Chapter Fifteen
Fifteen
“Happy birthday month!” Nina sang when she met me down by the water. She plopped into a beach chair, wearing a gray one-piece with a floppy shark’s fin between her shoulder blades. “Hydrate me,” she said.
I passed Nina a water bottle from the cooler at my feet.
It was the first day of August. Hot at ninety degrees, but a perfect beach day.
The sky and ocean mirrored each other in color and stillness, blurring the boundary between them.
Mia, Kitty, and I had decided to make a day of it.
We had fruit and Pub subs in the cooler, a beach umbrella for shade, and plenty of sunscreen.
Nina may have been excited by my upcoming birthday, but everything inside of me shifted as soon as I’d woken up and realized August had arrived.
Maybe I was imagining things, but I thought I noticed it in Mia and Kitty too.
Since our conversation on the patio, things between Mia and me had gone back to normal again, but August meant a lot of things.
My and Samson’s birthday. The girls’ return to an uncertain home life.
Back to school, which I knew both girls were dreading.
It meant returning to a clean and quiet condo, which wasn’t as appealing as it sounded.
I only had twenty-four days to finish the list. Just over three weeks to work up the nerve to sing on a stage, get a tattoo, and figure out how to visit five countries.
The girls were still hopeful we’d figure it out, but I’d always known it was impossible.
“So you and Hot Asshole are officially no longer carpooling?” Nina asked.
“I’ve already told you that’s an awful nickname. Just . . . gross. Why can’t you call him Hot Work Friend or something? He isn’t an asshole.”
Nina shrugged. “I think he’s pretty gross right now. But also hot. And also a total ass. It’s very confusing for me, actually.”
“Not reciprocating my feelings isn’t grounds for being an asshole, Nina.”
“It is in my book.”
I ignored her, knowing I’d never change her mind on that one.
“But to answer your question, you are correct, we are no longer carpool buddies.” I closed my eyes and listened to the sure sound of the waves, trying to push away the embarrassment I still felt about the whole near-miss kiss with Alex.
Things were mostly normal between us, but carpooling was one activity I couldn’t even pretend to deal with, because what if he brought up the incident?
I’d have no way to avoid the conversation except to bail out of the van at a red light, and that might ruin my knees, which Nina said were my best feature.
They’re just so symmetrical, she’d said.
I didn’t know what to make of my symmetrical knees being my best feature. What did that say about the rest of me?
Though I’d been the one to end the carpooling arrangement, part of me was hurt Alex had let it happen.
Why didn’t he corner me in some part of the boat and promise not to talk about the incident?
Why couldn’t he reassure me that nothing had changed between us?
What about the environment? I wanted to say.
What about our carbon footprint? I missed him and his stories of growing up in the RV with his hippie family, of life in New York’s restaurant scene, of Greyson’s childhood antics.
I even missed his playlists, though I hardly knew any of the songs.
Now all I had were the same five Top 40 hits on loop and my own thoughts for company.
(Spoiler alert: they were not pleasant company.)
“Speaking of Hot Asshole,” Nina said. I opened my eyes to find Alex (still hot, unfortunately) and Greyson making their way toward us with beach chairs strapped to their backs.
“Ugh.” I slid down in my chair and pulled my wide-brimmed hat over my eyes.
“Pretend you’re asleep,” Nina whispered.
“It’s awful, Nina. I want to be friends with him. I want to pretend nothing happened, but I can’t look at him without replaying that moment in my mind.”
Nina rested a hand on my shoulder. “You are a beautiful dove any human would be happy to kiss. Perhaps Alex is a Hot Alien? Greyson seems to know a lot about aliens for a human child, and it would explain a lot. Shh, stop talking.” She forcibly closed my eyes by passing her hand over my face.
“He’s almost here. Keep your eyes closed. ”
I pulled her hand away. “I don’t see how pretending to sleep would help.”
After dumping her chair in the sand, Greyson whizzed past us on her way to the water.
“This seat taken?” Alex asked after slinging the chair from his back and opening it up beside me.
“It’s your chair,” Nina said.
I shot her a look I hoped said, Hot Work Friend, not Hot Asshole.
“You know, you’re right.” He stripped off his shirt and sat down with a sigh. I tried not to look, but not looking at Alex without his shirt on would be like ordering a salad instead of pasta at a restaurant (which I would never do).
When I turned away, Nina narrowed her eyes at me in disapproval, and I gave her a look that said, Don’t blame me, blame pheromones!
