“This is funny, huh?” he says. He clears his throat. “I just mean, you and I.”
“Funny?”
“Well, no, not funny. Just different.”
“Well, yeah. I mean, usually we’re not sitting like this.” I gesture to his arm that’s still resting on my side.
“No, usually we’re not.” He doesn’t remove his hand. Instead he presses me closer.
Something is bubbling up and out of me, and even though I want to keep it inside, rest my head on Rob’s chest and just enjoy how nice it feels to be near him, I know I have to say it. I turn around to look at him.
“I’m worried,” I say.
“About what?” He takes his other hand and brushes some hair out of my face the way he did at prom last year.
“You’re my best friend,” I whisper. “What if this doesn’t work out?”
“You’re already planning our demise?”
“Not demise.” I exhale. “I’m just worried, is all.”
He takes my hand in his and presses his thumb into my palm. His hands feel strong and soft. “I know,” he says. And then, with his thumb still in my palm, he adds, “But I haven’t even kissed you yet.”
I drop my eyes down to the rock, but I know without looking at him that he’s staring at me, and when he releases my hand, puts both of his on the sides of my face and lifts my head up, I see that I’m right.
He leans in slowly. So slowly it feels like we’re in slow motion. And then his lips are on mine. They are so soft and warm, and it’s not until he pulls back gently that I realize how much I’ve wanted him to kiss me. How it’s really the only thing I’ve wanted.
“We’ll figure it out, Rosie,” he says, stroking my cheek. “I promise.” And then he’s kissing me again, and it feels so good to be close to him, his hands on my back, his lips on mine, that I can’t believe there was a time before we were doing this at all.
Scene Three
When Rob drops me off, we’re holding hands across the front seat, my palm lightly resting in his.
“Should I come in?” he asks.
I glance from our intertwined hands to my front door. “No,” I say. “Why don’t we shelve that conversation. Just for a little.” There wouldn’t be anything strange about Rob coming in—Rob and I have been out a million times, and he always comes over after—but I’m not sure how much my parents know, and how much I’m ready to tell them.
He smiles and cuts the engine, releasing my hand and leaning over in his seat. He plants a kiss on my temple, one above the bridge of my nose, and then one gently on my lips.
“Okay,” he says. “Sleep sweet, Rosie.” It’s the same good night he’s been giving me since we were kids, but this time it makes my heart rattle in my chest.
“Sleep sweet,” I whisper. I stumble out of the car and into my house, dizzy from his lips.
Our front door opens into our kitchen. My parents are always hanging out in there, drinking tea and reading the paper in their bathrobes until midnight. I swear if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s dark out, you’d think it was morning.
Tonight when I come inside, they’re not there, though. Instead they are in the living room with Rob’s parents. They’re talking so loudly, they don’t hear me enter.
“I don’t know what to say,” Rob’s mother says. She’s sitting on the arm of Rob’s father’s chair. He has his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. My mom is standing, holding a glass, and so is my father, which is strange, because neither of them ever drinks. They don’t even like wine with dinner.
“Have you spoken to them?” Rob’s father asks.
My father shakes his head. “I left a message with his office, but no one has gotten back to me.” He looks at my mom. “I don’t even have their home number.”
“Why call?” Rob’s mother asks. “Isn’t it best to leave things as they are?”
“This is a small town, Jackie. You know that. We’ll run into them sooner or later,” my dad says.
“This is a nightmare,” Rob’s father says. He looks angry, which is new for him. He’s got four boys, and he rarely ever even raises his voice.
My mom takes a sip of her drink. “Why come back now?” she says.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Rob’s mom says. They all look at her intently, their backs erect. “They want revenge.”
The floorboards choose that moment to creak under my feet, and all four heads swivel to look at me standing in the doorway.
“Rosie,” my mom says. She turns around and must send my dad some kind of look, because in the next instant he sets his glass down and comes over to me.
“Sorry for all the ruckus,” he says.
“Hi.” I wave to Rob’s folks.
