by Anne Key
“I, uh…. Who cares, Mari? It’s a stupid question, anyway.” Eli shifted in his seat, leaning back and dropping one hand in his lap. He finished off his coffee.
Well, shit. She hadn’t intended to hurt Eli’s feelings, but she knew better than to say something that would embarrass him, so she focused on her coffee. God, this was hard—she so totally wasn’t used to keeping her trap shut and blending in. In Texas, she got it—she knew the rules. Maybe she should go home or something.
This isn’t cool, Momma. You didn’t get me ready for this. I wasn’t ready for you to leave me like this. I’m so scar—
“Yo. What are you up to next, Sparkles?”
“Huh? Oh. I got no plans. I was stuck on caffeine, and I don’t have to be home ’til supper.”
“Yeah? You want to go see what trouble we can get into?” Erik stuck his phone in his pocket and sat up.
“I’m cool.” Eli nodded.
“Should we hit the mall? Check out a movie?” Mari was halfway out the door already.
“I’m easy.” She had some cash, so she’d be able to cope, no matter what they decided.
Erik hopped up and grabbed his skateboard. “Bus to the mall, figure it out when we get there.”
“Right on.” Eli slid out of his chair and scooped up his skateboard.
“You need to get you some wheels, girlfriend,” Mari told her, and she nodded.
“Looks like. All y’all have one.”
“I’ve got an extra you can borrow.” Eli held the door for both the girls. “Or you can just keep pulling me around on your bike.”
“Thank you, sir, and I’ll pull you anytime.”
“Bus!” Erik called out, and everybody started running. Erik held the bus up, and Eli followed Sammy and Mari on.
Mari patted Sammy’s hand. “Just show your school ID.”
“Okay.” She grabbed her wallet and showed her ID. She had her learner’s permit, but just. She totally wasn’t brave enough to ask to drive her daddy’s car. Hell, she wasn’t sure Daddy knew she had taken driver’s ed.
They found seats in the middle and all sat together. Eli pulled out his phone and scrunched into his seat, texting someone discreetly. Sammy’d bet money it was his momma. That was always weird, wasn’t it? Girls could text home, no big. Boys had to pretend they were all footloose and fancy-free.
Sammy squinted out the grimy bus window. “Where are we getting off?”
“At the far end by Macy’s. That’s closest to the food court.”
Eli looked up from his phone. “Dude. Didn’t we just have coffee?”
“Coffee is not food. I bet Sammy’s hungry. Are you?” Erik grinned at her. “Back me up here, girl.”
“Absolutely. Starving after that ten thousand calorie coffee.” She was going to have to join the gym.
“Exactly my point!” Mari slapped Sammy on the knee.
Eli was giggling next to her. “We don’t all have your metabolism, Stretch.”
Erik made a face. “Whatever, I’m getting pizza.”
“I was thinking about stopping into the Gap. I need jeans. You been to the mall before, Sammy?”
“Not here, no, but back home, sure. There wasn’t one in Georgetown, but closer to Austin.” Georgetown was just starting to grow.
“Where did you shop there?”
Erik rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone.
“I love Aeropostale and Forever 21 best, but I’ll hunt a deal anywhere.” She liked to bum around the mall. “Oh, and Old Navy. I love Old Navy.”
Eli suddenly took interest. “I love Old Navy too.”
Mari nodded. “And we have those other places too. You’re set.”
“Yeah? Cool. I need to explore, then.” Although, maybe she’d keep wearing her own jeans….
The bus rattled down the street, lurching along as it stopped at practically every corner. Erik had disappeared into his phone, and Mari leaned over to watch with him.
Eli glanced over at Sammy. “Check it out.” He scrolled through his music app until he got to whatever he was looking for and handed Sammy one of his earbuds. “Bought it a few days ago. ‘Life is a Honeymoon’ is my favorite so far.”
She leaned over to listen, trying not to notice how warm Eli was where their upper arms met.
“Told you I was going to give FGL a listen. I love it when artists collaborate.” He handed Sammy his phone. “And recording a track with Marley? Pretty rad. Turn it up, if you want.”
