“Good. I am, too. We’re bound now.”
I head to the bathroom to rinse my hand off. “I can’t believe we did that when we were kids. All those germs.”
“Germs or not, it’s our thing,” she repeats. “Besides, you used to eat the dirt in the backyard. Pretty sure that has germs, too, but it never stopped you.”
“I did not eat the dirt.”
“That’s not what mom says.”
“My piece of candy fellintothe dirt,” I argue. “By the time I found it, there was dirtonit.”
“And you still ate it.”
“Well, yeah. What kid wouldn’t?”
“Point made. Now, what are you doing this weekend? I’m forced to stay in, thanks to you, so please tell me you’ll be living for the both of us tonight.” She gives me the same bratty sigh I grew up hearing. Like it’s the worst thing in the world that she’s staying in.
I head for my closet. “Actually, I’m supposed to go out with Everleigh and Sylvia.”
“Dare I say, a party?”
“Hosted by the popular quarterback,” I say, using a fake valley girl voice.
She groans. “How hot?”
“Hot enough for girls to fling themselves at him.”
“I wish I were there. Take pictures for me?”
I crack up at that. “No matter how much you beg, that’s not going to happen.”
She clicks her tongue. “Well, that sucks. You should totally approach him. Let him take your worries away for one night.”
“Olive.”
“What? Isn’t that what being in college is all about?”
“He’s sleazy and not my type.”
“Oh yeah, I almost forgot. How are things with Webber?”
I haven’t had the chance to tell her that I officially broke things off, but she’s not going to be surprised by it. Because Webber has broken it off before each summer vacation we’ve had, she’s never had the chance to meet him. None of my family has.
“We broke up, and before you say anything, it’s for good this time.”
She screeches into the phone, “Halle-freaking-lujah. You better wear your best outfit, do your hair real nice—guys love when they have easy access to your neck, you’re welcome—and find yourself a hunk of man meat. I expecthim to have abs for days and for you to run that tongue of yours up and down them so many times that you have the ridges permanently ingrained in your memory.”
“Olive!”
“What?” She giggles. “I’m just saying that’s what I would do if I were you.”
“You want another?”Everleigh asks, raising her red solo cup to me. I’ve sipped my way through one beer since we arrived, and that’s where I’m capping myself for the night. Fletcher’s house is one step away from being out of control. It wasn’t like this when we walked through the front door, but no bars are held when the football team dons their rich, purple gear and pulls out a win for the Chatham U Coyotes. They’re going extra hard tonight since they dominated a win against our long-time rivals, the Wilmington Warriors, who’ve had the lead against the Coyotes for the last four years.
“I’m good,” I tell her, bringing the rim of my cup to my mouth. I grabbed a water bottle fifteen minutes ago and dumped it in my cup to try and wash away the bad taste of the cheap beer.
“I can’t believe it’s this crazy,” Everleigh comments, her eyes drifting to where Tristan is with the rest of the football team. He hasn’t been very attentive toward her since we arrived, but she’s assured me it’s okay, that she was expecting him to partake in the team’s celebratory shenanigans.
“I can.”
