"I'm sorry for not recognizing you sooner," I stammered.

David laughed and leaned against the bar.

"I haven't changed that much, have I?"

Tally looked between us, confused.

"I'm David," he said, offering her his hand. "I went to school with Lyra."

After being momentarily stunned, Tally shook his hand and introduced herself. As though on cue, her cellphone rang.

"I'll be right back, Lyra. My mom's calling."

I watched as Tally went outside, aware that David and I are alone.

"Hey Luke," yelled David to the guy on the other side of the bar, "I'm taking a fifteen!"

He pulled a small stool from behind the bar and sat across from me, smiling.

"So how are you? Are you still at Book It?"

"Yup," I croaked and immediately tried to cover it up with a cough.

His eyebrow arched and his smile widened to show perfect white teeth.

Was he always this handsome?

After a heartbeat of a pause, his demeanor shifted. There was a ghost of sadness in his expression.

He asked again, "And how are you?"

I glanced down at the tiny cracks on the bar, taking a large sip of my drink. The sweet tartiness burned my throat a little and made my back teeth tingle. I wish there was booze in here.

"I'm fine. Nothing out of the ordinary."

Now it was David's turn to look down.

"Listen, Lyra," he started, running his fingers through his hair, "about last summer."

"We don't have to talk about it," I blurted out nervously, taking both of us aback.

"I'm sorry, I mean, if it makes you uncomfortable, we don't need to revisit that. I'm fine with us being friends."

David continued to look at me, his fingertips against his lips. I squirted under his gaze.

"What if I'm not fine with that?"

"David, I—"

"Phew!" Tally said as she took her seat back at the bar, her cheeks slightly flushed from the alcohol. "It was a false alarm."

David had leaned back and I recoiled in surprise.

Tally must have sensed the tension because she asked, "Did I interrupt something?"

"Not at all," he said smiling. "Enjoy your drinks! They're on the house."

He tucked in his stool and instantly started making drinks on the other side of the bar.

"Wow, that was nice of him," Tally said as she took another sip of her drink. "He looks familiar though."

The look on my face as I gulped down the rest of my drink and hers made her easy expression fall.

"David...As in David Wellens?"

"The one and only."

She rubbed her eyes dramatically.

"How did we not see it?"

I shrugged, "I guess it's because we didn't expect him here."

I ran my finger down the condensation of my empty glass.

Blueberry Bomb. That's what he called it.