“Ah! It’s that Locke guy! Call her and tell her!”
We call Olivia, and she’s as evasive as she was last night about who she ate ice cream with. Like we didn’t know she was with him!
“We’re going to have to get to the bottom of that,” I say, smirking, and Sophie agrees with me.
We hang out at Olivia’s until it’s time for Sophie to leave. I walk her to her car out front and linger there for a minute. I can’t wait until we’re living in the same town this fall.
“I’ll see you in a few hours,” she says. She’s behind the wheel and the window is down. My hands are braced on the roof of the car.
“I won’t be late.”
I lean in and give her one last kiss good-bye, then watch her drive away.
Olivia’s phone vibrates in my pocket as soon as the car disappears around the corner.
MOM:Don’t forget your sunscreen. You’re still recovering from that burn earlier in the week.
That’s not too bad. I can handle this.
ME:It’s already in my bag
MOM:Perfect! And how are you doing your hair?
Okay, this is a little trickier. I move to Olivia’s front porch swing and try to remember what she normally does with her hair. I mean, it’s long. And sometimes it’s kind of curly.
ME:I may braid it
I don’t know what Charlie is complaining about. This isn’t hard.
MOM:I bought you some more cream for razor burn. You know how bad it gets around the bikini area. It’s in the middle drawer in my bathroom.
Nope. Nope, nope, nope, nope. That’s it. I’m out. Not even responding to that.
Olivia
OLIVIA:I’m here
I’m in the women’s locker room changing into my suit and cover-up when Wes texts me from my phone. My hair is thrown into a loose bun and I put on a little lip gloss. Thank God I remembered to shave this morning.
Slipping on my tennis shoes since I forgot sandals, I jog out to the parking lot to meet Wes.
He’s parked near my car with his windows down and his seat reclined. The smell of fast food hits me when I get close.
“Hey,” I say.
“Hey.” He hands me my phone through the open window. “Your mom was chatty this morning.”
There’s something in his tone that makes me worry what she could have possibly said to throw him off. Compared to Charlie, Wes is hard to rattle.
“Judd’s been texting you all morning.” I hand him his phone. “Thanks for doing this.”
“Anytime. I’ll be waiting out here until you’re done.” He points toward the burger and fries he has spread out on the bag in the passenger seat. “But I do need to be headed to Minden by four. Sophie has her grad party tonight.”
“Yeah, that shouldn’t be a problem.”
Walking back to the clubhouse, I check my phone. No new messages from Leo.
The pool sits on the opposite side of the clubhouse from the driving range. There’s a brick fence and gate closing it off from the parking lot, but the back is open to the course. I’ve seen it when we lap the holes, and I’m pumped for the chance to enjoy it for a bit.
