her, still going gently and she looked to me. “And I’m afraid I shared this with him and, perhaps, fibbed a bit,” I finished on an admission.

“You fibbed?” she asked, her voice weak as she accepted these rather vicious-to-a-teenaged-girl blows.

“Yes.”

“About what?”

I took a deep breath and on the exhale explained, “Well, I told him I was taking you and the Taylors to Bounce, which I didn’t know that was the concert you wanted to see in Boston. Since I know Lavon, I’ll be happy to do that if we can talk your father into letting you go.”

Her mouth dropped open and I looked to the girl Taylor.

“You may wish to share this with your parents. Lavon will gladly give me backstage passes should I ask, something I’ll be doing first thing tomorrow. Please assure your parents all travel arrangements and accommodation will be covered by me and I’ll be with you at all times.”

Her striking eyes were big and she asked, “You know Lavon Burkett?”

“Of course,” I murmured, but felt it imperative we return to the matter at hand.

To do so, I looked back to Amber.

“I must share that I also fibbed about the fact that you’re talking with Julian online. Julian is a model that Henry often works with. Of course, I can introduce you to Julian and make that fib true too, but I’m uncertain how your father will react to that so let’s get the concert issue dealt with first and then we’ll move on to Julian.”

Amber was now blinking up at me, clearly unable to process all that was coming her way, but before I could even attempt to reassure her, boy Taylor exclaimed, “Oh my gawd!”

“What?” girl Taylor asked.

We all looked to him to see he had his phone screen turned our way. On it was a picture of Julian emerging from the surf, fully wet, his well-defined body alluringly bronzed, wearing rather skimpy black bathing trunks, water dripping from a dark lock dangling from his forehead, an arresting yet mischievous smile on his face.

“Please tell me he’s really gay,” boy Taylor breathed.

“Alas, I can’t tell you that young Taylor, for he very much is not,” I replied.

“I’m in love,” girl Taylor whispered.

“You can introduce me to him?” Amber asked breathily.

My eyes moved to her and I saw my mistake so I moved instantly to control the situation.

“Let’s stay focused,” I urged. “First, your friends need to get permission to go to the concert and I need to discuss that with your father to make certain you can go. Second, you need to handle yourself tonight very carefully. I’ve no idea how Noah will react to my set down but he might take that out on you.”

I got closer and spoke quieter.

“You, my lovely girl, must act like you don’t care. You can take him or leave him. If he ignores you, bury any reaction you may have to it. You can talk to your friends about it or even…” I hesitated before offering, “me, if you would trust me enough to share your feelings. If he doesn’t ignore you, give him your time but not much of it. His words and behavior tonight proved he’s not worth it.”

Amber proved she had a one-track mind—that being the boy track—when to this she repeated with a jerk of her head in the direction of boy Taylor’s phone, “You can introduce me to him?”

“Amber, did you hear what I said?” I asked.

I watched her swallow, her eyes get bright and her words were trembling when she asked back, “He called me a tease?”

At the look on her face and the sound of her words, I felt my heart get heavy.

My poor girl.

I leaned into her and lifted a hand to her jaw.

Stroking her soft cheek with my thumb, I whispered, “Yes, my lovely girl. He was most ungentlemanly.”

“He acted like he liked me,” she whispered back.

“He likely does,” I told her. “He also has to show a certain face to his friends and feels he has to play his role as big man in a way that he can keep that role but has the mistaken and rather juvenile impression that doing that means gathering conquests and behaving very badly.”

She was still whispering when she told me, “But Josie, I’ve liked him since…forever.”

I pulled in another deep breath, long since gone from my high school years but remembering quite acutely what it was like to crush on a boy and have him show me the attention I so craved.

Thus, I stroked her cheek again and replied, “I think now you’re experiencing a lot of things, my lovely. And one of them is simply the fact that he does not live up to what you thought he would be. But he doesn’t. It may take some time for you to come to terms with this but the fact of the matter is it’s true. And perhaps my words tonight will penetrate in some way and he’ll look at you with different eyes. But if he does and his attention returns to you, you must not accept anything but that which is grounded not only in attraction but also respect, kindness and affection.”

“He’s the cutest guy in school,” she informed me.

“This may be true but I assure you, if you heard his words tonight, he would appear far less attractive to you, even if those words hadn’t been spoken about you,” I shared.