Scene Four
“I’m coming,” I yell. Charlie is laying on the horn outside, and I’m frantically running around the kitchen, grabbing toast and saying good-bye to my parents. They both look a little worn this morning, and they’re hunched over their mugs, sipping slowly.
“Have a good day.” My mother yawns. I consider asking them about Juliet, but I don’t have time. Later.
I run outside, toast in my teeth.
“Hey, hot stuff,” Charlie says. “Have fun last night?”
I roll my eyes and climb inside. Olivia is in the back, which is different. The three of us haven’t carpooled since Olivia got OLIVE16.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“I wanted to hear about your date,” Olivia says.
“Also, Ben has my car.” Charlie makes a huffing sound, but Olivia doesn’t seem to notice.
She hooks her elbows around both of our seats and leans so far forward, I can smell the strawberry on her.
Olivia has been wearing the same perfume since I’ve known her.
One time we were all shopping and she went to buy more.
It turns out, it’s a house spray. Like the kind of stuff you spritz on your couch to cover up the smell of wet dog.
We pointed this out to her and found it hilarious, but Olivia refused to change.
“That’s like using Clorox as hand soap,” Charlie said.
“I don’t care,” Olivia said. “I like it, and I’m sticking to it.
” That’s one of the things I really love about Olivia.
If she’s happy, she doesn’t really care what other people think.
She still wears these pajamas she had in the fifth grade.
They are way too short and way too big in the waist and have horses on them, but she says they’re soft and help her sleep.
I bet if Ben slept over, she’d even wear them around him.
“So what happened?” Olivia says. “Details.”
“We went to dinner.” I glance back at Rob’s house as we screech out of the driveway, but we’re moving too fast for me to catch a good view.
“Bo-ring.” Charlie taps her hand on the steering wheel like she’s counting. “Get to the good stuff.”
“I mean, we kissed.”
Olivia starts wailing, and Charlie starts honking. She makes like she’s just lost control of the car and swerves right. I cover my ears and sink lower in my seat.
“Can you guys please calm down? I’m going to go deaf here.”
Olivia keeps repeating, “Oh my God, oh my God,” until Charlie sends her a look in the rearview and she shuts up.
“Was it good?” Charlie asks.
“Sure.” I’m blushing, and I turn away. When I used to tell them about kissing Jason, it was always just sort of situational. “We were at this party” or “He tried to suck my neck.” (True, by the way. It was awful.) We’ve never talked about whether I liked it or not. Or how it felt.
“ ‘Sure’?” Charlie slides her sunglasses up on her head and gives me a look like she’s never been so disappointed in her life.
“It’s Rob,” I say.
“We know,” Olivia says. “But that doesn’t really answer the question.”
“It was good, okay?” I hike my knees up against the dashboard and keep my eyes fixed ahead. “It was amazing.”
“I knew it!” Olivia squeals.
“Well, obviously,” Charlie says. “I mean, it’s Rob. Clearly it would be.”
“I am so into this,” Olivia says.
“Yeah,” I say. “I know, but I’m just kind of worried.” About a million things. Like does this mean we are together? Should I ask him? Is he going to kiss me this morning? Has he told his friends?
“Clearly he likes you,” Olivia says. “What is there to be concerned about?”
“He’s my best friend.” It comes out harsher than I mean it to, and immediately I feel Olivia sit back and Charlie glare at me. “You know what I mean,” I say. “My best guy friend. My oldest friend.”
“The best romances totally develop out of friendship,” Olivia says.
“Okay, Hallmark.”
“It’s true,” Charlie says. “I mean, look at Jake and me. We can’t stand each other, and we’re definitely not friends. God, Jake.” She pummels the back of her hand against the steering wheel.
“Things not good this a.m.?” I ask.
“No,” she says, “he just doesn’t care.” She nods and her sunglasses flip back down onto her face.
“What happened?” Olivia asks. She leans her elbows on the center console and gives me a wide smile. There’s a piece of blueberry in her third tooth, and I point to it.
“I don’t know,” Charlie says as Olivia pulls out a compact and starts attacking her mouth with her pinkie finger. “He’s so hot and cold sometimes.”
“Trust me, I know,” Olivia says. I turn around and give her a pointed look. The last thing Charlie wants to hear is some boyfriend-bashing on her brother.
“Sorry,” she mouths, her finger still in her mouth.
“I have an idea,” Charlie says, glancing out the window and making a right.
“Hmm?” I mumble.
“Why don’t we go to Fall Back together, just the three of us?”
“What do you mean?” Olivia asks. There is a tiny bit of drool down her face, and she flicks the back of her hand across her mouth.
