Painted Over

by Sofi Keren

  “Did you ever take dance?” Cara asked.

  “No,” Paige said. “I never really took any lessons. I played soccer as a kid for a few years, but that was the only physical thing I did. I was pretty obsessed with drawing from the time I was little. Did you dance?”

  “I wanted to be a ballerina,” she replied. “I thought they were so elegant and beautiful.”

  “I could see you as a ballerina. What stopped you?”

  “To be honest, I simply wasn’t good enough. I rehearsed constantly but I rarely got a solo. It’s a sad thing, not to be good at what we love, or at least not good enough, when there is so much competition. I knew eventually that it wasn’t going to be a career for me. But I still love to dance.”

  “I’m so sorry. That realization must have been heartbreaking.”

  “It was. But in the end I found my place. I wouldn’t trade where I am for anything. Except the lead in Swan Lake, perhaps.” She smiled and Paige couldn’t help but return it.

  They passed couples sitting on benches and leaning against walls. It was as though the night had called out to all those in a romantic mood to bring them here. Paige sensed Cara’s presence as she walked so near to her, occasionally brushing the fabric of her clothing against her when they turned, or touching her lightly when one of them said something funny.

  They reached the end of the path and paused, not quite ready to turn around. The electricity between them was building steadily, and Paige was so aware of the tingling in her fingertips and the flush of her skin. Cara touched Paige’s arm lightly with her fingertips and looked up at her. Paige smiled back nervously.

  “Would you mind if I kissed you?” Cara asked.

  Paige felt her stomach drop. This was real. “Please do,” she said, her voice nearly a whisper. She pulled Cara to her, their lips meeting, softly at first, and then more. They tangled their fingers in each other’s hair and lost themselves in this perfect, magical night.

  Who knew how long they would have gone on. Someone whistled at them from afar and they quickly broke apart.

  Cara laughed. “I nearly forgot we were in public.”

  “Maybe we should go somewhere else,” Paige replied, a little breathlessly.

  “My hotel room is all the way up on Eighty-Sixth Street by Fashion Mall,” Cara said.

  “My apartment is only a few minutes away.”

  “I’d love to see your apartment,” Cara grinned.

  Paige suspected the only room they would spend any time in was the bedroom, and she was just fine with that.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Paige turned the key in the lock, feeling a little self-conscious, but buoyed by the night and the wine and that kiss. She wished she would have hung up her clothes earlier and not left them all over the bed, but she didn’t think Cara would mind if she just pushed them to the floor.

  Cara leaned in and kissed her as Paige pushed the door open and they stepped inside. Paige nearly tripped over something lying by the door and cursed lightly under her breath. She didn’t remember leaving anything there, but she wasn’t known for her tidiness.

  As the front door closed behind them, they were enveloped in darkness.

  “Sorry,” Paige whispered. “Let me turn on a light.” She felt her way over to the light switch, trying not to fall.

  As she flicked the switch, the room illuminated brightly and she heard someone yell out in surprise. A female someone. Turning her head toward the sound, she froze when she realized what she was seeing. Brandon and Elena sat on the couch, furiously trying to put their clothes back on.

  Wait, what? Her brain struggled to catch up to what her eyes were seeing. It didn’t make any sense.

  “Oh, hey, Paige,” Brandon said, looking a little sheepish. “I didn’t realize you were coming home so soon.”

  “I’m, ahhh, I’m sorry,” Paige stammered. “I didn’t know you…and Elena… I thought you were with Ria.”

  Elena’s face was bright red. “No,” Elena said. “I didn’t go with her.”

  That wasn’t what Paige had meant by with.

  Half dressed, Brandon stood and offered his hand to Cara.

  “Hi, I’m Paige’s roommate, Brandon.”

  “Lovely to meet you. Cara.”

  Paige marveled at how unruffled Cara was, walking in on two half-naked strangers, like it was a normal Friday night.