Rob’s mom smiles weakly, and his dad chirps up, “Hey, kiddo. How was dinner?”
My cheeks flush pink. “Good,” I say. “We had Italian.” Everyone nods.
“Sounds delicious,” Rob’s dad says.
“Everything okay?” I ask. Asking your parents if everything is okay is a little like asking your math teacher is she’s really going to give that pop quiz. You already know the answer.
“Oh, yeah,” my mom says. “Just politics.”
My dad smiles to second what she said.
“Well, I’m gonna hit the hay,” I say. “AP Bio in the a.m.” I give them a look like, You know, although no one seems to.
“Good night, cookie,” my dad says. The living room erupts into a chorus of good nights, and I turn from them, perplexed, and climb the stairs. But I don’t want to think about Juliet’s family or guess how Rob’s parents are involved in whatever went wrong. Tonight is about me and Rob. I just want to fall asleep remembering his kisses.
Scene Four
“I’m coming,” I yell. Charlie is laying on the horn outside, and I’m frantically running around the kitchen, grabbing toast and saying good-bye to my parents. They both look a little worn this morning, and they’re hunched over their mugs, sipping slowly.
“Have a good day.” My mother yawns. I consider asking them about Juliet, but I don’t have time. Later.
I run outside, toast in my teeth.
“Hey, hot stuff,” Charlie says. “Have fun last night?”
I roll my eyes and climb inside. Olivia is in the back, which is different. The three of us haven’t carpooled since Olivia got OLIVE16.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“I wanted to hear about your date,” Olivia says. “Also, Ben has my car.” Charlie makes a huffing sound, but Olivia doesn’t seem to notice. She hooks her elbows around both of our seats and leans so far forward, I can smell the strawberry on her. Olivia has been wearing the same perfume since I’ve known her. One time we were all shopping and she went to buy more. It turns out, it’s a house spray. Like the kind of stuff you spritz on your couch to cover up the smell of wet dog. We pointed this out to her and found it hilarious, but Olivia refused to change.
“That’s like using Clorox as hand soap,” Charlie said.
“I don’t care,” Olivia said. “I like it, and I’m sticking to it.” That’s one of the things I really love about Olivia. If she’s happy, she doesn’t really care what other people think. She still wears these pajamas she had in the fifth grade. They are way too short and way too big in the waist and have horses on them, but she says they’re soft and help her sleep. I bet if Ben slept over, she’d even wear them around him.
“So what happened?” Olivia says. “Details.”
“We went to dinner.” I glance back at Rob’s house as we screech out of the driveway, but we’re moving too fast for me to catch a good view.
“Bo-ring.” Charlie taps her hand on the steering wheel like she’s counting. “Get to the good stuff.”
“I mean, we kissed.”
Olivia starts wailing, and Charlie starts honking. She makes like she’s just lost control of the car and swerves right. I cover my ears and sink lower in my seat.
“Can you guys please calm dow
n? I’m going to go deaf here.”
Olivia keeps repeating, “Oh my God, oh my God,” until Charlie sends her a look in the rearview and she shuts up.
“Was it good?” Charlie asks.
“Sure.” I’m blushing, and I turn away. When I used to tell them about kissing Jason, it was always just sort of situational. “We were at this party” or “He tried to suck my neck.” (True, by the way. It was awful.) We’ve never talked about whether I liked it or not. Or how it felt.
“‘Sure’?” Charlie slides her sunglasses up on her head and gives me a look like she’s never been so disappointed in her life.
“It’s Rob,” I say.
“We know,” Olivia says. “But that doesn’t really answer the question.”
“It was good, okay?” I hike my knees up against the dashboard and keep my eyes fixed ahead. “It was amazing.”
“I knew it!” Olivia squeals.
“Well, obviously,” Charlie says. “I mean, it’s Rob. Clearly it would be.”
“I am so into this,” Olivia says.
“Yeah,” I say. “I know, but I’m just kind of worried.” About a million things. Like does this mean we are together? Should I ask him? Is he going to kiss me this morning? Has he told his friends?
