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below. She dangles her legs, pushes off from the side of the house, catches her foot on a crispy-looking hydrangea, and falls to her hands and knees on a pile of dead leaves.
    Holding in a laugh, I whisper down to her, “That was graceful. Are you okay?”
    “Fine, fine,” she says, hopping up and brushing her palms over the front of her jeans.
    I check that my backpack is securely on my shouldersand then make the same jump—except I manage to miss the vicious plants and land on my feet.
    Ming sticks out her tongue. “Show off.”
    She pushes her way back to the window, reaches up, and inches it across its track until it’s almost closed.
    I zip my coat to my chin. We’re both wearing lots of layers like Xander suggested, but I’m still feeling the chill. My breath steams in front of me as I dig my gloves out of my pockets and pull them on.
    “All right,” Ming says. “Let’s go!”
    We creep out of the yard, and then when we’re about a block away, we start skipping down the sidewalk like hyper kids at recess. It’s eerily quiet in her housing development, and I’m wound up; I finally get to see Reece for the first time since Christmas break started two days ago. All I want to do is jump around and dance, dance, dance.
    “Did Xander tell you where we’re going yet?” I ask.
    “All he’d say is that they’re picking us up at the park. My guess is that after that we’ll probably end up at some abandoned boxcar or secret cave somewhere. You know how my boyfriend is.”
    “Horny?” I’ve seen them all over each other enough times—totally against my will, obviously—to know that that’s the truth of it.
    Ming gives me a push. “I meant that he’s adventurous . Anyway, I’ll make sure that wherever we end up, you and you-know-who get some quality alone time.”
    “Well, okay!” I laugh like she’s beyond strange for bringing it up. I’m looking forward to exchanging Christmas presents with Reece, but the idea of “quality time” is kind of outside my comfort zone.
    We turn the corner and reach the park. The parking lot is empty, so we make our way across the grass. “I can’t stop wondering why you’re so weird about him,” Ming says in a way-too-concerned sounding voice as we approach the swings.
    “I’m not.”
    “You are .” She’s still being serious. “You won’t even admit to liking him. He’s going on vacation with your family. You’re together all the time. You got him a stuffed giraffe for Christmas. It doesn’t get any more obvious, but you still won’t confess to me!”
    I reach back and pat my bag containing Reece’s gift. The first time I ever really talked to him was earlier in the fall at the zoo after Ming and Xander disappeared on us. Reece and I then paid extra for the chance to hand-feed bamboo leaves to the giraffes, and immediately afterward, I tripped and took him down to the ground with me. It was embarrassing, but hewas nice about the whole thing and we’ve been hanging out ever since.
    “It’s a stupid present to get for a boy, isn’t it?” I ask Ming.
    “No, it’s very cute.” She sits on a swing. “And if there was ever a boy who’s exactly the right amount of sappy to appreciate it, it’s Reece.”
    The frowny-faced way she’s looking at me makes my chest tighten. Alejandra was my best friend for so long that I was used to sharing most of my secrets with only her. The fact that we’re not close anymore is an understatement, but maybe I can have something like that with Ming.
    “All right,” I blurt out. “I like him.”
    That’s all it takes for Ming’s lips and cheeks to spring into a positively gleeful expression. “You like who ?”
    I kick the wood chips at my feet. “Who do you think?”
    “Oh, no. You’re not getting off the hook, Coley. Say it!”
    There’s no reason why this should be hard. Four words. I’ve spoken all of them before—just never in this particular order. I take a deep breath, let it out slowly. “I