“I mean, why don’t we go without the guys?” Charlie swings into upper and lays on the horn. Some freshmen scatter. It’s completely illegal to honk on school premises. Not that this has ever stopped her.
“I kind of wanted to go with Ben,” Olivia says. She sticks out her lower lip, but Charlie doesn’t turn around. “Rose, don’t you want to go with Rob?”
“Yeah, sure, but it’s not like he won’t be there. Plus, we’re gonna have to go early to set up.”
“What?” Olivia asks. She sounds totally appalled.
“SAC? Hello?” Charlie says. She pulls into a spot and kills the engine, but not one of us moves. Charlie unclips her seat belt and turns way around. “All I’m saying is, we have to stick together. Because it’s a total free-for-all out there, and men are completely crazy.”
“Did you read this in the book?” Olivia asks. She looks doubtful.
Charlie bought us all Why Men Love Bitches for Christmas last year.
She says it’s how she got Jake, although (1) I’m not sure that’s such an achievement, and (2) frankly, if she’s following the advice, it isn’t really working.
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry that we’ve come to the point of taking dubious advice from crap relationship books, and we’re not even eighteen.
“No,” Charlie snaps, “I’m serious. We’re friends, right?”
Olivia shrugs.
“I think it’s a great plan,” I say. I’m trying to end the conversation because I’ve just spotted Rob.
He’s standing in upper with Ben. Olivia’s car is parked next to them with surfboards stacked on top, and Ben is pulling a T-shirt over his head.
It looks like he joined Rob and Jake surfing.
There’s something about the familiar way they’re standing that makes me feel inexplicably safe. Like we all really belong together.
I am about to suggest we talk about this later, when Olivia bolts from the car and goes and attacks Ben.
He scoops her up into a gigantic hug, lifting her off the pavement.
They look like that poster of the couple kissing in Paris.
I used to have it on my wall, but Charlie said it was going to scare boys away and I had to take it down.
Not that any boy besides Rob is ever in my room.
And he saw it, like, a million times and never seemed to mind.
“Appalling,” Charlie says as we walk toward them. She puts her arm around my shoulder. “Go say hi. Rob won’t bite. Unless you’re lucky.” She wiggles her hips like she has a Hula-Hoop around them, and I roll my eyes.
“Are you serious with that?”
“Dead.” She blows me a kiss. “See you in Spanish.”
“Hey, Kessler,” Rob says. He gives Charlie a lopsided smile as he slides one arm around my waist.
I can’t believe he’s touching me like this. In public.
“ ‘Hey’ yourself. I’m getting out of here before my brother sucks her face off.” Charlie looks at Rob’s hand on my waist and then at me. I’m silently saying a thank-you that she’s wearing her sunglasses, because Charlie’s facial expressions tend to give away everything she’s thinking.
“Smart woman.” Rob pulls me a little closer as Charlie disappears down toward Cooper House.
“Hey,” he says. His face is inches from mine, and images from last night come back to me like firecrackers. His warm sweatshirt and my head on his chest. His hands on my face. His lips on mine.
He looks so cute today in his khaki shorts and blue T-shirt. His hair is still a little wet from surfing, and there are a few water droplets on the back of his shirt. “How did you sleep?” he asks.
I move a little closer to him and mutter, “Good. You?”
“Yeah, same.” He takes his hand and cups my elbow, bringing our torsos together. His face is right above mine and he’s moving it down, lower, so that our lips are just a whisper away. I close my eyes, ready for him to kiss me, but just then Olivia sashays over.
Rob immediately drops his hand from my waist, and I must look disappointed, because Olivia gets sheepish. “Sorry to interrupt,” she says, “but Ben needs you.”
“Your boyfriend’s impossible,” Rob says, but he’s smiling. That’s one of the things I love about him. Nothing really annoys him for too long.
“He is not!” Olivia squeals, but I can tell she’s pleased. She’s never called someone her boyfriend before, and she doesn’t correct Rob now.
“You guys are adorable,” she says when he’s gone. “Seriously, perfect.”
I don’t say anything, but secretly I’m pleased too. Things feel right. Like we’re all finally where we should be. Being with Rob is the one thing that’s been missing, the thing that makes my life just, I don’t know, make sense.
“Who’s that?” Olivia asks.
“Who?”
“That.” She’s pointing to a white Mercedes SUV that has just pulled in next to Charlie’s car. Too close. Everyone knows Charlie totally freaks if someone comes within four feet of Big Red. And that Mercedes definitely doesn’t belong to any senior at this school. Olivia has the nicest car on campus.
“Probably a parent.” I shrug, but Olivia shakes her head. There is a girl climbing out.