“They showcase newer bands that are coming on the scene. My mom loves that place. She used to live there when she was dating my dad. Anyway, I live over two streets from here. And you?”
I pointed ahead of us. “My mom found this beautiful plantation-type house that we’re renting.”
“No dad?”
I’d never had a dad. “He died in Iraq.” According to my mom, she’d had a one-night stand when she was twenty with a boy who had taken up a summer job at her father’s feed store in Montana. Then the boy joined the military, and one year later, she found out through a friend that a roadside bomb had killed the guy.
Elvira touched my arm. “I’m sorry.”
I shrugged. “I never knew him.” My mom hardly had, either. Sometimes I thought that his death was the reason my mom didn’t want to settle down with any man. She was afraid she would lose him like she had my dad, even though her relationship with him had hardly been what anyone would have called serious.
“So, beach?” Elvira angled her face up to the sun. “The heat is oppressive, and the ocean sounds great. Plus, there are hot guys who’ll be in nothing but board shorts while surfing.”
I considered her a moment as I thought of Train in swim trunks. The heat was getting to me, and the beach did sound amazing, although I wasn’t a good swimmer. The farthest I’d gone into the ocean was knee-deep to cool off. I had a phobia. If I couldn’t see what was under the water, then swimming wasn’t my gig. “I don’t own a bathing suit.”
She sized me up. “Mmm. I’m shorter than you, but we look about the same size.” She glanced at the cleavage poking out of her V-neck blouse. “I think I’m a little bigger in the breast area. But I do have a dresser full of bathing suits. Give me your address.” She whipped out her phone. “And your number. I’ll be over in thirty minutes.”
I gave her my info, then she left. As I walked the rest of the way home, I wanted to cringe. I wasn’t ashamed of myself in a swimsuit. Far from it. What I was afraid of was Train.It’s not like you’re going to fall for the guy today. Besides, you’re here in this town to complete your senior year, maybe get into an art school, or maybe work at an art gallery, or both. For now, enjoy the sun, the new friend you have, and make it a blowout year. Fun doesn’t equal trouble.That was my problem. Fun for me was tagging buildings, putting my mark on something, or hanging with a guy who didn’t want anything in return. Maybe Train didn’t want anything in return. And I had promised my mom I wouldn’t tag.
I ambled up the path that led to our wraparound porch, wiping the sweat from my upper lip. As soon as I trudged through the front door, a rank odor hit me.
“Mom,” I called out. “What’s that smell?”
“I’m back here in the guest bathroom,” she said.
I dropped my backpack at the base of the stairs. Pinching my nose, I padded down the hall that jutted off from the open living area. I found Mom mopping the floors.
“What happened?”
She lifted her blond head. “Toilet broke. Wait. What are you doing home from school? What happened to your head?”
Automatically, my hand went to my bump. “First, I had a small run-in with a door. I’m fine. And school’s out for the day because of an accident in the chemistry lab. And you thought this town was going to be quiet.”
She dropped the mop and pulled me in for hug. “Are you okay?”
I flinched slightly at the sound of the mop hitting the floor. Gently, I pushed her away. It was definitely too hot to be touching anyone. “I’m good. Plus, I think I’m going to vomit with that smell.”
She laughed—a sound I hadn’t heard in a while. She’d been stressed because of me, her book deadlines, and life in general. Sometimes I hated that I was a stress marker for her, but she’d kept blowing me off in New York. Anytime we’d had plans to spend time together, something came up with one of her new books, or she had a publicity tour, or a new guy garnered her attention away from me. I got that her books brought in the loot for us to survive and even live in a beautiful house with some luxuries, but she had to take time for her daughter.
“Hot isn’t the word. The air conditioner doesn’t work, either.” She smoothed a hand over her wavy hair, showing her sweat-soaked underarms. “It’s a beautiful house, although I see why we got the rent so cheap.”
No air. Rancid smell. The ocean was calling my name. “Do you mind if I head to the beach?”
She picked up the mop and resumed dragging it across the floor. “Homework?”
“Mom, I didn’t make it to my second class. And my first class didn’t give us any.”
“You don’t have a swimsuit.”
“Elvira is letting me borrow one of hers. She’ll be here soon.”
Her blue eyes lit up. “You’ve made a friend? That’s not like you, at least not on the first day. I thought you’d sworn off friends.”
I liked Elvira. She seemed as though she could be not only a friend, but also a sister I never had. “I have to cool off. What better way than to throw myself in the ocean.” Or at Train.
Mom gave me one of her award-winningNew York Timesbest-selling author smiles. “I’m glad you’re at least trying to fit in.”
“You mean not tagging.”
