Excerpt from Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Meredith stands and stretches backwards so that her sweater rides up to show the bright flash of her bellybutton ring. She reaches towards me and says, Come with me. I follow her to a bedroom on the top floor of the house where the low eaves make the space feel much smaller than it is. The street light filters in through a large circular window and quickly disappears into the nooks and tight spaces. Meredith flops down on a bed with white covers colored orange by the outside light. We listen to the wind and icy snow against the roof while the treetops outside sway back and forth, making the room feel like it rocks unsteadily. I hold my arms over my chest and massage my triceps through my sleeves. I have been to her house many times before, but never this late, never just the two of us. I know it's every teenage boy's dream, if only for bragging rights in the back corner of the senior lounge, but I hate the way my classmates speak about girls and sex. Their voices sound greedy and untrustworthy.

Niru? Meredith says my name like a question. She sits Indian-style on the bed with her head tilted to one side. Shadows obscure her face but her fingernails catch the light every time they slide through her hair. You can come in, you know, this is where you're going to sleep. I step from the wood floor where my toes curl against the cold and my feet relax into a soft warm carpet. I drop to my knees against the bed and lay my head a small distance from Meredith's knee. Her hand hovers in the space just above my cheek, and my jaw tenses, then my back, then my legs and finally my toes but she doesn't touch me. She has touched me so many times before, bear hugs, steadying hands, playful slaps while running, but this feels like it will be different. She doesn't touch me. Instead she tosses her hair to the opposite shoulder and places her hand on her knee. I close my eyes. Why didn't you kiss me in the Bishop's Garden, at Homecoming, why didn't you kiss me, she asks.

We'd gone to Homecoming together because we just knew we would go together and at some point between twirling around to "Shake It Off" and bouncing to "Jumpman" we left the music thumping behind for some quiet in the gardens at the foot of the National Cathedral. There was no moon and only a smattering of stars above the city as we walked arm in arm across the green. Careful, I said because the high heels she wore with her short black cocktail dress sank into the soft grass. I held her hand while she removed them and we walked with our fingers interlocked across the lawn to a gazebo surrounded by carefully tufted and wilting wild grass. A few yards from the entrance we saw two figures caressing in the shadows, completely unaware of the rest of the world. Meredith slipped her arm in mine and we backed away quietly towards the flagstone paths that twisted through the rose bushes and wildflower beds.

It's Ms. McConnell, Meredith giggled when we stopped in the stone nook beneath the gnarled branches of an ancient evergreen. The warm fall weather meant the fountains still gurgled. An oxidized copper sun spat water into a small pool behind a ledge onto which Meredith lowered herself. She pulled me down next to her and swung her legs over mine because she said the stone was too cold against her bare thighs. It didn't feel cold to my palms. She took my jacket and draped it over her shoulders. She said, Oh my God. She was totally tongue fucking that guy. I searched for a place to put my hands. Meredith's strapless dress threatened to slide down her chest, but she didn't seem to notice or care. I smiled to relieve the burning feeling of foolishness spread across my face. Meredith tensed her legs. Her breath smelled of the cherry Dum Dums the student council had dumped into large bins outside the dance hall. She'd been sucking on one when we left the building.

Just put your mouth on her mouth, Adam said, it's basic biology. I put a hand in my pants pocket and hoped Meredith couldn't see me feeling around to make sure that all of my parts remained in their proper places. She leaned in closer. Then she snapped away as footsteps echoed off the stone wall around us. I saw Ms. McConnell first and then the man following her, holding her hand. Ms. McConnell's mouth fell open as she cocked her head. Oh hey Ms. McConnell, Meredith said. She slipped my jacket over her bare legs. You two know you're not supposed to be in here this late, Ms. McConnell said. She'd released herself from her companion and locked her fingers at her navel. I looked away from the skewed buttons of Ms. McConnell's blouse and focused on the dark moss in the cracks between the stones. Ms. McConnell quickly folded her arms over her chest. You should go back inside, or you should go home, she said. Meredith stood and finger waved good night. I exhaled.

Excerpted from Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala. Copyright © 2018 by Uzodinma Iweala. Excerpted by permission of Harper. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.