“Clearly he likes you,” Olivia says. “What is there to be concerned about?”
“He’s my best friend.” It comes out harsher than I mean it to, and immediately I feel Olivia sit back and Charlie glare at me. “You know what I mean,” I say. “My best guy friend. My oldest friend.”
“The best romances totally develop out of friendship,” Olivia says.
“Okay, Hallmark.”
“It’s true,” Charlie says. “I mean, look at Jake and me. We can’t stand each other, and we’re definitely not friends. God, Jake.” She pummels the back of her hand against the steering wheel.
“Things not good this a.m.?” I ask.
“No,” she says, “he just doesn’t care.” She nods and her sunglasses flip back down onto her face.
“What happened?” Olivia asks. She leans her elbows on the center console and gives me a wide smile. There’s a piece of blueberry in her third tooth, and I point to it.
“I don’t know,” Charlie says as Olivia pulls out a compact and starts attacking her mouth with her pinkie finger. “He’s so hot and cold sometimes.”
“Trust me, I know,” Olivia says. I turn around and give her a pointed look. The last thing Charlie wants to hear is some boyfriend-bashing on her brother.
“Sorry,” she mouths, her finger still in her mouth.
“I have an idea,” Charlie says, glancing out the window and making a right.
“Hmm?” I mumble.
“Why don’t we go to Fall Back together, just the three of us?”
“What do you mean?” Olivia asks. There is a tiny bit of drool down her face, and she flicks the back of her hand across her mouth.
“I mean, why don’t we go without the guys?” Charlie swings into upper and lays on the horn. Some freshmen scatter. It’s completely illegal to honk on school premises. Not that this has ever stopped her.
“I kind of wanted to go with Ben,” Olivia says. She sticks out her lower lip, but Charlie doesn’t turn around. “Rose, don’t you want to go with Rob?”
“Yeah, sure, but it’s not like he won’t be there. Plus, we’re gonna have to go early to set up.”
“What?” Olivia asks. She sounds totally appalled.
“SAC? Hello?” Charlie says. She pulls into a spot and kills the engine, but not one of us moves. Charlie unclips her seat belt and turns way around. “All I’m saying is, we have to stick together. Because it’s a total free-for-all out there, and men are completely crazy.”
“Did you read this in the book?” Olivia asks. She looks doubtful.
Charlie bought us all Why Men Love Bitches for Christmas last year. She says it’s how she got Jake, although (1) I’m not sure that’s such an achievement, and (2) frankly, if she’s following the advice, it isn’t really working.
“No,” Charlie snaps, “I’m serious. We’re friends, right?”
Olivia shrugs.
“I think it’s a great plan,” I say. I’m trying to end the conversation because I’ve just spotted Rob. He’s standing in upper with Ben. Olivia’s car is parked next to them with surfboards stacked on top, and Ben is pulling a T-shirt over his head. It looks like he joined Rob and Jake surfing. There’s something about the familiar way they’re standing that makes me feel inexplicably safe. Like we all really belong together.
I am about to suggest we talk about this later, when Olivia bolts from the car and goes and attacks Ben. He scoops her up into a gigantic hug, lifting her off the pavement. They look like that poster of the couple kissing in Paris. I used to have it on my wall, but Charlie said it was going to scare boys away and I had to take it down. Not that any boy besides Rob is ever in my room. And he saw it, like, a million times and never seemed to mind.
“Appalling,” Charlie says as we walk toward them. She puts her arm around my shoulder. “Go say hi. Rob won’t bite. Unless you’re lucky.” She wiggles her hips like she has a Hula-hoop around them, and I roll my eyes.
“Are you serious with that?”
“Dead.” She blows me a kiss. “See you in Spanish.”
“Hey, Kessler,” Rob says. He gives Charlie a lopsided smile as he slides one arm around my waist.
I can’t believe he’s touching me like this. In public.