  “So… um… yeah, we’ll talk about all this later,” Paige said to Brandon. “You’ve clearly been up to some things I had no idea about.” He grinned ruefully, like a kid caught sneaking extra Halloween candy.

  “Paige, perhaps it might be best if we just call it a night and maybe we can get brunch before I leave for Louisville tomorrow?” Cara smiled as though their evening hadn’t been completely ruined.

  “I…sure, yes, that would be okay. I’m so sorry. I should have checked in with Brandon first before we came over. I thought he would be out.” Paige darted a pointed look his way. He bared his teeth apologetically. Elena smiled from the couch but looked too embarrassed to say much.

  “It’s quite all right.”

  “At least let me walk you out to your car.”

  “Of course. Brandon, Elena, I hope to meet you again sometime.” Elena nodded her goodbye and Paige followed Cara back out the front door and down the stairs back out to the sidewalk.

  “I am so, so sorry,” Paige said once they were alone again. “I had no idea. I actually thought Elena was with my friend Ria. I didn’t know she was bi, not that that matters, but I guess it makes sense. Ria almost solely dates girls who are bi or straight, but still, wow that’s really surprising. I really thought they were together. I mean, not that I care. That’s not the point.” She stopped and realized she was rambling.

  Cara looked at her curiously. “Ah. Your friend Ria, the one you drove up to Chicago with?”

  “Yeah, but I swear our lives aren’t actually that complicated. It just looks like it.”

  “It’s fine,” Cara said. “Really.”

  “I’m so embarrassed. And now our night is totally ruined.”

  “I promise, it’s fine. And really this is almost better because we still have much to look forward to.” She pulled Paige closer and kissed her. Maybe it was the surprise of walking in on Brandon and Elena, but Paige couldn’t quite concentrate. Still, it was nice. When they finally pulled apart and Cara climbed into the car, Paige felt dazed, like she didn’t even know where she was.

  She watched Cara drive away until she turned the corner. Then Paige spun around, ready to kill her roommate for royally messing up her night. As she walked slowly back up the stairs to the apartment, Elena dashed out the door.

  “Oh, Elena,” Paige started. “You don’t have to leave. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to walk in on you. Really, you should stay.”

  “I’m getting up early tomorrow anyhow,” she said, her cheeks bright pink. “Mila and I have started walking together in the mornings. It’s quite nice.”

  Paige felt a stab of jealously that Elena and Mila were close enough to have morning routines. But then, why shouldn’t they? “Okay, well, I’m really sorry to have surprised you like that. Come back any time.”

  “Thank you,” Elena said and then rushed off.

  Did she really just tell her to come back any time? God, she was an awkward goober.

  She swung the front door open. Brandon was nowhere in sight. “All right, Casanova, get your seducing ass out here!” Brandon popped his head out of his bedroom, an innocent expression on his face. “Yeah, you. Get out here.”

  Brandon obeyed, plunking himself down on the couch where, just moments ago, he had been caught in a compromising position.

  “Spill it,” Paige demanded.

  “Spill what?”

  “You’re not funny. How long exactly has this been going on?”

  “Well, we’ve been talking a lot ever since we went up to Chicago. We just clicked, and well… Then we started clicking some more.”

  “Does
Ria know? I thought that she and Elena were… a thing.”

  Brandon tilted his head back and laughed. “Ha! No way. That’s like, ancient history. I thought you knew that. They’re just friends now, trust me. And yes, she knows. I’m not sure how much she knows, but she definitely knows we’ve been hanging out.”

  Paige’s head was swimming. She wasn’t sure if it was from the wine or all the new information. She could feel her thoughts recalibrating themselves. That she’d been so wrong was just…hard to wrap her mind around. So all this time, Ria and Elena hadn’t been together after all. Why did she feel so relieved?

  “I was going to tell you,” Brandon continued, “but you pretty much haven’t been here at all in the last week.”

  “I’ve been working.”

  “Fair enough, but I didn’t have a chance to fill you in on all the dirty details.”