“You remembered. That’s so cool. I saw them in Houston, and they rocked. They’re on the same label as Tim McGraw, you know?”
“Who?” Eli asked.
“He did that song with Taylor Swift?”
“Uh, yeah. Not a Swiftie.”
“I like some of her stuff, but when I was little, I was, like, obsessed.”
“When she sang country. Before anyone up here had even heard of her.” Eli winked.
“I can’t help it if y’all got stunted musical tastes, can I?” she teased right back.
“Right. It’s rough being a Yankee. You’re going to have to be patient with us.” The bus hit a big bump, and they bounced off their seats. Sammy just about landed in Eli’s lap. “Hey!” Eli laughed “This isn’t cheer practice!”
“Uh-huh. I trust you to catch me and not let my butt hit this nasty floor.”
Eli snickered and helped her back into her seat. “Well, that’s something, I guess.”
What did that mean? Did she answer “I guess so” or “It is”? Damn. She chuckled at herself, tickled at how hard this was—just figuring where you were supposed to be.
“Oh. Sorry. I just meant—” Eli rolled his eyes. “I just meant I’m glad you trust me. You know.” He shrugged. “Hard to tell sometimes, right? Or… is that just me?”
“I tell you what, I’m not convinced I know anything anymore for sure.” That was the God’s honest truth too.
Eli laughed. “Cool.”
“Can you take my picture so I can send it to my aunt?”
“Sure. Gimme your phone. Is this your dad’s sister?”
“She was Momma’s business partner. I’ve known her since I was born.” Sammy handed it over and posed, making sure she looked just right.
“Dude, how do you do that?” Eli asked.
“Do what?”
“Pose and all of a sudden become a supermodel.”
She grinned and shrugged, taking her phone back and checking the picture. Not bad. “We practice. Lots.”
She sent the picture to Aunt Franny, Daddy, and Lace.
“Hey, you two, are you coming, or what?” Mari asked. She and Erik shook their heads and laughed as they climbed off the bus.
“It’s probably weird to just spend all day on the bus, huh?”
“Oh shit.” Eli grabbed hold of Sammy’s hand, gave her a tug, and led her off the bus. “I didn’t even realize we were here already.”
She kept hold of Eli’s hand on the way down, just because it was a little slick and not because she was holding hands because they weren’t even texting or stuff yet and….
Eli pulled away, looking a little like he’d swallowed a bug. Not a fuzzy hairy spider, but a pill bug.
Mari rolled her eyes and made a face at him. “Seriously, Eli?”
“Pizza!” Erik called out and led the way into the mall.
“He totally lives by his belly, doesn’t he?”
Mari nodded. “He never stops eating. I think he’d disappear if he did. Maybe blow away on the wind. Or like, faint or something.”
“I can hear you, Mari.”
They made their way through the double doors and inside, Erik out front, then Mari and Sammy, with Eli lagging behind. “Holy crap, already?” Mari pointed at the decorations. “Halloween is, like forever away still.”
“Halloween. Wow.” She wasn’t sure she could handle real things like holidays. Not yet. Maybe never.
“At least they’re not playing Christmas music.”
Erik led
them all straight through the mall, past a whole bunch of shops that Sammy would maybe have liked to stop and actually look at, and up an escalator to the food court. Once he got his pizza, though, he elbowed Eli. “GameStop?”
Eli nodded. “Bring it.”
Mari pointed across the floor to Forever 21. “Are we shopping?” she asked Sammy with a wink.
“God, yes. Please.” God knew she’d pretended to watch a lot of video games for guys, but she would rather go pretend that her daddy would let her wear some of those hoochie-mama clothes.
GAMESTOP WAS way down the other end of the mall and Erik was eating his pizza and not talking, so Eli had plenty of time to think on the way there. He was trying to concentrate on Erik’s body language—the way his weight settled in his hips and how he kind of kicked out his feet when he walked—but he wasn’t even fooling himself. He had something else on his mind; Mari and Erik had walked into the coffee shop and interrupted right when he was about to see if Sammy wanted his number.
And now he wasn’t sure if he could get up the courage again to ask.