“Hi, Jo.” Alex gave me a grin that, for whatever reason, still made me melt a little.
“Hi.” I tried not to sound like I was upset (because really, it wasn’t his fault), but I couldn’t come up with anything to talk about.
The only conversation starters I had were Can I borrow some sunscreen?
Because you’re making me hot, and Sorry I’m still painfully embarrassed about that time I tried to kiss you, but also why didn’t you kiss me?
We watched Mia, Kitty, and Greyson swim, their legs and the lines of their snorkels all we could see of them.
I turned to Nina, hoping she could save me from having to come up with something to say.
Why had Alex sat next to me? If he’d sat on the other side of Nina, at least there’d have been some space between us.
“So,” Nina, my beautiful mind-reading best friend, said. “The girls say our next item is singing onstage.”
Okay, not my favorite topic either. “Our next item? I think you mean my next item. And where do you find these things?” I gestured to her shark bathing suit.
“It’s really . . . creative,” Alex added.
“Quit changing the subject,” Nina said. “But if you must know, it was a gift from a lover who said it suited my personality perfectly.”
Whoever this mystery lover was, I was rooting for them. “Marry them, because they see you for who you really are.”
Nina shook her head. “Oh, no. He’s not marriage material.”
“What is marriage material anyway?” Alex said. “Cotton? Spandex? A polyester blend?”
Nina looked him up and down, wrinkling her nose in disgust. “It’s whatever you’re made of, and I’m not interested.”
“Don’t look at me,” he replied. “I’ve already told you I’m unavailable.”
Nina rolled her eyes. Was he trying to make sure I got the picture? Because I definitely got the picture. My wallowing would have to wait, though, because Mia, Kitty, and Greyson returned, flopping onto their towels to devour grapes from the cooler.
“I can’t believe it’s August already,” Greyson said, her usually sunny face touched by a frown.
“You’re so close to finishing the list, Jo, but I’m kinda sad about it too.
School is coming, and you guys have to leave”—she nodded to Mia and Kitty—“and I’ll only have Dad to hang out with, and did I mention school? I hate school.”
“Wow, thanks, Grey,” Alex said.
Greyson popped a grape in her mouth. “No offense, Dad. It’s just that, you know, you’re a dad.”
“Really, Alex, she’s explained it quite clearly,” Nina said.
Greyson stared at the sand. No matter what ended up happening between me and Alex, it didn’t have to change the friendship I’d struck up with Greyson. “You can still hang out with me when Mia and Kitty leave. If you wanted.”
“Really?” Greyson looked up at me, her face bright once again.
“Of course. It’s going to feel weird without any teenage girls around.”
I glanced at Alex. He’d gone quiet, his eyes on Greyson. He seemed . . . upset. Did he not want me to spend time with her anymore?
“And we’ll talk all the time,” Kitty said. “Won’t we, Mia?”
Mia punched a fist into her hand. “Yup. And if there are any Katie Roses at your new school, I’ll be more than happy to give them a piece of my mind, virtually or in person.”
Kitty sat up and faced me. “Jo, did you hear? We’ve decided you’re singing onstage next.”
“Yes, I’ve heard.”
“We should go backstage at a concert,” Mia said. “You can tell them about your list, and maybe they’ll let you sing with them. Post Malone will be at the Coral Sky Amphitheatre this weekend, just saying.”
I shook my head. “Who?”
“Are you sure you’re a millennial? You know, like, zero things about pop culture,” Mia said.
“I know Taylor Swift! And Rihanna! And Beyoncé!”
Mia rolled her eyes. “Everyone knows them. That’s not impressive.”
“Wait.” Nina jumped up from her chair, setting her shark fin quivering. “I’ve got a tremendous idea.”
“I don’t want to know,” I said.
Nina waved her hands in the air with each word, her unicorn earrings swinging along with the shark fin. “Karaoke night.” She dropped back into her chair, a triumphant look on her face.
“No,” I said as Mia, Kitty, and Greyson chorused, “Yes!”
Nina leaned forward in her chair. “There’s this outstanding restaurant downtown that does karaoke on Friday nights. The girls can come too. It’s got an actual stage, a legit DJ, strobe lights, and—”
“Can’t we just go to Applebee’s and call it a night?” I asked, feeling queasy.
“One,” Nina said, “Applebee’s doesn’t have an actual stage, which is specifically mentioned in your list. And two, you know I would never set foot inside an Applebee’s, Josephine.”
I pulled my hat over my eyes again. “Good, fewer people to watch me.”
Nina turned to the girls. “Are you in?”