I know she just wants to go home and get back to our new weekend tradition—snacks andGame of Thrones.We’ve practically taken over the family room with our marathons, and our parents seem genuinely pleased by it. Last night, we were up until midnight watching. I had to remind Kayla that Deanna would have my head if we didn’t show up today.
“Want to come with or I can grab you on the way back?” she asks.
I look at Deanna for confirmation that I should stay. She gives it with a smirk.
“I’ll stay,” I tell Kayla, who’s already opening the door.
“Kay, I’ll be back!”
Deanna pauses before closing the door and looks at me. “Actually, let’s go for a walk,” she decides.
“You mean like outside, in nature?” I ask playfully, pulling on my sneakers. I’m surprised by the suggestion because this group seems to drive everywhere.
“Haha, Jasmine. Yes, out there,” she says, stepping into a pair of bedazzled blue Crocs.
“Those are very, very blue,” I say, pointing to her feet.
She pushes her foot out to show them off. “I’m loyal to the color I like,” she says. “And the people.”
She loves to make me squirm. I lower my head to hide my blushing as I tie my laces.
We head outside and there’s a slight chill in the air, but it’s still nice enough for a walk. Her part of the neighborhood doesn’t have sidewalks like mine. Instead, each house has a long driveway. I think it’s cool that you can’t really see any front doors from the street.
“It’s so private over here,” I say as we walk past her neighbor’s.
“Yeah, but it’s got nothing on Alice’s part, where the houses are practically little islands,” she says. I was actually thinking that but didn’t want to sound rude.
Deanna’s pulling her hair into a ponytail when I see a diamond hoop is missing.
“What happened to your earring?” I ask.
She touches the empty spot and sighs. “I lost it at the carnival but I didn’t notice until I got home. I’m sure it’s gone.”
“Sorry to hear that. Are you gonna replace it?”
She touches the spot again. “It’s sorta irreplaceable. I have to get something, though, so the hole doesn’t close.”
“I’m sorry I brought it up,” I say.
“No, it’s okay. You’re not curious about why?”
“Why it’s irreplaceable? I mean, it’s probably expensive.”
“They’re from Francesca’s in the mall.” She chuckles. “It meant something more.”
I feel silly for my answer but make a mental note of where she got them. “What did it mean to you?”
“I don’t remember if I told you about my ex that my parents still think I should marry after college?”
I shake my head.
“Oh, well, I got it after we broke up. Sort of like a freedom gift to myself.”
I stop walking and turn to her, confusion all over my face. She tries to straighten out my turned-down lips and laughs.
“Tell me more,” I say.
“Long story short, he had a lot of opinions. Sometimes it felt like he was controlling my whole life. One of those opinions was that having more than two ear piercings was unladylike. I’d wanted this piercing for forever but didn’t want to get into it with him, so I never got it. He eventually broke up with me because I wore this bikini my mom bought me to his pool party and he said I embarrassed him.”
