Who We Were (3 page)

He nodded and took a bite. “I forgot about the different schools thing. We do hang out in different spots.”

I smiled at him like I agreed. Heck, I didn’t even know where our school held their bashes; I was totally oblivious to that part of teenage life. I looked at Lily who was now joining Oliver and taking off her apron for a break. Oliver had waited for her this whole time Nash and I were talking. He really wanted to get to know her. It was at that moment that I realized that my life was going to change. Come hell or high water I was going to get out of my house and go to parties. I was going to be popular, and I was going to date Nash. No one would stop me, not even my mom.

I watched Nash eat his cone and laughed when he got ice cream all over his shirt. He shrugged and smiled. “Oh well. At least I’ll smell like mint. It will remind me of you later today.” A blush ran over my cheeks like a singing hot flame. I took a look at the time and realized I had to get home before my mom did. Homework and changing into my suit were on my to do list. Lily and I had plans at the lake. I couldn’t wait to discuss the Oliver thing and how that all progressed. From the looks of it, her laughter was telling me it was going well.

“I better go home. I have some things I … I have homework,” I blurted. The blush didn’t leave.

Nash ran a finger over my burning hot cheek. “I like your rosy glow. It’s like you’re real, ya know?”

I shook my head. I didn’t know what he meant.

He sat up straighter and then explained, “I’ve met a lot of fake girls. My school is full of them. They’re all just pretending to be someone they think I want. They don’t even know me well enough to know what kind of girl I hope to find. But with you it’s different. You’re real, and you’re not acting with me; I can tell.”

“How do you know?” I asked curiously.

“I just know. I just feel like I can see the real you.”

Was this the real me? Was it possible that the real me was only visible to Nash? That I had been hiding like a turtle in its shell for all these years and it took Nash pull me out?
I smiled at the thought that this boy could see the person I wanted to be. A
me
I had wanted for so very, very long.

Four

On the drive home I was still high from my date with Nash. Lily had to stay later since Scoop’s was so busy. She promised to meet me at my house at
four o’clock. Nash walked me to my car after we were done with our ice cream and said, “I’ll see you tomorrow, cutie.”

I wasn’t expecting the long hug that came after or the slight peck on my cheek. If he would have kissed me on the mouth, I wouldn’t be able to drive home. The fact is I’ve only kissed one boy in my seventeen years. His name was Jax, and we met two summers ago at an arts program. My mom sent me there while she and my dad went through the divorce. She needed me out of the house she’d said, so she could deal with things and prepare for our future without dad. But I knew it was so she could sleep all day, go out all night, and drown her sorrows in alcohol. When she’d come to visit on visiting day, I could practically get drunk off of the stench of her breath. So meeting Jax was a bonus for me as I was sent away from home. He was everything I needed at the time. He was funny, and I desperately needed a laugh. He was also sweet, which filled my hunger for kindness at that time in my life. The only negative thing was he wasn’t very attractive. I’m sure someone found him cute at some point, but he wasn’t my type. I found myself kissing Jax when I was at my lowest low. He was there, and he was willing. So he leaned in, and I met him halfway. When our lips touched, he deepened the kiss by slobbering all over my face. I pulled away and ran back to my bunk. I ended up crying for hours about wasting my first kiss on Jax. I’m over that now. Actually I’m happy it was Jax. It made leaving camp easier on me. Instead of wanting to stay and be with the boy I met at camp, I wanted to go home and deal with my mom and dad’s break-up. It’s funny how something so little can change the way you perceive things.

I rolled into the driveway and killed the engine. I had just enough time to clean my room and read a little bit before Lily would be here, ready to go to the lake. I got out and walked to the door, fumbling around in my new bag for my keys. Finally I found them and the door opened, blowing the cool air in my already sweaty face. Summer was here, baby. If I was already dying from the car to the door, that meant this summer would be brutal.

