She wrinkles her nose. “Not really, unless it’s in edible form. You?”
“I did it a lot in high school, especially the first few years. Not so much once I started fighting.”
“Lil’s convinced pot got you in trouble enough to get sent here,” she says with a little smirk.
I shake my head. “Nah, not even on the radar.” She’s silent, waiting, an eyebrow cocked. I could stare at her for hours, but that would be fucking weird. “My mom wants me to be a lawyer or a doctor or some shit. I hated school. I could learn my stuff, but putting it back down on paper never clicked. I never even thought about going to college after I graduated two years ago, but suddenly, she was trying to force me into picking a major. Dad suggested I come here.” I leave out the arranged marriage bullshit. I don’t want to think about it, let alone say it out loud to Ariana.
“Your mom sounds like a bitch,” she says, taking a drink from her beer bottle.
“She is.” I lift a shoulder.
“Makes me even more thankful for my mom. She’s always been supportive of us finding our own thing, you know?”
“What’s your thing?”
“Baking. I dabble in other stuff, but baking is a constant.”
“But you’re not taking classes for it?”
“Maybe someday, but I like to figure it out for myself. Classroom learning is Lil’s style, not mine.”
“Sometimes it amazes me when you two have something that’s not in common.” I raise an eyebrow at Ariana and realize I do that a lot.
“What, since we spend like 99% of our time together, it means we’re the same? We’re not the same person, Luca. We just don’t like to be apart for long. There’s a lot of stuff that’s different.”
“Like what?” A small grin breaks out on my face. There’s no stopping it. She’s adorable when she’s riled up.
She rolls her eyes. “Lil likes math, and I fucking hate math. We both like reading, but I like it alotmore than she does. I lovebaking, and she loves eating whatever I make. She likes flashier clothes and makeup than I do, but I’m a sucker for shoes.”
“That’s it? Doesn’t seem like a lot,” I tease. Well, that’s not like me at fucking all…
Her mouth pulls to one side as she narrows her eyes at me and my challenge. “Lil could live off mangos, but I think they’re gross.” She cringes at the thought. “The fucking texture. They smell so good, though.” Her fingers tug on the locket again as she chews on her lip, clearly trying to think of more things.
“Alright, I’m convinced.” I raise my hands in defeat, but she’s not convinced I’m convinced.
“Um... Oh, I like cats, and she likes dogs, and we’ve had so many fights over which we’ll get when we’re little old spinster ladies one day because there’s no way we’re each finding someone who isn’t only perfect for us, but can handle the other one being around all the time,” her voice hitches a little, but she keeps going. “So sometimes we think we’ll get something else, but then we can’t agree because then I want birds so I can teach them to say ‘fuck off’ and ‘eat a dick,’ and she wants… well, anything other than birds. Lil likes colorful cars, but I couldn’t care less about the color as long as it drives like a dream.”
God, she’s fucking cute right now, rambling like this, using her fingers to mark things off as she goes.
“You do like to drive.”
“Iloveto drive. Lil just likes being in the car and cranking up the music. And I like living, so I like Lil not driving.”
“Amen to that,” I say, just as Lil and the others come back inside, and we start another game.
Chapter 18
Lists
Ariana
Lil and I often do our sneak-out-of-a-movie-and-drive-our-stolen/hidden-car thing on Saturdays, but obviously, it’s not happening right now. Which sucks ass.
We spend the day sitting by the pool and playing pinball. Luca must be doing stuff with Dad. We only see them at dinner. After ogling superheroes from our couch for a few hours, we move to Lil’s closet.
We all have enormous walk-in closets. We turned the back of Lil’s into our hideaway. Not that it’s a secret or anything, but it’s our special space. Instead of a treehouse when we were little, we had Lil’s closet, and it’s still our haven. It’s where we go to talk about dreams and love and crushes and just… anything.
It’s also where we go to get a little fucked up. Drinks and game night at Amanda’s is fun, but I prefer to stay at home. Lil’s slightly more sociable than I am, but not by much. I don’t usually drink much anywhere else, but last night, I wanted to let loose and knew Luca would get us home safely. He did it with a scowl on his face, though.