  Paige picked up a pillow and threw it at him. “You can keep all the dirt to yourself, thanks. I think I need to bleach my eyes out after what I walked in on.”

  “Aw, we were just talking. You missed all the really good stuff.”

  “Ew…” she said. “I think that’s enough. I’m going to bed. Please feel free to set fire to our sofa.”

  “Well, wait a minute, little lady,” Brandon said, putting on his best dad voice. “I do believe you had someone coming home with you as well. Care to explain?”

  “I certainly do not.” She tilted her nose up high in the air.

  “That was the Chicago lady, right? The one you met about the mural?”

  “And so what if it is?”

  “I’m impressed. She is…” Brandon let out a piercing whistle. “I mean, nice work, Paige!”

  She rolled her eyes. “Goodnight, Brandon.”

  “Goodnight, lady Casanova.”

  “Lady Casanova isn’t a thing.”

  “Well, what is? Mata Hari?”

  She made a face and turned down the hall. She went into her bedroom and closed the door behind her. Although she was incredibly tired all of a sudden, she lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, her thoughts whirling.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Nooo!” Paige grumbled, as Brandon stood over her, shaking her awake. “Too early!”

  “Up and at ’em, sunshine. It’s Wednesday.”

  “It’s not even light out yet.”

  “Same as every Wednesday then. So you know you’ll complain, ultimately get up, and then be happy you did.”

  “You have way too much energy for five a.m.”

  Brandon took an edge of the blanket and began pulling it behind him as he walked out of the room.

  “Leaving in ten! Don’t forget to hydrate.”

  Paige lay staring at the ceiling for a few moments, her body demanding that she roll over and immediately go back to sleep. The same as every week. But she glanced down at herself. Yeah, this was why she went to sleep Tuesday nights with her workout gear already on.

  “All right,” she mumbled. She sat up and grabbed a ponytail holder from her night stand and threw her hair up in a high ponytail. Her socks and shoes sat neatly at foot of the bed. Cracking her neck, she was ready to go in minutes.

  “That’s my girl.” Brandon smiled as she emerged from the bedroom.

  “I’m here.” She yawned. “Mostly.”

  Brandon was wide awake, no sign that he’d been out most of the night with Elena and had very little sleep, but Paige had heard him come in around three a.m. She made a mental note to tease him about it once she was awake enough to come up with some witty remarks.

  They took down their bikes and once on the street, headed for the War Memorial. The pre-dawn city was quiet, peaceful. This was part of what she loved about Wednesdays, this feeling that she was up and doing something productive before the rest of the city had even had their breakfast. With no traffic, it was only minutes to their destination. Locking their bikes against a railing, they glanced up the stairs at the loosely assembled group.

  They’d been meeting up every Wednesday for the last several years, no matter the weather or the season, and Paige was surprised at how much she looked forward to it. People filtered in and out from week to week, but the core group came religiously.

  Brandon headed up to check for any newbies. As the time reached five-thirty, he and the other leader, a marathon runner named Sarah, marshaled the troops. They started bouncing on their toes and the group followed suit. The motion helped wake them up and get motivated.

  “Good morning!” Brandon yelled.

  “Good morning!” the group boomed back.

  “Are we good?”

  “Fuck yeah!” the group shouted in unison.

  “I said are we good?” he yelled louder.

  “Fuck yeah!” Paige laughed and bounced along with the group.

  A latecomer dashed up the steps and found a place next to her. “Sorry I’m late,” Elena whispered, immediately joining in.

  Paige caught Brandon’s eye and gave him a look that said “oh really?” He hadn’t even warned her. And of course, Elena looked like she just walked off the cover of a fitness magazine, her purple-cropped leggings and tight black athletic top showing off the form of her slim body. She, in contrast, was in a T-shirt with the arms chopped out, ventilating her sides and showing off her plain black sports bra. Paige still couldn’t believe that Elena and Brandon were together. That was a lot to wrap her mind around.

