Be Good by Dakota Madison

vegetables. He even sniffed a few of them. The vendors seemed to recognize him, which shouldn’t have been a surprise, since he said he frequented the place. It didn’t faze me too much until we got to a bakery, where he planned on purchasing a bread loaf to make garlic bread. The look on the Bakery Girl’s face when she saw Brett sent a twinge of jealously through my body. Her plain face immediately lit up when she saw him. She was short but slender and had mousy, shoulder length hair brown hair. The more I looked at her, the more she reminded me of Rebecca “Sweater Vest” Stiller. She was wearing a polo shirt and khaki shorts, definitely preppy, which made me think that she probably also had a sweater vest lurking somewhere in her closet.              
    Brett gave me a strange look and I realized I was gripping his hand just a little too tightly. I gave what I knew was a fake smile and loosened my grip a bit. Brett still had concern in his eyes and I knew he’d ask me about it later. I quickly realized he was the type, who talked about things and didn’t let things just slide , which was definitely not something I was used to. My family members were masters of evasion and silence. We bottled our thoughts and feelings inside and we didn’t express them. And the guys I dated seemed very happy I was the type who didn’t want to discuss everything. My lack of communication was a plus. 
    It took a moment for Bakery Girl to register that Brett was holding my hand and when she did, she looked like a balloon that was suddenly deflated.
    “Hey, Penny,” Brett said cheerfully. He either hadn’t noticed the change in her demeanor or he was trying to ignore it.
    Penny started blinking rapidly as if she was holding back tears. “I didn’t know you had a girlfriend,” she managed to mutter as her voice cracked. She definitely had a thing for Brett. I could feel myself gripping his hand even tighter. This time, though, he gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.
    I wasn’t sure if Brett was going to correct Penny and tell her I wasn’t actually his girlfriend but I didn’t want him to. I had never wanted to be called anyone’s girlfriend before but at that moment, there was nothing I wanted more. I wasn’t sure if it was actually Penny or the fact that she was so much like his ex that bothered me more but I felt insecure and jealous, which were definitely new feelings for me. As sad as it sounds, I had never cared enough about a guy to be concerned if he was with another girl, even right there in front of me. But for some reason the thought of Brett being with anyone else made me sick to my stomach.
    “This is Anna,” Brett said in response to Penny. I could feel a pang of disappointment that he didn’t confirm that I was his girlfriend. Not that I actually was his girlfriend but I guess a part of me wanted to be.
    I expected Penny to make some kind of snide comment or eye me with disdain, which is what most girls did. (I was, after all, a slut .) I was surprised when she just gave a quiet hi that seemed laced with sadness.
    “The usual?” she asked Brett.
    He shook his head. “I’m making garlic bread tonight.”
    Penny swallowed. It seemed to register that Brett was going to be cooking me dinner. She started blinking again, fighting back tears. She quickly turned around.
    “I have just the thing,” she mumbled as she grabbed a long loaf of freshly baked bread. “I think you’ll really like this.” She handed the loaf to Brett.
    “How much?” Brett asked.
    “Five dollars .” I could see she was avoiding eye contact with Brett by looking at the ground.
    “Is everything okay,” Brett asked as he handed her the mo ney. He seemed oblivious to the fact that Penny obviously adored him and that he’d totally crushed her by introducing me to her.
    I could see Penny swallow again then she looked up at Brett with wet, puppy dog eyes. “Anna’s beautiful .” She said it as if I wasn’t even