Chapter Ten #2
“It’s been a week, G,” I say, taking a bite so she won’t immediately shoot back with a follow-up question. “What about you?” I ask after I swallow, though I know the answer. It’s the surest bet to shifting the conversation. “Do you really think you and Tommy will stay together?”
“I know we will.” The look on her face is so simultaneously dreamy and confident, I will Jasmine not to roll her eyes; the rest of us have learned not to.
“That’s really nice,” Jasmine surprises me by saying, and I look up to see her digging through her salad as if the meaning of life is buried underneath.
Encouraged, Gia launches into the Plan, which means describing how she and Tommy will stay in the dorms their first year so they can make friends and stuff, but then get an apartment together in between their two schools, provided she gets in somewhere within twenty-five miles of BC.
The rest of us have heard this many, many times, but Jasmine nods and says “that makes sense” at all the right points, leaving us free to finish our food and go over our own plans.
I’ve nearly forgotten Jasmine’s there when a familiar voice says, “This seat taken?”
We all look up to see Chase standing there with Lucas Miller, both of their trays piled high with meat and carbs. There’s only room for one tray between me and Shannon, and before I can say a word, she smiles at Lucas and says, “I think we can squeeze you in.”
“Dude,” Chase protests as Lucas slides his tray between ours.
“Gotta be faster than that at the hot chicks’ table,” Lucas says gleefully, plucking a fry from Kiki’s plate even though he has plenty of his own.
She snorts but pushes her tray forward slightly.
Kiki’s not immune to a compliment from a hot guy, even if she doesn’t have any interest in dating the ones at our school.
“Tommy doesn’t.” Chase gestures at where his teammate is strolling up to the table, dropping a kiss on Gia’s cheek as he slips in next to her.
“No, Tommy doesn’t. My girl saves me a seat because she likes me.” Gia rests her head on Tommy’s shoulder as he brags. “Maybe you should work on that.”
I wish I could physically pull the smug grin off Tommy’s face as he looks from Chase to me. He’s only teasing, but I still don’t know how to deal with Chase going from fantasy to reality, and I hate him for pointing it out.
“You can have my seat,” Jasmine says, getting up and taking her tray with her. “I have a meeting with the college guidance counselor anyway.”
“You have a meeting about college guidance you didn’t mention even though we were talking about college?” Kiki’s meticulously threaded eyebrow shoots up.
“I didn’t realize my meeting schedule was of general interest,” Jasmine says wryly. “Duly noted for the next meeting of the College Crew.”
It’s Shannon’s turn to snort as Jasmine walks off, but my eyes are on Kiki, even as everyone shifts to make room and Chase’s warm body slides in next to mine.
Kiki is freakishly smart, but more than that, she’s tenacious.
If she thinks Jasmine’s being shady, no amount of snark is gonna throw her off.
I pray whatever digging she inevitably does into Jasmine leads in a direction that’s far, far away from me.
That hope dies in my chest when I see Kiki waiting by my locker at the end of the day. “I know Chase has football practice and Shannon’s at French club tonight, so I figured you’d need a ride home.”
“Don’t you have independent study?” That’s what they call having Kiki help produce the school podcast one night a week. It was the best compromise they could come to, given they were desperate to get her on the newspaper and she wouldn’t budge.
“Changed to tomorrow night. Alex has a dentist appointment.”
How convenient. Thanks, Alex. I hope you don’t need a root canal or anything.
“Lucky me,” I manage. Ordinarily I’d mean it—Kiki drives a vintage Porsche she and her dad worked on for two years, but it’s so small it only comfortably fits one other passenger, so I rarely get to ride in it. But she’s up to something. I can see her detective nose twitching.
Sure enough, the questions begin as soon as she pulls out of her spot.
“We’ve barely talked about your summer at the beach,” she says, her trademark round-lensed sunglasses obscuring my ability to read her expression.
“Did you really only spend your summer tanning and playing assistant to someone at your mom’s boss’s company? ”
Okay, so I stretched the truth a bit. “Yup, pretty much.”
“That’s it. That was your whole summer.”
“Well, you know I started at the Book and Bean a few weeks before school, if that’s what you mean.” I shade my eyes with my hand and stare out at the neatly manicured lawns of Stratford, house after house in a town with only one apartment complex, which I happen to call home.
