Katrina peered at the photo of Jia contemplatively staring out at the ocean. “Ah. It’s you, Jia.”
“I know it’s me! Look at the comment from the motivational model.”
“What’s a motivational model?” Rhiannon asked.
“You know. A model who captions all his pics with inspirational quotes? Like, from Gandhi or Mother Teresa or the Dalai Lama.”
Rhiannon pursed her lips. “Lovely. I’m sure Gandhi would be delighted he went on a hunger strike so his words could caption thirst traps.”
Katrina took the phone from Jia and read the comment out loud. “Wow, the west coast really agrees with you. Your skin has never looked better.” She handed the phone back to its owner. “I’m sorry. I don’t see what the problem is.”
“You’re reading it wrong.” Jia raised the pitch of her voice. “Thewest coast agreeswith you. Your skin hasnever looked better.” She scowled.
“That bitch,” Rhiannon commented, and took a sip of her juice.
“You’re saying that sarcastically, but let me assure you, this guy is the worst.” Jia sneered. “He’s implying my skin hasn’t always been flawless. How dare he?” She stroked her smooth cheek. “Look at this. Like a baby’s bottom.”
“Your face is like a baby’s bottom?”
Jia growled at Rhiannon. Their relationship had quickly settled into a sisterly squabbling. “You know what I mean. Trust me, I’m reading this exactly right. I have good instincts about this. I couldn’t sleep a wink, I’m exhausted.”
“You can’t tell. Ah, to be dewy and twenty-five again.”
“I’m twenty-seven,” Jia answered pertly.
“You’d probably sleep more if you didn’t stay up all night texting a guy.”
Jia’s flush confirmed Rhiannon’s guess.
Rhiannon poured a generous serving of syrup on her waffles. “Where in the world is your mysterious boyfriend now, anyway?”
Katrina gently kicked her best friend under the table. Jia had moved cross-country to expand her empire and get the kind of opportunities that were only accessible in closeproximity to L.A. When Rhiannon had proposed adding her as a roommate, she’d told Katrina that Jia’s family had been worried about her moving here and living alone.
About ten minutes after meeting her, Katrina had understood Jia’s family’s hesitance. The girl was social-media-savvy and clearly brilliant, but she had the kind of sheltered, wide-eyed eagerness and innocence that came from not having been exposed to the worst of mankind yet.
Katrina wasn’t that much older, and not nearly as cynical as Rhiannon, but she felt about eighty years removed from Jia when it came to street smarts.
Which was why she wasn’t eager to crush Jia’s spirit. Especially when it came to this mystery guy Jia had been texting for the past month. A guy Jia hadn’t met or seen yet.
“He’s in Hong Kong this week,” Jia said blithely, unaware of or uncaring about Rhiannon’s sardonic tone. “He’s finishing up his business in Asia and then he should be in the U.S. in a few weeks.”
Rhiannon nodded. “Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. And what is his business, again? Or his name, for that matter? Asking for science.”
This time, Jia’s flattened lips told Katrina she’d picked up on Rhiannon’s disbelief. “Stop playing big sister, Rhi. I’ve got enough of those.”
Rhiannon pointed her fork at Jia. “None of your biological big sisters know about this guy. I do. I’m looking out for you. It’s weird you guys haven’t even video-chatted yet.”
“It’s not weird. He’d rather we meet in person first.”
Rhiannon scoffed. “Have you ever heard of this thing called catfishing?”
Jia’s face turned red and Katrina cleared her throat, eager to ease tensions. She hated arguments. “How about I tell you guys about the guyImet yesterday?”
A pair of light brown and dark brown eyes turned immediately to her. “Where did you meet a guy?” Jia asked.
“At French Coast. We sat at a table together. I talked to him and we flirted a little and then he asked me out.”
“What?” Rhiannon’s scowl deepened. “What’s his name? When are you going out? What does he look like?”