Thankfully Mom put the new air conditioning unit in last year, and we didn’t have to deal with what Lily’s family had to, a boiling hot house in the middle of summer. Her dad was working on getting a new unit in, but for now they relied on fans and open windows.
Our house wasn’t as big as Lily’s five bedroom, but it was home. It was a small ranch style home with three bedrooms, two baths and a pretty nice living room space. I loved reading books by the fireplace in the winter. Lily’s house was in the nicest area of Laurel Lakes, complete with their own security guards. You had to stop at gates in order to enter their neighborhood. But she had two parents who had good jobs, and I only had one.

My room now used to be my sister, Cara’s. When she left for college, I inhabited the space. Her room was bigger and had a better view. It faced the backyard while mine faced the front. I had to spend my childhood staring at the street watching all the other kids play while I was stuck inside doing homework or worse, just simply watching the kids in the street. My mom never let us play with the other kids for fear that their rude behavior would somehow rub off on us, as if we didn’t somehow end up just like them all anyway.

When Cara moved out, I took her stuff and moved it all to my room and moved right in. I spend my nights watching the backyard now. Sure, it’s not much to look at, but it’s better than watching life unfold in front of me while I sat still stuck in one spot. I hung lights around the back porch so that I could watch them twinkling at night from my window.

I changed into my new bathing suit that I got from the mall last week. I hoped it still looked as good on me as Lily said it did. It was pink with small gold anchors all over it. I pulled on a sundress and cleaned my room as best as I could. Knowing I would catch hell if my mom came in and saw all of the clothes on the floor, I threw them in the wash. She’d also freak if she saw my bed unmade and the dust on my dresser. After it was in good enough condition I went to the fridge and poured a glass of lemonade. I sat at the couch and opened up
The Picture of Dorian Gray.
The first chapter was amusing. I could tell I was going to like the book. Once I got to the second chapter the doorbell rang. Lily.

I all but ran to get it, dying to know what happened with her and Oliver. I opened the door, and she almost knocked me over with a huge hug. “I’m so excited!” she sang.

I righted myself and let her in. She skipped into the kitchen and poured her own glass of lemonade. She sat next to me on the couch, looked at my book, and then threw it on the floor as if it was lint. “Hey, that’s my homework!” I picked it up and sat it on the table beside us.

“No one cares about your scummer school work, Sadie. Come on. Be reasonable, I have more important news.” I tried to not be offended, but it was hard. Lily was strong willed and usually had a power ove
r me―one that made all of her issues more important than anything else going on in my life. So I sat back and let her be the boss like usual.

“Oliver and I kissed!” she squeaked. I shook my head confused.

“You’ve just met him? And you told me not to hook you up with anyone. How did this happen?”

She grabbed my hands and squeezed tightly. “I don’t know, but he’s so adorable, isn’t he?”

If you like self-involved snobs.

“He’s okay, but it’s Nash that’s got my attention,” I admitted. She didn’t seem to hear me or she chose to ignore me, because she kept going on and on about Oliver. I sat still, listening to her talk about his eyes and his full lips, and before I knew it, the clock read
five o’clock.

“Shit, Lily! Look at the time! We have to go now if we’re going to get any time in at the lake before the beach fills up.” The best time at the lake was from three to five. After five people started getting home from work and coming to the lake with their kids, and it got way too busy.

“Calm down, Sadie. We’ll go another day. Besides, I have to go home and call Oliver. He invited me to a party tomorrow, and I have to get the address,” she sighed. “I’m taking my own car so my mom doesn’t find out. We know how crazy she would be if Oliver came knocking on my door.”

It was the truth. My mom was strict, but Lily’s mom was a prison warden. She wanted Lily to do nothing but stay far away from boys. To put it simply, no boy was good enough for her Liliana.

“So you’re going to that party …” I started but Lily interrupted.

“Too bad you didn’t get invited to the party. Guess I’ll see you when Oliver and I come up for air,” she laughed.

