pretend I had a better life.
"Come on." Hannah grinned her dentist-for-a-daddy smile. "You need to meet someone new."
"Whatever." Megan was probably trying to revise and improve upon the movie's kissing scene with her date. What if they showed up at the carnival? How humiliating. I scanned the crowd but didn't see anyone even remotely as good-looking as Tyler. Or Megan, either.
We stood in line for the pirate ship behind the Wooster guys, who kept punching one another on the arms and making jokes about barfing. When they went to board the last row, Hannah pulled me over behind them.
"Mind if we join y'all?" She tilted her cowboy hat, acting like we were in southern Texas, not the Biggest Little City in northern Nevada.
"You can sit by me, little gal," a gorgeous Hispanic guy said.
Hannah winked at me as I squeezed between two big guys in the middle. The ride clanked and clunked ominously. Would Tyler even feel sad if I plummeted to my death? Or would he bring Megan to my funeral? Everyone would talk about how good they looked together.
"You know, she died a virgin," people would whisper. "It was the nose." Someone helpful would add, "She's in a better place." They'd all agree.
I tightened my grip on the safety bar.
"You from around here?" a guy in a baseball cap asked.
"Yup."
The other guy nodded toward Hannah. "So what's with the cowgirl getup?"
I shrugged.
"Jose's going to be disappointed," Baseball Cap said. "There goes his rodeo/ranch/cowgirl/horse fantasy." The other guy laughed and reached over my head to hit his friend on the arm. Major wafting pit odor.
Baseball Cap put his huge freckled hands on the bar next to mine. "Inside joke. Sorry."
The ship started swinging back and forth slowly, higher and higher. At first I loved the fluttery feeling in my stomach because it reminded me of how I felt when I saw you know who. Before. Or when that Gideon guy kissed my hand. (So bizarre!)
"Raise your arms!" Baseball Cap lifted his arms high. The dropping force of the ship pressed my face into his stinky, wet armpits. Again the ship went higher. Again the arms rose. Hannah giggled, but I tried to focus on the stars in the sky. I imagined smelling cold, empty air, drifting weightless into outer space. Just when I didn't think I could take it anymore, the ride slowed down.
"You okay?" Baseball Cap asked. "You look a little peaked."
"Peaked?" The other guy laughed.
"It's something my mom says."
"Oh, little Tommy looks peaked."
"Don't call me that." Tommy smacked the guy on the arm. He looked back at me. "Let me buy you a soda or something. Maybe it'll settle your stomach."
He may have been deodorant challenged, but he seemed like a nice-enough guy, and an icy soda sounded good.
"Nurse Tommy knows how to settle a wee little tummy," the other guy said in a baby voice.
Tommy cuffed the guy in the head. "I'm trying to impress the lady," he said. "Forgive my idiot friend." He put his hand out to me. "Nice to meet you, I'm Tom. And the idiot is Luis."
"Jory."
He shook my hand with a strong, firm, but not bone-crushing grip. He had gazillions of brownish freckles on his pale arms, but he also had impressive muscles on those arms, and green eyes in the middle of the gazillions of freckles on his face, as well as an ordinary, proportional nose. "Let me guess." He bit his lower lip and looked me up and down, nodding. "Reno High."
"Yeah." I looked at his red and white sneakers with dirty laces.
Luis jumped at the bait. "So, I guess you're spending the summer by the pool, tanning. Or maybe up at your quote-unquote 'cabin' at the Lake."
"No, I'm working."
"Some cushy job Daddy got you at his company?" Luis asked.
"I drive a delivery van." I looked at Tom for his reaction.
"Very unexpected." He nodded. "Let's go get that soda."
Hannah sat on José's lap sharing a cup of Idaho Spud fries while I sat between Tom and Luis sipping a cherry Coke. Tom had thought my blood sugar might be a little low after I'd
"Come on." Hannah grinned her dentist-for-a-daddy smile. "You need to meet someone new."
"Whatever." Megan was probably trying to revise and improve upon the movie's kissing scene with her date. What if they showed up at the carnival? How humiliating. I scanned the crowd but didn't see anyone even remotely as good-looking as Tyler. Or Megan, either.
We stood in line for the pirate ship behind the Wooster guys, who kept punching one another on the arms and making jokes about barfing. When they went to board the last row, Hannah pulled me over behind them.
"Mind if we join y'all?" She tilted her cowboy hat, acting like we were in southern Texas, not the Biggest Little City in northern Nevada.
"You can sit by me, little gal," a gorgeous Hispanic guy said.
Hannah winked at me as I squeezed between two big guys in the middle. The ride clanked and clunked ominously. Would Tyler even feel sad if I plummeted to my death? Or would he bring Megan to my funeral? Everyone would talk about how good they looked together.
"You know, she died a virgin," people would whisper. "It was the nose." Someone helpful would add, "She's in a better place." They'd all agree.
I tightened my grip on the safety bar.
"You from around here?" a guy in a baseball cap asked.
"Yup."
The other guy nodded toward Hannah. "So what's with the cowgirl getup?"
I shrugged.
"Jose's going to be disappointed," Baseball Cap said. "There goes his rodeo/ranch/cowgirl/horse fantasy." The other guy laughed and reached over my head to hit his friend on the arm. Major wafting pit odor.
Baseball Cap put his huge freckled hands on the bar next to mine. "Inside joke. Sorry."
The ship started swinging back and forth slowly, higher and higher. At first I loved the fluttery feeling in my stomach because it reminded me of how I felt when I saw you know who. Before. Or when that Gideon guy kissed my hand. (So bizarre!)
"Raise your arms!" Baseball Cap lifted his arms high. The dropping force of the ship pressed my face into his stinky, wet armpits. Again the ship went higher. Again the arms rose. Hannah giggled, but I tried to focus on the stars in the sky. I imagined smelling cold, empty air, drifting weightless into outer space. Just when I didn't think I could take it anymore, the ride slowed down.
"You okay?" Baseball Cap asked. "You look a little peaked."
"Peaked?" The other guy laughed.
"It's something my mom says."
"Oh, little Tommy looks peaked."
"Don't call me that." Tommy smacked the guy on the arm. He looked back at me. "Let me buy you a soda or something. Maybe it'll settle your stomach."
He may have been deodorant challenged, but he seemed like a nice-enough guy, and an icy soda sounded good.
"Nurse Tommy knows how to settle a wee little tummy," the other guy said in a baby voice.
Tommy cuffed the guy in the head. "I'm trying to impress the lady," he said. "Forgive my idiot friend." He put his hand out to me. "Nice to meet you, I'm Tom. And the idiot is Luis."
"Jory."
He shook my hand with a strong, firm, but not bone-crushing grip. He had gazillions of brownish freckles on his pale arms, but he also had impressive muscles on those arms, and green eyes in the middle of the gazillions of freckles on his face, as well as an ordinary, proportional nose. "Let me guess." He bit his lower lip and looked me up and down, nodding. "Reno High."
"Yeah." I looked at his red and white sneakers with dirty laces.
Luis jumped at the bait. "So, I guess you're spending the summer by the pool, tanning. Or maybe up at your quote-unquote 'cabin' at the Lake."
"No, I'm working."
"Some cushy job Daddy got you at his company?" Luis asked.
"I drive a delivery van." I looked at Tom for his reaction.
"Very unexpected." He nodded. "Let's go get that soda."
Hannah sat on José's lap sharing a cup of Idaho Spud fries while I sat between Tom and Luis sipping a cherry Coke. Tom had thought my blood sugar might be a little low after I'd
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