Page 5 of Infatuated as They Come
“Iwasgoing to pick flirty since there’ll be a bunch of your rich relatives at your party, but I’ll shoot my shot another time.”
“You’re going to meet much more interesting guys at CalArts,” I said, the nail salon tech grasping my hand softly to keep it held in place. She was brushing a soft pastel layer of pink across the nails on my left hand. It was the second last stop on mine and Annie’s journey before going back home to get dressed for my birthday party. When our nails were done, we’d be heading across the road for our hair and makeup appointment.
“God, I still don’t know how I got in,” she said, voice laced with disbelief as the tech got started on her nails.
“Um, because you’re the best dancer in this city, obviously. There was no way you weren’t getting in.”
“My toes are killing me. Even now. Even when we’re sitting down. I need a foot massage.”
“We should squeeze in a spa day before we leave. Which is really, really soon.”
“I can’t believe we’re leaving in a week. This summer went by so fast,” she said. “And all my mom does is cry now. I feel so guilty going.”
“But aren’t you excited for California?” I tried to lighten the mood. “All that warm sun and the pretty views and the beautiful beaches.”
“Your native Malibu is only an hour drive away from me, by the way.”
Rolling my eyes, I let the nail tech get started on my right hand. “Send me a postcard.”
“I don’t think I’m gonna have time to hit any beaches actually. I’ve alreadyseen the show schedule for the next two semesters.Sleeping Beauty,The Prince and Me,Romeo and Juliet. I’m gonna be busting my ass at auditions, and who knows if I’ll even pass a single one?”
“Stop,” I scolded her. “You’ll pass. Of course you will. And then you’ll get to wear the most beautiful costumes. You’ll have to send me all the photos.”
“Let’s see if I make it through my first week of classes. Have you seen your schedule yet?”
I blew out a puff of air. “Yeah, it’s pretty intense. But I have Fridays off which I’m excited about. Three-day weekend every weekend. Yay. But I’ll be cheering most of those nights.”
“God, I’m gonna miss cheer.” She threw her head back, groaning ever so slightly before she perked up in her seat. “Wait, when do you pick up your new uniform?”
“My first day there. I get to meet the rest of the girls too. I can’t wait. I only met my new head cheerleader at orientation.”
“I’ve seen the uniform they have there.” Annie shot me a sly, little look, one eyebrow raised. “It’stiny. Does your boyfriend know how short your new cheer skirt is?”
My face suddenly felt a little warm at the thought. “Not yet. I figured I’d surprise him with that one.”
“I’m sure he’ll be plenty surprised. I still cannot believe you and Sawyer are gonna be living together. This time last year that would end in one of youkillingthe other. You’d be doing the killing.”
“Yeah, I still can’t believe it either,” I said with a little laugh.
“Have you showed him how you decorated the apartment?”
“No, not yet. I haven’t shown him any of the photos. I thought it’d be nice to surprise him with that too. But I’m all done with it. I tried not to go overboard on the pink. All the curtains are pink, though. I found really cute floral ones and I couldn’t not buy them.”
“How do you think Sawyer Westbrook feels about your pink floral curtains?”
“I don’t know, but I refuse to change them.”
“You’re both too stubborn.”
But that had me sighing. “He’s more stubborn than me. I’m never allowed to do anything for him. He pays for dinner, he pays for our tickets when we go to the movies, he pays for gas when we go on all those long drives. He pays foreverything. He even wants to be the one to pay for rent when we move to New York.”
“When did he turn into such a gentleman?”
“I think he kinda always was one. I just didn’t realize it,” I said, giving my head a shake. “He’s already looking at jobs to apply for.Mechanicjobs.”
“What’s wrong with that? He’sgoodat that. I should thank him again for fixing my car for free the other week. He saved me, like, four hundred bucks.”
“I know he’s good at that, but he’s so much better at other stuff. He’s done so many art projects over the summer and they’re all so gorgeous. People would paythousandsto have something like that in their house.”