  Brandon gave her a look that said “sorry not sorry” and went back to leading the group. He brought that week’s newcomers into the middle of the circle.

  Paige nudged Elena, “Better get in there.”

  The regulars surrounded the newcomers and bounced along with them, learning their names and giving them high fives. This was one of the parts Paige loved, that this group was welcoming to anyone who showed up. Her other friends half-jokingly called it a cult, said there was absolutely no way they would get up that early to work out. She tried to get them to join her, but they just looked at her like she was nuts. She knew if they came, they’d get it. Sure, on paper it sounded like something she would absolutely reject, but starting the day with these happy energetic people made Wednesday one of her favorite days of the week.

  The group assembled to hear their instructions for the morning. Brandon and Sarah had decks of cards in their hands.

  “There are three stations this morning,” Sarah said. “One exercise at each, and you’ll draw cards to see how many you’ll do. Keep pulling cards until the whistle blows. The first station is jumping jacks. The second is burpees.” The group groaned good naturedly. “The third is push-ups. In between each station you’ll run to the other side of the memorial, run down the stairs to the street, all the way back up the stairs to the door, and then run to the next station.”

  “Split up into three groups,” Brandon said. “And, go!”

  Paige ran for the far group and gathered with a handful of others. Elena followed after her. “I didn’t really follow all that,” she said.

  “That’s okay. So, this is the dreaded burpee station. Do you know what burpees are?”

  Elena shook her head no.

  “You jump down, go into a plank, do a pushup, bring your knees back in, and then jump up to standing with your arms up. That’s one. And then you do it all over again.”

  Elena nodded, her eyes wide.

  “Just watch what we do,” Paige said.

  One of the guys turned over a card. The nine of hearts. “All right, nine burpees.”

  Paige watched out of the corner of her eye as Elena tried to match their actions. Once each of them counted their nine, they flipped over another card. Seven.

  They kept going until they heard the whistle, and then the group took off around the side of the memorial and ran down the steps. Elena seemed to be keeping pace at first, but as Paige began running up the stairs, she could tell that the girl was already winded.

  For a moment she felt a little smug. Elena might be gorgeous, but she clearly wasn’t use
d to working out. But that wasn’t how this worked. Everyone was welcome, regardless of fitness level. So Paige slowed and ran alongside her, giving her encouraging smiles.

  They went through push-ups, ran more stairs, then did jumping jacks. As they passed others in the group they gave high fives and yelled, “nice!” and “you got this!”

  When the final whistle blew, telling them they were all done for the day, Elena exhaled loudly and flopped down on the ground.

  “How’d it go?” Brandon asked, coming up behind them.

  “She did awesome,” Paige said.

  Elena smiled, still catching her breath.

  The group gathered up for their weekly photo on the steps and made silly faces for the camera.

  “Thanks Paige,” Elena said. “That was very hard. I appreciate you getting me through it.”

  “Any time. You should have seen me the first time I came. I hurt for days afterward.”

  “I see why Ria likes you so much.”

  “Oh please. If she were here she’d run circles around us.”

  “Maybe. But you know,” she looked around as though looking for someone listening in. “She never did get over you.”

  “What?”

  “But you didn’t hear that from me.” She smiled and ran over to Brandon, enveloping him in a sweaty hug.

  “Hey Paige,” he called. “You going to breakfast with us?”

  She shook her head. She figured she’d let the lovebirds have a little time alone.

  Her phone dinged as she rode her bike through the stirring city, the sun peeking out over the rooftops. What had Elena meant by that? Once home, she checked the message. Ria. How did she always seem to know when she was thinking about her?

  My flight gets in this afternoon. Any chance you’d pick me up? I’d owe you one.

  How could she say no to that?

  Chapter Seventeen

  “I can’t believe you actually walked in on them,” Ria said, once she’d put her bags in Paige’s trunk and climbed into the passenger seat. Paige waved at the traffic guard staring them down to make sure they didn’t loiter in the pickup lane any longer than possible.