shirtless smiles he gave me.
And Lina was right about me, of course. I did seem to be almost obsessed already, and I’d only spoken to Nick twice. I was definitely the stupidest person in the world. Nick Tarus was clearly older than me, a hundred times prettier than me, and on top of that, any niceness he displayed toward me was definitely the result of my making him feel like a monster.
“I should probably warn you about Nick,” Lina went on. She seemed very serious for a moment, then I heard her tinkling laugh. “But then, you knew about Jamie, and that didn’t stop you.”
I grabbed the pillow from under my knee and threw it at her.
“Don’t worry about it,” she managed between laughs. “Jamie has that effect on everybody. I don’t think there’s ever been anybody who resisted him for long.” Lina seemednormal about Jamie now — maybe I had imagined the weirdness before?
“You?” I dared to ask.
“Present company excluded,” she confirmed, with exaggerated smugness.
I shook my head. “Well, I am done with boys. I’ve said it before, but I really, really mean it this time.”
“Good thing Nick is more like a man , then.” Lina threw the pillow back at my head.
“You suck!” I hopped up to avoid her and destroyed three toes’ worth of metallic blue.
I tried to sound casual as I asked the next question, like the answer didn’t matter to me. “So how old is he, anyway?”
“He’s my age,” she answered. “I mean, I think he’s a couple months older than me, but he’s probably still nineteen. He inherited some money from his dad when he died a few years back, and then Nick went to Miami. I know he bought some real estate and stuff. He’s got this club — his cousin’s name is on it and everything, since Nick’s underage. But it’s Nick who owns the building.” Lina handed me the nail polish remover and threw a bag of cotton balls at my head. “Actually, I said I should warn you about Nick, but he’s really a good guy. I mean, he’s solid, you know. Always taking care of his mom, and his cousins — everybody, really. He’s beautiful, so I’m guessing he’s got, or you know, had a lot of girls, but …”
“Yeah, I’ll bet,” I told her, trying to make her stop theorizing about Nick and girls.
Liska saved me by walking in then and asking Lina if she was ready for practice. She smiled vaguely at me, but looked irritated that Lina wasn’t ready.
I looked from one sister to the other as they hashed out what time they’d agreed on for practice. It was hard to believe that they were sisters. I knew they were very close — I’d seen as much during the weeks I had been here. They had to be, to work together so high off the ground. These sisters had to trust each other. But their personalities were so different. Liska was so quiet and seemed almost cold, where Lina was warm and cheerful.
I was left alone with Liska while Lina went to change. Liska sat down and picked up one of the magazines Lina left strewn all over. Liska seemed a little frostier than usual toward me. I realized suddenly that I’d been taking Lina away from her pretty often in the last week or so. I felt bad that I’d been sucking up Lina’s time and attention gratefully, not thinking about anything or anybody else.
Lina appeared back in the room and announced she was ready.
“So will you?” I heard Liska saying, and she was looking expectantly at me. I realized she’d been talking to me.
“Sure — of course.” I had no idea what I’d just promised her, but I followed her, and Lina grabbed my arm and fell into step beside me.
I tried to murmur very quietly without moving my lips or alerting Liska to the fact that I hadn’t really been listening to her, “WhatdidIjustsayyesto?”
“Wha-huh-what, mushmouth?” Lina responded in her loudest voice.
“Never mind.” I gave up and figured I’d just see when I got there.
When we got to the ring in its present location — I was getting
And Lina was right about me, of course. I did seem to be almost obsessed already, and I’d only spoken to Nick twice. I was definitely the stupidest person in the world. Nick Tarus was clearly older than me, a hundred times prettier than me, and on top of that, any niceness he displayed toward me was definitely the result of my making him feel like a monster.
“I should probably warn you about Nick,” Lina went on. She seemed very serious for a moment, then I heard her tinkling laugh. “But then, you knew about Jamie, and that didn’t stop you.”
I grabbed the pillow from under my knee and threw it at her.
“Don’t worry about it,” she managed between laughs. “Jamie has that effect on everybody. I don’t think there’s ever been anybody who resisted him for long.” Lina seemednormal about Jamie now — maybe I had imagined the weirdness before?
“You?” I dared to ask.
“Present company excluded,” she confirmed, with exaggerated smugness.
I shook my head. “Well, I am done with boys. I’ve said it before, but I really, really mean it this time.”
“Good thing Nick is more like a man , then.” Lina threw the pillow back at my head.
“You suck!” I hopped up to avoid her and destroyed three toes’ worth of metallic blue.
I tried to sound casual as I asked the next question, like the answer didn’t matter to me. “So how old is he, anyway?”
“He’s my age,” she answered. “I mean, I think he’s a couple months older than me, but he’s probably still nineteen. He inherited some money from his dad when he died a few years back, and then Nick went to Miami. I know he bought some real estate and stuff. He’s got this club — his cousin’s name is on it and everything, since Nick’s underage. But it’s Nick who owns the building.” Lina handed me the nail polish remover and threw a bag of cotton balls at my head. “Actually, I said I should warn you about Nick, but he’s really a good guy. I mean, he’s solid, you know. Always taking care of his mom, and his cousins — everybody, really. He’s beautiful, so I’m guessing he’s got, or you know, had a lot of girls, but …”
“Yeah, I’ll bet,” I told her, trying to make her stop theorizing about Nick and girls.
Liska saved me by walking in then and asking Lina if she was ready for practice. She smiled vaguely at me, but looked irritated that Lina wasn’t ready.
I looked from one sister to the other as they hashed out what time they’d agreed on for practice. It was hard to believe that they were sisters. I knew they were very close — I’d seen as much during the weeks I had been here. They had to be, to work together so high off the ground. These sisters had to trust each other. But their personalities were so different. Liska was so quiet and seemed almost cold, where Lina was warm and cheerful.
I was left alone with Liska while Lina went to change. Liska sat down and picked up one of the magazines Lina left strewn all over. Liska seemed a little frostier than usual toward me. I realized suddenly that I’d been taking Lina away from her pretty often in the last week or so. I felt bad that I’d been sucking up Lina’s time and attention gratefully, not thinking about anything or anybody else.
Lina appeared back in the room and announced she was ready.
“So will you?” I heard Liska saying, and she was looking expectantly at me. I realized she’d been talking to me.
“Sure — of course.” I had no idea what I’d just promised her, but I followed her, and Lina grabbed my arm and fell into step beside me.
I tried to murmur very quietly without moving my lips or alerting Liska to the fact that I hadn’t really been listening to her, “WhatdidIjustsayyesto?”
“Wha-huh-what, mushmouth?” Lina responded in her loudest voice.
“Never mind.” I gave up and figured I’d just see when I got there.
When we got to the ring in its present location — I was getting
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