But then again, she’d say yes, right? They had fun over the coffee thing, and she didn’t get all weird when Mari called her his girl. Stupid Mari.
“You ready?” Erik asked, dumping his plate in the trash can and wiping off his hands on his jeans.
“Hell yeah. I think I have enough cash for a new game for my 3DS.”
“Rock on. I’ve got some to trade in. I’m all over the new Pokémon.”
“Sun or Moon?”
“Hm. I guess I gotta pick one.”
Eli watched Erik disappear into the Nintendo aisle. Oh god. He’d totally grabbed Sammy’s hand too. He didn’t even think about it, he just—and now what was she thinking? But she smelled good. Was that perfume or just… girl? Did he know that once? He couldn’t even remember.
And that was pretty cool too, actually.
Eli wasn’t looking at video games, at all. He was just hanging out in the store entrance like a dork. He followed after Erik, finding him at the end of an aisle. “Yo.”
“’Sup?” Erik didn’t look up.
“You figure it out?”
“Nah, I’m on to Lego Star Wars now, man.”
Eli played with the wheels on his skateboard. “You ever, like, given a girl your number? Like for… a reason?”
“Mari’s got my number, man.”
Whoa. He wasn’t sure Mari knew Erik had given her his number for a reason.
“Yeah? And it’s not weird? Does she actually use it?”
“Sure. She texts sometimes.” Erik shrugged and wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Sometimes at night, you know? That’s cool.”
Oh, snap. “Wow. Cool. I didn’t realize she was that into you.” Eli reached for a game and flipped it over, pretending to read the back so he didn’t look as freaked out by that whole conversation as he felt. If Sammy had his number, then she could… which would mean she would probably want him to… plus there was the whole “lack of a penis” thing, which he was going to have to explain. Maybe giving Sammy his number was a bad idea after all.
“Dude. You okay?”
“Yeah. Allergies.” Hyperventilating was definitely a bad idea, though. One step. Eli made himself breathe. Giving Sammy his phone number didn’t have to mean anything but that they were friends. Or maybe a little more than friends. Assuming she wanted to be more than friends. Eli was pretty sure he did. Or, well, he was sure he did. He just wasn’t sure about what that meant about him. Or about anything. Did this have to be so freakin’ complicated?
One hour. One day. Maybe it didn’t. Maybe he shouldn’t even think that far ahead anyway, Sammy might not even be interested. Or she might get all weird and tell him to get lost. She was Texan, after all, which was practically a foreign country from what he could tell. Who knew?
Eli put the game back on the shelf. “Did you decide what you were trading in for?”
“I’m thinking Lego City Undercover.”
“Lego? Really?”
“Shut up, Mr. Girly Coffee.”
“I’m grabbing Pokémon Sun. You can borrow it when you grow up.” Eli laughed until Erik punched him in the arm. “Ow! Shit, you need to learn to pull your punches, man.”
“Oh, did I hurt his witty-bitty arm?” Erik grinned at him, shook his head. “Sorry, dude. I got big brothers.”
His arm was kind of itty-bitty. But he was working on it. Push-ups and weights every single day. He tried not to get offended. “That explains it. I have a little sister. You could probably knock her over with your pinky finger.”
Erik’s checkout took a little longer than Eli’s because he was turning in games too. Eli wondered what the girls were up to. Maybe Sammy was buying something new and sparkly. He grinned. She was just—pretty.
He had to wonder if she was thinking about him too. He hoped she was. God, was this always going to be so weird? It didn’t seem weird for Erik. Maybe Eli was just weird.
Weird-er.
Erik was texting as they left the store. “You want some ice cream?”
“Jesus, Erik.”
“I was kidding!” Erik laughed. “Mostly. Hey, Mari says they’re headed this way.”
“Oh. Awesome.” Eli checked his hair and tried to relax.
Erik glanced at him. “You so need help, man.”
Eli snorted. “Tell me about it.”
“She’s cute, though. A little weird, but that’s cool. You should go for it.”
“S’okay. I’m a little weird too.” Very weird. He was okay with that.
“Ain’t we all, man. Hey, girl.” Erik waved to Mari, who just nodded. She was cold as ice, that girl.