I was going to tell her that I too would be at the party, but I decided against it. Her tone was different than normal, and it wasn’t like Lily to ditch me for a guy. Even if Lily and I didn’t exactly date guys, she did have a boyfriend once. Her parents went to Hawaii two summers ago. They stayed with her parents friends, and they had a son who was a few years older than Lily. They had this whirlwind romance, from what she said when she came back, touring pineapple farms and making out on the beach. But I knew Lily’s mom well, and like I said, she wanted to keep Lily boyfriend free. So I found it really hard to believe my best friend. I put my feelings of doubt aside when I saw a picture of her with him. I’d actually felt like an ass until she showed me the letters he sent her. They were typed out instead of written by hand. These letters were romantic and beautiful and nothing any guy I knew would write. Still I never said a thing. Then one night after talking with her on the phone for hours about how she was so in love with him, I did my research. I went to the one place where a good detective would start, Facebook.

I found his Facebook page through her friends list. Okay, so the guy was real … but his status showed he was single. Also his pictures showed none of him and Lily, only him with other girls. Lots of other girls. I decided to confront Lily one day at lunch, and that’s when she came to school clearly upset about their sudden break-up. He’d met someone else closer to home and had to let Lily go. Instead of expressing how I felt, I held her and let her cry. She never once during that whole ‘relationship’ chose to call the boyfriend and not hang out with me.

Whether that relationship was real or not, I would never know, but I knew that Oliver Kasen was real. She was choosing him already. I sighed and nodded my head. “Yeah sure, we’ll get together another day.”

She smiled and hugged me. “You’re the best! Bye, have fun tomorrow at school and make sure no other girls scam on my man!” Her man? Oh God, this was going to be a long summer.

***

After dinner with my mom, I decided to ask her about going the party tomorrow night. Lily may not have thought I got an invite, but I was going to show up at that party looking awesome and hopefully have Nash on my arm. I cleared the table, and my mom wiped it down, our nightly routine. Now was as good a time as any. “Mom, I got invited to go to a party tomorrow night by some new friends at school today.”

She continued to wipe the table and nodded. “I knew this day would come. Go on.”

I bit my lip. “Lily’s going.” I didn’t know what else to say. Usually if my mom knew Lily would be somewhere, she’d let me go. I hoped that would help this time around.

She stopped cleaning and threw the rag in the sink. Then she turned and faced me, a serious look on her face. “Will there be alcohol?”

I rolled my eyes. “Mom, there is always alcohol at parties. I choose not to partake in the drinking. I have no interest.” She knew this information about me. I had seen what alcohol had done to her, and I chose a long time ago to not drink. It never interested me. Even when Lily stole a bottle of cherry flavored vodka from her mom’s liquor cabinet, I didn’t drink it. Instead, I nursed Lily back to health from her wicked hangover the next day.

Surprisingly my mom nodded and said, “You can go, but just know, I trust you, Sadie.” She sounded stern and gave me her very serious mom face. The one that says,
Don’t mess this up, this is your one chance.
I hugged her and thanked her and walked to my room. Once in my room, I screamed and did a little dance. Now I could tell Nash tomorrow that I could go.

I pulled out my cell and instead of texting Lily, I sent one to Kyleigh.

Me: Hey Kyleigh! What do you know about this party tomorrow night?

Kyleigh: It’s going to be wicked. It’s the first party of summer. Y? You going?

Me: Yep. With Nash.

Kyleigh: Eww! Please go with anyone besides Nash Rylan. PLS!!!

I took a deep, sharp breath after reading her text. What did she have against Nash? Did they once date? Now I was worried.

Me: Why?

Kyleigh:
Make ur own choices, Sadie. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you about football players or Nash.

I understood now. She thought that football players were jerks. Before I met Nash, I might have said the same. Hell, I know I said that before! But he was different, and I would prove it tomorrow night.