She sighs. “Come on, Lar.”
“Come on what?” I force myself to face her, and I’ll admit, not being able to look her in the eye helps. “What sort of secret mission do you think I was on in freaking North Carolina?”
“I don’t know,” Kiki says exasperatedly, “but you’re different.
” She stops at a red light and turns to me.
“Look, I’m really happy you finally got with Chase, but are you happy for you?
Because I thought when this day came, I’d be begging you to stop mentioning his name every three seconds and asking us what to wear on dates and how soon is too soon to get naked. ”
At that, I laugh. “So … you’re bothered that I’m not as annoying as you thought I’d be?”
“It’s more than that. You stood up to Shannon about sharing your shit with Jasmine. And since the summer, you … walk taller, or something. Chase obviously sees something different in you, and I’m just saying, I see it too.”
Okay, this was definitely not the conversation I expected.
I’ve always wondered if maybe Kiki lived somewhere under the rainbow, given her total disinterest in the guys at Stratford, but I kinda figured she was too sophisticated for them.
She’s the type to, like, sleep with her brilliant professor in college. But maybe—
“That sounded like I was hitting on you. I’m not hitting on you,” she clarifies. “I just feel like I’m missing out on something big in your life and it’s kind of killing me. Not because I’m a nosy piece of shit but because you’re one of my best friends.”
For a moment, I feel a twinge of disappointment.
Not that I wanted Kiki to hit on me—there’s enough confusion in my head as it is—but I’d kill to be able to talk to another girl who’s kissed a girl, who’s …
been with a girl. I want to ask her what the fuck it means and how I know if it does mean something.
But, I realize, Kiki’s giving me an opening for something else.
And it’s not everything, but it’s not nothing.
“It’s not something big,” I say, feeling shy and silly, and grateful when the light turns green and she has to tear her eyes away from me.
“But I kind of loved the work I did this summer. The person I assisted? She was amazing. She did all this photography and web stuff, and I feel like I learned that there are more things to do with your life than, like, doctor or lawyer or accountant or whatever else every kid from here does. I don’t know, it just got me feeling …
open. And optimistic. Excited for the future and trying new things.
Not that I have any photography talent, but …
writing, maybe?” I can’t believe I just told Kiki that.
I can’t believe I’m still talking. I can’t believe I am about to tell her my second biggest secret.
“I’ve been writing. A book. A romance, actually. ”
“Lara! That’s awesome!” Her smile is so big and genuine, and it makes me smile too. “I had no idea you were interested in writing. I didn’t know what you were interested in, really, other than Chase.”
The comment stings, but it also makes me laugh. “Surprise! And no, it isn’t Chase-and-Lara fanfiction, I swear.”
“Thank God. That’s really, really cool. I can’t believe I didn’t know you were into writing before, but it totally makes sense.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah! You’ve always liked reading for fun, and you’re always the first to want to learn or try something new, which probably makes great research. Don’t think I’ve forgotten how many times you’ve let me fingerprint you.”
I snort. “I couldn’t if I wanted to. That ink stained my fingers for, like, a week.”
“And I appreciate it!” She grins. “But okay, so, not to get all Gia on you, but don’t tell me there was zero romance this summer. Something cooled your Chase panties all the way down.”
I groan. “Do you have to phrase everything so extremely gross?”
“Yes.”
“There might have been … some kissing,” I allow. “But that’s all I’ll say about that. And let the record show that my Chase panties are still firmly on. Are we done now?”
“We’re done,” she agrees, pulling up to my building. “But Lar, I’m really, really glad you told me. And if you ever wanna use those newfound web skills, I wouldn’t mind having help making some pretty ads for Kiki on the Case. Paid, of course.”
I tap my finger to my chin. “I don’t know if you could afford me, but we’ll talk.” Impulsively, I lean over and press a kiss to the top of her head. “Thanks, Keeks.” I jump out of the car before she can yell at me for showing emotion.
But there’s no yelling. “Lar?”
I turn back. “Yeah?”
“Whoever you were kissing … I think they must’ve been really good for you.”
My mind lingers on her use of “they” long after she leaves me standing in the Porsche’s dust.