arts and crafts, the allotted thirty minutes of screen time, and pretend play in the backyard.
It’s still there when I leave, but I ignore it, heading straight to MacKenzie’s.
She gives me a knowing smile as soon as I’m in her room, her dog, Rocky, following behind. She shuts the door. “I know you’ve got boy news.” She runs a hand underneath her golden-brown curls, cultivated after an hour of work. Blow-dry, straighten, curl. It’s a bit much, but I’ve got to hand it to her, she looks great.
“I’m just here to see you.”
“Aww, how sweet.” She smiles at me, and I reach up and gently fleck a piece of mascara from her bottom eyelid. “Thanks,” she says. “But seriously. What’s the deal with you and Innis?”
I lean back on the bed and give her a look. “You first. Why are you getting all fixed up?”
She beams. “Payton asked me to come hang out at his pool.”
I feel a jealous ache, deep in my stomach. Things are moving fast with Payton, and I should be happy for her, but it only makes me more aware that things are regressing between me and Innis.
MacKenzie narrows her eyes, puts her hair tools down. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
I sit up straighter. “I’m sorry I’m not more excited. I just think things with Innis are going to fizzle out.”
“What are you talking about?” She sits down next to me. “Payton told me you guys hung out just yesterday.”
“Did he say it like it meant something, or did he say it in his monotone Payton way?”
“Hey,” MacKenzie says.
“I’m just saying. He was probably just stating a fact, like he does.”
Kenzie rolls her eyes. “So what happened then?”
I take a deep breath, my face getting hot, and I feel downright ridiculous at how upset I am. “I ran into him at lunch. He was all nice to my mom and sister. He asked me to meet up after. We did, and he kissed me, right outside of Walmart, in front of everyone.”
MacKenzie’s jaw drops. “Okay, the romantic qualities of Wally World aside, he kissed you in the daytime? That’s so boyfriend-y .”
“I know.” My body responds to the feel of the kiss with nervous butterfly flutters, as if it hasn’t remembered the rest of the story yet. “And so it’s all good, and I follow them around the store, and I watch them look at hunting stuff, and he even tells me his embarrassing middle name, and then we run into Alexis in the parking lot. And he basically absolves himself of any connection to me.”
“Wait, what’s his middle name?”
“Erskine.”
“Oh my God, that’s hilarious.”
“Can you focus?” I ask.
“Okay, okay. So what did he say?”
I do a mock–boy voice. “‘Oh, we weren’t planning on hanging out. I just ran into her in the parking lot.’”
MacKenzie presses her lips together: puzzled—or even disappointed? Then she forces a smile. “He probably got freaked out by his ex is all.”
“But it’s been years,” I say.
“Yeah, but maybe he really likes you, and being seen with a potential girlfriend in front of an ex sent him into some kind of douchey Innis tizzy.”
“Or maybe he just wanted us around because we had fakes and now he’s over it . . .”
MacKenzie shakes her head vigorously. “Look, Liz. You’ve got substance. A lot more than me, probably. And you’re pretty and, with my help, rather popular. Basically, why wouldn’t you be the girl to make Innis finally realize that hooking up with randos at parties doesn’t even compare to being with someone you’re into?”
“You actually think all those things?” I ask. “You’re not just saying that because you know he’s done a one-eighty and you feel bad for me and it’s the kind of thing friends are supposed to say?”
MacKenzie laughs. Then she pats me on the shoulder like she’s a cheerleading coach and I only need to practice a few more lifts before I’m beaming from the top of the pyramid. “I’m telling you, don’t worry. He likes you.”
“Maybe he was
It’s still there when I leave, but I ignore it, heading straight to MacKenzie’s.
She gives me a knowing smile as soon as I’m in her room, her dog, Rocky, following behind. She shuts the door. “I know you’ve got boy news.” She runs a hand underneath her golden-brown curls, cultivated after an hour of work. Blow-dry, straighten, curl. It’s a bit much, but I’ve got to hand it to her, she looks great.
“I’m just here to see you.”
“Aww, how sweet.” She smiles at me, and I reach up and gently fleck a piece of mascara from her bottom eyelid. “Thanks,” she says. “But seriously. What’s the deal with you and Innis?”
I lean back on the bed and give her a look. “You first. Why are you getting all fixed up?”
She beams. “Payton asked me to come hang out at his pool.”
I feel a jealous ache, deep in my stomach. Things are moving fast with Payton, and I should be happy for her, but it only makes me more aware that things are regressing between me and Innis.
MacKenzie narrows her eyes, puts her hair tools down. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
I sit up straighter. “I’m sorry I’m not more excited. I just think things with Innis are going to fizzle out.”
“What are you talking about?” She sits down next to me. “Payton told me you guys hung out just yesterday.”
“Did he say it like it meant something, or did he say it in his monotone Payton way?”
“Hey,” MacKenzie says.
“I’m just saying. He was probably just stating a fact, like he does.”
Kenzie rolls her eyes. “So what happened then?”
I take a deep breath, my face getting hot, and I feel downright ridiculous at how upset I am. “I ran into him at lunch. He was all nice to my mom and sister. He asked me to meet up after. We did, and he kissed me, right outside of Walmart, in front of everyone.”
MacKenzie’s jaw drops. “Okay, the romantic qualities of Wally World aside, he kissed you in the daytime? That’s so boyfriend-y .”
“I know.” My body responds to the feel of the kiss with nervous butterfly flutters, as if it hasn’t remembered the rest of the story yet. “And so it’s all good, and I follow them around the store, and I watch them look at hunting stuff, and he even tells me his embarrassing middle name, and then we run into Alexis in the parking lot. And he basically absolves himself of any connection to me.”
“Wait, what’s his middle name?”
“Erskine.”
“Oh my God, that’s hilarious.”
“Can you focus?” I ask.
“Okay, okay. So what did he say?”
I do a mock–boy voice. “‘Oh, we weren’t planning on hanging out. I just ran into her in the parking lot.’”
MacKenzie presses her lips together: puzzled—or even disappointed? Then she forces a smile. “He probably got freaked out by his ex is all.”
“But it’s been years,” I say.
“Yeah, but maybe he really likes you, and being seen with a potential girlfriend in front of an ex sent him into some kind of douchey Innis tizzy.”
“Or maybe he just wanted us around because we had fakes and now he’s over it . . .”
MacKenzie shakes her head vigorously. “Look, Liz. You’ve got substance. A lot more than me, probably. And you’re pretty and, with my help, rather popular. Basically, why wouldn’t you be the girl to make Innis finally realize that hooking up with randos at parties doesn’t even compare to being with someone you’re into?”
“You actually think all those things?” I ask. “You’re not just saying that because you know he’s done a one-eighty and you feel bad for me and it’s the kind of thing friends are supposed to say?”
MacKenzie laughs. Then she pats me on the shoulder like she’s a cheerleading coach and I only need to practice a few more lifts before I’m beaming from the top of the pyramid. “I’m telling you, don’t worry. He likes you.”
“Maybe he was
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