I looked out the window, avoiding eye contact. “No such thing in dance. Just drive.”
“But you have to be strong.”
I turned and glared at him. “Drop it, please.”
“We’re going to get burgers. One burger is not going to make you fat.”
He had a bandage on his lower neck, peeking from the neckband of his sweatshirt. “Please tell me you didn’t get a neck tattoo.” He unzipped his hoodie, lifted his white T-shirt, and pulled a bandage from the left side of his chest, revealing a tattoo of the exact “L” that Laverne wore on her sweaters in Laverne and Shirley.
He smiled. “For Lottie.”
I shook my head. “That is Laverne’s ‘L.’ ”
“I know. Isn’t it funny?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Just drive.”
Pulling his shirt down and laughing, he put the car in gear and drove onto the main road. “You jealous?”
“Not at all.”
WE WENT TOa place that had a million different kinds of burgers and beers; it was mostly famous for the buffalo burgers. The mere thought made me nauseous but it was one of Gavin’s favorite places. I ordered a turkey burger, no bun, with a side salad and a light beer.
“A French fry is not going to kill you.” He tried feeding me one but I waved his hand away.
“So what’s new?” I asked.
“Nothing much. I just found out that I’m three units short of having an English degree, too.”
“So you’re getting your engineering degree and then you’ll take one class over the summer and get an English degree as well?”
“Yup.” He took a bite of his burger and talked through a mouth full of food. “Crazy, huh?”
“Wow, Gavin, that’s so impressive. I had no idea.”
“Me neither. I don’t know what I’m going to do with it. Maybe go track down Carissa and write a book with her, or do some stupid performance art in Denver.”
“What about Lottie?”
“What about her?” he said nonchalantly.
“Well, you got a fucking ‘L’ tattooed on your chest.”
It wasn’t always easy to pry things out of Gavin; sometimes he would catch me completely off guard with a gut-spilling confession. Other times he would be totally enigmatic and evasive. “I like her. A lot. She likes to fight, though.” He drank the rest of his beer and smiled serenely. He was staring into my eyes. I was chewing my burger slowly, wondering what he was thinking. “Not like you, Little P. You’re a lover.”
I swallowed hard.
He looked down at his lap to check his phone. “Speak of the devil. Lottie’s off work. I should probably get home and take a shower. I’m meeting her later.”
“Where does she work?” We rarely talked about Lottie if we could help it. I never even asked him how she felt about our friendship.
“Jamba Juice.” He laughed.
“Why’s that funny?”
“I don’t know. I’m convinced all the blender noise makes her a little agro.”
“That’s a stupid theory.” We paid the check. “Come on, I’ll take you back to your car,” I said.
