The Way Back Home by Alecia Whitaker

on an RV with Dylan after a breakup, and it is not a pretty sight.
    I face her. “So, should we make some ground rules?”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œWell, if you guys do start dating, how’s that going to work?”
    â€œI don’t understand.”
    I exhale loudly. “Like, I don’t want to be in the middle if there’s any drama, you know? And I don’t want to be the third wheel on all your dates. And I definitely don’t want to hear you guys making out at night.”
    Stella starts laughing. “Bird! It’s not like he’s my boyfriend. I don’t know what we are or if we’ll even be anything.”
    I look over at her. “My brother is a lot of things, but he’s not stupid. You’re a catch. Any guy would be a fool not to date you.”
    She beams at me and squeezes my hand. “What if we make a code name?” Stella suggests. “What if I can still have your feedback as my best friend without compromising your situation as his sister? Like, I can still tell you everything, and you can imagine that it’s… Channing Tatum, a hot, tall, delicious guy with amazing eyes who makes me melt every time I hear him play the guitar.”
    â€œChanning Tatum, huh?”
    She giggles and nods.
    â€œOkay,” I say. “So has Channing slipped you the tongue?”
    â€œExcuse me!” Stella exclaims. “Mr. Tatum is a gentleman.”
    We laugh. We laugh and it feels good, and I realize that, as usual, I’ve been making things more complicated than they have to be. I’ll listen when either wants to talk, I’ll keep everything they say about the other to myself, and I’ll stay Switzerland on all possible conflicts.
    â€œHe hasn’t kissed me,” she says softly now. “I definitely would’ve called you if things had gotten that far.”
    â€œI would hope so,” I say.
    â€œWe spent our days off together, but he didn’t really make another move. It just seems like we touch a little more often now, like he’ll lean against me in line for lunch or I’ll scratch his back while we watch a show. There’s tension like something might happen, but it hasn’t.”
    â€œMaybe you intimidate him,” I say.
    â€œOr maybe he knows when he kisses me it’ll make it all real,” she says. “Maybe he’s not ready for real.”
    She picks at a loose thread on her shirt, and I can almost hear her thoughts. I wonder if they echo mine:
What does it mean when it all gets real?
I can’t help but think about Kai and how perfect our relationship was when we were on the road together last year. And then I remember how impossible it was once we were apart. I wonder if we would still be friends if we’d never taken it to the next level. I used to tell him everything, we shared every part of our day, and now all I get are snippets of his life from his Instagram account.
    The same thing happened with Adam. We were always so comfortable together, and I nursed a crush on him well before I let him know about it because I was always worried that he looked at me as nothing more than Jacob’s little sister. We finally went on a date, and it was so perfect. I thought we had a chance. But he stopped it before we really got going, and now it’s only the occasional text message or tweet that keeps us in contact.
    I close my eyes and am inundated by painful memories from two failed relationships. I haven’t been on a single date since my breakup after New Year’s. There really is a lot at stake on the brink of things getting real.

7

    â€œI’ M STANDING HERE with three-time-VMA-nominated Bird Barrett, who looks stunning this evening,” Sway Calloway says on the red carpet.
    I smile. “Thanks, Sway. It’s so good to be here.”
    â€œNow, I just spoke with your old pal Devyn Delaney, and she said your performance is the one she’s most