“‘Hey’ yourself. I’m getting out of here before my brother sucks her face off.” Charlie looks at Rob’s hand on my waist and then at me. I’m silently saying a thank-you that she’s wearing her sunglasses, because Charlie’s facial expressions tend to give away everything she’s thinking.
“Smart woman.” Rob pulls me a little closer as Charlie disappears down toward Cooper House.
“Hey,” he says. His face is inches from mine, and images from last night come back to me like firecrackers. His warm sweatshirt and my head on his chest. His hands on my face. His lips on mine.
He looks so cute today in his khaki shorts and blue T-shirt. His hair is still a little wet from surfing, and there are a few water droplets on the back of his shirt. “How did you sleep?” he asks.
I move a little closer to him and mutter, “Good. You?”
“Yeah, same.” He takes his hand and cups my elbow, bringing our torsos together. His face is right above mine and he’s moving it down, lower, so that our lips are just a whisper away. I close my eyes, ready for him to kiss me, but just then Olivia sashays over.
Rob immediately drops his hand from my waist, and I must look disappointed, because Olivia gets sheepish. “Sorry to interrupt,” she says, “but Ben needs you.”
“Your boyfriend’s impossible,” Rob says, but he’s smiling. That’s one of the things I love about him. Nothing really annoys him for too long.
“He is not!” Olivia squeals, but I can tell she’s pleased. She’s never called someone her boyfriend before, and she doesn’t correct Rob now.
“You guys are adorable,” she says when he’s gone. “Seriously, perfect.”
I don’t say anything, but secretly I’m pleased too. Things feel right. Like we’re all finally where we should be. Being with Rob is the one thing that’s been missing, the thing that makes my life just, I don’t know, make sense.
“Who’s that?” Olivia asks.
“Who?”
“That.” She’s pointing to a white Mercedes SUV that has just pulled in next to Charlie’s car. Too close. Everyone knows Charlie totally freaks if someone comes within four feet of Big Red. And that Mercedes definitely doesn’t belong to any senior at this school. Olivia has the nicest car on campus.
“Probably a parent.” I shrug, but Olivia shakes her head. There is a girl climbing out.
The first thing I notice is that she has blond hair. The kind of blond Charlie calls “prescription strength,” meaning you need serious chemical he
lp to achieve it. The second is that both her bag and her sunglasses seem way larger than she is.
Olivia and I look at each other. Olivia steps closer to me. “LA transplant,” she says. “Definitely.” She crosses her arms, and her strap slides down to her elbow so that her MIAMI book bag is dangling dangerously close to the ground. She doesn’t seem happy. This new girl, whoever she is, is definitely competition.
“Were we getting new students?” I ask. But before I even have time to consider my own question, I know who she is. The girl from the newspaper. My cousin. Juliet.
“What are you doing?” Olivia spits, but she follows me over to the car where Juliet is busying herself with unloading books.
“Hey.” I’m not usually the welcoming committee—usually that’s Charlie’s role. Well, maybe more like making new people feel afraid—Charlie isn’t exactly the “come join our circle” kind of girl. But Juliet is my cousin. Just because we haven’t been friends in a decade doesn’t mean we couldn’t start now. She’s the only family I have, besides my parents.
“Hey,” she says back. Even with her sunglasses on I can tell she’s looking me up and down. It’s slow, too, like she’s not trying to hide it.
I go ahead and blurt it out: “Do you know who I am?” I shake my head. “Not like that. I just mean, we’re cousins? Rosaline Caplet?” I tap myself on the chest like I have a name tag.
She flips her hair off her shoulders. “Yeah, I know.”
I’m relieved, until I realize she’s not following that up with anything. “This is Olivia,” I say, to say something.
“Hey,” Olivia says. She has one eye on me and the other on Juliet. I try to see what she sees. Juliet’s pretty. Not Charlie-gorgeous but definitely attractive. She always was.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you since we were, like, seven.” I run my foot back and forth across the pavement. I suddenly don’t want to look at her. I wonder if she remembers the doll incident.
“Does Rob still live here?”
When You Were Mine Page 8
