says. “You’re right. It’s up to you. I just—”
“Just what?”
A squiggly line forms on her forehead and she looks at me for several beats like she’s trying hard to make out letters on an eye exam. Whatever she was going to say, she doesn’t,
because instead, a faint ghost of a smile catches the corners of her lips and she simply says, “Nothing. You’re fine. I’ve got to get back to class.”
And then her footsteps are echoing against the bathroom walls and before the door closes behind her I get out, “Just what, Brynn?” She either doesn’t hear or chooses not to
respond.
I splash cold water on my face. The circles under my eyes are darker than concealer can mask. The whites of my eyes are bloodshot. Pale and sickly, I look like a girl haunted.
The first thing I see is his chest. That little V shape of tanned skin peeking out, where the muscles and collarbone converge to form a keyhole right at the bottom of his
throat. He’s wearing a black button-down with the sleeves rolled up and dark jeans that sit low on his hips. At the sight of him standing there, the strange, hollow ache in my chest vanishes,
replaced by pure longing. As if I’ve been missing him all these years and still can’t quite reach him. I wonder if it’s the same feeling that Eve had as she watched that juicy red
piece of forbidden fruit dangling right in front of her on the Tree of Knowledge.
“Hey, we match,” I hear him say, all bright teeth and perfect lips, forearm resting on the doorframe to my house. His voice startles me out of my reverie, and it takes me a second to
register what he means.
I look down at my outfit, selected with painstaking care yesterday afternoon. A fitted black cashmere sweater, skinny jeans, and a pair of black Tory Burch flats. My heart sinks. “Shoot,
we do.” I look up at him nervously. “We look kinda dorky, don’t we?” My fingers tug at the bottom of my sweater.
Levi laughs. “Impossible. I prefer to believe we both have impeccable taste.” I notice the bottom of his jeans are soaked and I wonder briefly if he traipsed through our lawn instead
of coming up the walkway. “Shall we?”
I begged my parents not to come to the door to meet Levi. Not this time. I’d imagined the whole disaster in my head. My dad would be chummy and try to pretend he actually cared about
sports. My mom would fuss with my hair. And then Elsie—Elsie would of course bawl and snot while we all tried to yell over her. They said no, but in the end, Elsie had the sniffles and so
they both rushed off to the twenty-four-seven clinic, leaving me to greet Levi solo. I guess I should thank my little sister for once.
Levi steps to the side and gestures toward the Tahoe idling with its headlights on in my driveway and I duck out after him, barely remembering to grab my clutch off the entry table.
He holds the door open for me, just like I knew he would, and there’s an Action Hero Disco song blasting through the speakers.
“Sorry about that.” He jumps in and twists the knob to turn the volume down. “Just getting in the mood.”
See
, I knew he really was a fan. I make a mental note to
tell Brynn that I told her so. Maturity, thy name is Stella.
I glance over at him while fumbling with my seat belt. Although I’d totally never admit this in a million years, I’m loving the way our matching outfits make us look like we fit
together. Stella + Levi. Levi + Stella. God, I’m practically doodling my first name next to his last in my notebook. Pull it together, Stella.
He twists around in the driver’s seat, putting the car in reverse, and I take a deep breath, determined for this first date to go well.
“Where are you from?” I ask. “I mean, originally.”
“Originally? Here.” He points down. “Seattle.”
“A native?”
“Can’t beat the weather.” He grins. “Rain with a side of rain.”
The back of my jeans squeak against the seat. We can’t talk about the weather. Any
“Just what?”
A squiggly line forms on her forehead and she looks at me for several beats like she’s trying hard to make out letters on an eye exam. Whatever she was going to say, she doesn’t,
because instead, a faint ghost of a smile catches the corners of her lips and she simply says, “Nothing. You’re fine. I’ve got to get back to class.”
And then her footsteps are echoing against the bathroom walls and before the door closes behind her I get out, “Just what, Brynn?” She either doesn’t hear or chooses not to
respond.
I splash cold water on my face. The circles under my eyes are darker than concealer can mask. The whites of my eyes are bloodshot. Pale and sickly, I look like a girl haunted.
The first thing I see is his chest. That little V shape of tanned skin peeking out, where the muscles and collarbone converge to form a keyhole right at the bottom of his
throat. He’s wearing a black button-down with the sleeves rolled up and dark jeans that sit low on his hips. At the sight of him standing there, the strange, hollow ache in my chest vanishes,
replaced by pure longing. As if I’ve been missing him all these years and still can’t quite reach him. I wonder if it’s the same feeling that Eve had as she watched that juicy red
piece of forbidden fruit dangling right in front of her on the Tree of Knowledge.
“Hey, we match,” I hear him say, all bright teeth and perfect lips, forearm resting on the doorframe to my house. His voice startles me out of my reverie, and it takes me a second to
register what he means.
I look down at my outfit, selected with painstaking care yesterday afternoon. A fitted black cashmere sweater, skinny jeans, and a pair of black Tory Burch flats. My heart sinks. “Shoot,
we do.” I look up at him nervously. “We look kinda dorky, don’t we?” My fingers tug at the bottom of my sweater.
Levi laughs. “Impossible. I prefer to believe we both have impeccable taste.” I notice the bottom of his jeans are soaked and I wonder briefly if he traipsed through our lawn instead
of coming up the walkway. “Shall we?”
I begged my parents not to come to the door to meet Levi. Not this time. I’d imagined the whole disaster in my head. My dad would be chummy and try to pretend he actually cared about
sports. My mom would fuss with my hair. And then Elsie—Elsie would of course bawl and snot while we all tried to yell over her. They said no, but in the end, Elsie had the sniffles and so
they both rushed off to the twenty-four-seven clinic, leaving me to greet Levi solo. I guess I should thank my little sister for once.
Levi steps to the side and gestures toward the Tahoe idling with its headlights on in my driveway and I duck out after him, barely remembering to grab my clutch off the entry table.
He holds the door open for me, just like I knew he would, and there’s an Action Hero Disco song blasting through the speakers.
“Sorry about that.” He jumps in and twists the knob to turn the volume down. “Just getting in the mood.”
See
, I knew he really was a fan. I make a mental note to
tell Brynn that I told her so. Maturity, thy name is Stella.
I glance over at him while fumbling with my seat belt. Although I’d totally never admit this in a million years, I’m loving the way our matching outfits make us look like we fit
together. Stella + Levi. Levi + Stella. God, I’m practically doodling my first name next to his last in my notebook. Pull it together, Stella.
He twists around in the driver’s seat, putting the car in reverse, and I take a deep breath, determined for this first date to go well.
“Where are you from?” I ask. “I mean, originally.”
“Originally? Here.” He points down. “Seattle.”
“A native?”
“Can’t beat the weather.” He grins. “Rain with a side of rain.”
The back of my jeans squeak against the seat. We can’t talk about the weather. Any
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