Lizzie looked at him with sadness in her eyes.
“Deon,” she said, “I’m honestly not sure what I pictured us as being. I’ve never had a serious boyfriend before, so I don’t know if I’m ready for serious right now.”
He nodded, a glum look on his face.
“I get it,” he said. “We’ll just hang out then and be friends.”
She smiled at him and said, “Thanks for understanding.”
He nodded and asked, “So, you won’t mind if I ask someone out for this weekend?”
Her mouth dropped open, and she blinked a few times before shaking her head.
“No, no,” she said, taking a deep breath. “That’s what we’re agreeing to, right? We’re not exclusive, so we can ask whoever we want out, right?”
He gave a quick nod, frowning, and said, “Right.”
After a short pause, he said, “Let’s get to homeroom bef
