Eight Nights of Flirting: Chapters 18–23

by Hannah Reynolds
During a Hanukkah vacation on the island of Nantucket, sixteen-year-old Shira Barbanel makes a deal with Tyler Nelson to give her flirting lessons in exchange for an introduction to her media executive great-uncle.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–8, Chapters 9–13, Chapters 14–17, Chapters 18–23
40 words 5 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. speculative
    showing curiosity
    He looked at me speculatively. “I sort of thought you were into the boy next door.”
  2. contemplative
    deeply or seriously thoughtful
    He looked surprised, then contemplative.
  3. carafe
    a bottle with a stopper
    I curled up on a couch in the great room, and the adults slowly trickled in, going straight to the coffee carafe.
  4. forlorn
    marked by or showing hopelessness
    Grandma plucked the book from his hand and placed it in mine, then swept us out. I glanced over my shoulder at Grandpa, and caught him watching her with a forlorn expression.
  5. ruminate
    reflect deeply on a subject
    I retreated to my room to read the book on the Fersztenfeld family instead of ruminating on my own.
  6. harried
    troubled persistently, especially with petty annoyances
    She could have been a new, scared bride. Or a young mother, or a harried woman with three children pulling at her skirt.
  7. convocation
    the act of calling to a meeting
    But it was easier to think about other people’s wants and desires than my own, so I called a convocation of older cousins, summoning them to my room for privacy’s sake.
  8. malleable
    capable of being shaped or bent
    The light was soft and malleable today, fading in and out of thick, undefined clouds.
  9. wizened
    lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness
    The trees were stunted and wizened from salty air, patches of snow still lying thick in the wood.
  10. billow
    rise and move, as in waves
    The treetops rustled in the breeze, which snaked its fingers down my nape and billowed up through the bottom of my jacket.
  11. sotto voce
    in an undertone
    “We might as well,” Tyler said, speaking sotto voce.
  12. strew
    spread by scattering
    Unlike the other night, when his room had been forcibly cleaned, things were strewn everywhere—clothes on all surfaces, bed unmade, jackets and scarves slung over a chair and piled on the desk.
  13. encompass
    include in scope
    And here we were, and the way I felt for him was too big for words to describe, like a balloon in my chest stretching larger and larger, big enough to encompass the both of us.
  14. arbiter
    someone with the power to settle matters at will
    We made swords, cutting blades and pommels out from cardboard with X-Acto knives, wrapping the blades with tinfoil. “Arbiter of elephants and emperors.”
  15. camaraderie
    the quality of affording easy familiarity and sociability
    I’d actually never even considered team sports, I’d been so focused on piano and skating, and teams suggested a camaraderie I wasn’t used to.
  16. avail
    a means of serving
    Here he’d given me all the flirting advice in the world, and I couldn’t think how to use it to any avail; all I wanted was to kiss him, to tell him I liked him, and I still found those things hard.
  17. effervescent
    marked by high spirits or excitement
    I smiled up at Tyler, all nervousness and anticipation, like an effervescent bubble, my emotions shifting, swirling colors, and inevitably going to pop.
  18. rueful
    feeling or expressing pain or sorrow
    "Well." He looked rueful.
  19. tribunal
    an assembly to conduct judicial business
    Back upstairs, I faced a tribunal of cousins. “So,” Ethan said. “What’s the deal?”
  20. limbo
    a period of prolonged uncertainty
    Tyler was probably used to this state of limbo, but I wasn’t, and this not knowing what we were doing made me feel wobbly and on edge as soon as Tyler disappeared from sight and the serotonin from his presence vanished.
  21. overture
    orchestral music at the beginning of an opera or musical
    “You’re not supposed to have Clara and the Nutcracker dance a pas de deux, and you’re not supposed to have any dancing when the tree grows or the overture is played—you’re supposed to be concentrating on the music.”
  22. affront
    a deliberately offensive act
    “Shira! I am a gentleman,” he said with mock- affront.
  23. brethren
    people who are members of the same social or cultural group
    The chair had not, apparently, been resigned to the attic because it no longer matched its downstairs brethren but because it no longer had structural integrity.
  24. inevitable
    incapable of being avoided or prevented
    Maybe this didn’t have to come to its inevitable end.
  25. accrue
    grow by addition
    I would accrue enough experience over the next few days that I would have the confidence to embark on actual relationships.
  26. conjecture
    the formation of conclusions from incomplete evidence
    It all made sense. It all clicked. I leaned back and grinned. “Sam Ferston. That’s her.”
    “Still conjecture,” Tyler said.
  27. languid
    lacking spirit or liveliness
    The light slid across the unfinished attic, long and languid and golden.
  28. gauzy
    so thin as to transmit light
    Olivia and Kaitlyn both wore white Romantic tutus, the long, gauzy white skirts giving them a dreamy appearance.
  29. influx
    the process of flowing in
    By nine, everyone had arrived: my family, in one massive influx of dark-eyed, curly-haired brunettes; friends of the Phans who had been convinced to come to the island for the holiday; and islanders I had known my whole life—year-rounders who had slowly warmed up to some of the summer people.
  30. platitude
    a trite or obvious remark
    I didn’t want her to return an empty platitude; I wanted her to know how sincerely I meant it.
  31. dissipate
    go away, scatter, or disappear
    My voice came out higher than usual and I blinked rapidly, emotions I’d kept inside bubbling to the surface and bursting and dissipating—fear of rejection and anxiety and tension—leaving relief behind.
  32. implacable
    incapable of being appeased or pacified
    And as everyone cheered and raised their glasses, the implacable realization rose inside me.
  33. irrevocably
    in a manner that cannot be taken back
    I had fallen—deeply, irrevocably, stupidly—right back in love with Tyler Nelson.
  34. fathom
    come to understand
    A few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have been able to fathom initiating a conversation about relationships with anyone, let alone two in a few days, but now...Tyler and I didn’t want the same things.
  35. cinch
    pull, fasten, or tie something tightly
    I wore a white blouse with long puffed sleeves cinched at the wrists, tucked into a red maxi skirt I stole from Aunt Liz’s closet, with a gold silk scarf wrapped around my waist.
  36. magnanimous
    noble and generous in spirit
    The audience barely outnumbered the cast: twelve parents, two grandparents (and baby Steffie)—along with Tyler’s parents, who Iris had magnanimously allowed him to invite.
  37. ploy
    a maneuver in a game, conversation, or situation
    “Is this some sort of clever ploy? You think we’ll be on better terms just because I get the chance to enact a vengeful fantasy?”
  38. coy
    showing marked and often playful evasiveness or reluctance
    She looked down at the script, then gave me a coy smile. “I suppose it won’t be such a hassle to have to kill him.”
  39. gravitas
    formality, dignity, or seriousness
    Everyone laughed the entire time, which pleased everyone but the triplets, who expected their masterwork to be treated with more gravitas.
  40. coquettish
    like a flirtatious woman
    “You’re ridiculous,” she said, her voice almost coquettish.
Created on Mon May 15 10:53:15 EDT 2023 (updated Mon May 15 17:17:28 EDT 2023)

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