“You two missed it. Sammy here modeled this dress, and she’s stacked to the ceiling!”
“Shut up, Mar.”
“True story. You totally rocked that dress with the sequins on it. I can’t believe you bought it.”
Sammy’s cheeks were bright pink, but she shrugged. “It was on clearance and you never know when you’ll need a sparkly dress, right?”
Suddenly, Eli’s heart was trying beat right out of his chest, and his palms were all sweaty. Sammy’s blush was too much. “I bet you’ll look great in it,” Eli blurted out before he could stop himself. Oh crap. “Um. I just mean you have good taste is all.” Yeah, no. That is not what he meant at all. He realized he was staring, so he flipped his skateboard around and looked at it to cover. Something about the wheels was super important all of a sudden.
“That’s what I told her!” Mari hooked their arms together. “You’ll have to see, guys.”
“Maybe when I find shoes.”
Eli wasn’t opening his mouth again. No way.
“I got a new game.” Erik showed Mari. “In case you want to play later.”
“Maybe.”
“Did you buy something sparkly too?”
Eli glanced up at the question, just in time to catch the look on Mari’s face. It could have seriously turned Erik to stone.
“Get serious.”
“Y’all should have seen the purple velvet dress with the corset top. It was so you, Mari.” Sammy didn’t seem to notice the glare.
“See? Sammy knows what’s up.”
Erik laughed. “I’ve never seen you in a dress, Mari.”
“Well, if I had to wear one, it would totally have a corset top.” Mari winked at Sammy.
Eli felt his phone buzz and he pulled it out of his pocket. It was Becky.
Mom wants to know if any of ur stupid friends are coming to dinner
He snorted and fired a text back at her. No, and they’re smarter than the animals u brought home last wknd
I’m telling
Eli sighed. He hated sisters.
“Mom?” Erik asked, joking.
Eli shrugged.
“Do you have to go already?” Sammy asked him. “I’ll ride back with you if you do….”
“Me and Mar are going to eat here and catch a movie.” Erik always sounded so c
onfident.
“I have to be home by supper. I already promised my daddy.”
“I’m going to have to soon, yeah. My mom is expecting me for dinner too.”
“Have your parents forgotten you’re in high school?” Erik asked.
Eli flipped him off. “It’s still light out, Sammy. You can try out my board when we get back.”
“Cool. If you want to come over tomorrow, Mari, hit me up. Daddy doesn’t do church.”
“You know it.”
Eli held up a hand. “Later.” As they turned away and headed back toward the mall entrance, Eli suddenly realized he was still recovering from whatever that thing was about Sammy’s dress. He looked at his phone to keep from having to start a conversation right away, noticing there was no text from his mom. So there, Becky.
“Thanks for riding with me, Eli. It’s a little weird still, the buses.”
“Hey, it’s cool. I gotta go home too.” He slipped his phone back in his pocket. “What’s your curfew on nights you don’t have to be home for dinner?”
“I don’t know.” She blinked, and the look on her face was so damn cute. She had the longest eyelashes he’d ever seen. And these were her real ones. “We’ve never talked about it.”
“What? Are you kidding? Is your dad, I mean, he sounds like a nice guy, but he’s clueless, huh? If you tell him everyone else’s curfew is like, midnight or something crazy, would he believe you? I have to be in by ten usually.” Not that he ever went to sleep that early. He couldn’t remember the last time he was asleep before midnight. Oh—except the night after the first day of school when he’d just crashed.
“I don’t think he really expected to ever have me. I mean, he came to visit once a year, and once, he took me to Disney, but that’s it. He called a lot, but….” She stopped, gave him a worried look. “I mean, he’s not mean. No one thought my momma would die, huh? She wasn’t sick.”
“So, he’s just… surprised is all. Right?” Eli had about nine hundred questions, but he didn’t think Sammy would want to answer them, so he decided not to ask. He went for sympathetic instead. “Were you really young when they got divorced? My parents almost got divorced once.” They didn’t, though, which was good because it would have been mostly over him. That hadn’t been a great year.
“They weren’t ever married. They had a thing once, and then Momma really wanted a baby.”