Page 58 of Old Money
“You want to go back up?”
“No.”
She had that look of gentle concern on her face again—that babysitter look. I could feel myself about to snap again, but then, over her shoulder, I caught a glimpse of bright blue light. I smiled.
“I’ve got a better idea.”
***
No one used the pool at night, but they kept the underwater lights on anyway. Caitlin said it was “très gauche,” and that the club should know better. People only lit up their pools at night to show everyone else they could afford to. She was probably right, but all I could think was how pretty it looked. The pool was painted a vivid white and emitted a luminous aura, lighting up the mist that drifted off the surface and softening the edges of the night.
“But what did he say exactly?” I asked.
Caitlin chuckled, rolling her eyes.
“He didn’t like, ‘ask me out,’ ” she said. “Guys don’t really do that, you know.”
I nodded. Of course I knew,obviously.
Caitlin sat at the pool’s edge, leaning back on her hands at the top of the steps, her feet in the water, resting on the top stair.
“Maybe boys your age do that,” she said. “Have you had a boyfriend, Alice?”
“What? No?”
I was leaning against the fence, hoping Caitlin wouldn’t ask me to sit with her. Even if I managed to get on the ground without breaking the dress’s zipper, I’d have to ask for help to get back up (the mere thought made me flinch with embarrassment).
“No!” I said again, and Caitlin chuckled.
“No? Not even that kid in the cloakroom? I bet he’s asked you out!”
“Oh my God.”
I covered my face with both hands as Caitlin howled.
“You can tell me! Ipromise, I won’t tell your mom.”
“I swear to God, I have never had a boyfriend.”
“Okay, okay, if you say so, babydoll.” Her laughter eased and she gazed into the water. “Anyway. It’s different when you’re older.”
How?I wanted to ask.Specifically how?
Caitlin went quiet, watching the water, as if she too was looking for the answer. Reflected light played across her face in little splashes. Finally, she spoke.
“You just start hanging out, and then—yeah...” Caitlin trailed off, her expression unreadable. “At some point, he’s your boyfriend.”
Now I rolled my eyes. Something about the embarrassment made me feel drunk again, and bold.
“But how do youknowthen?” I asked.
This was the part I didn’t get. How did you know when the “hanging out” part was over, and you and the boy became something official? Nameable?
“Like what happens, exactly?” I pressed.
A smile crept onto Caitlin’s face.
“Uhhhhh, I—” She cut herself off with a laugh. “Hey!”
