Page 29 of Definitely (Maybe) Dating
She was still riding the high as she headed to her car after Darcy and Piper forced her to run through the high-five tunnel, where she smacked dozens of sticky, sweaty, and kind of cute little hands. Even though her heart turned over, she decided anyone under four feet would remain a complete mystery to her.
Now, distrustful, angry at the world teens? That was an age group she could relate too. Which was why when she pulled up to Skye’s house and caught a teen kneeling down and spray painting the garage door, she didn’t call the cops. She didn’t even raise her voice. She just said, “Mas Maxxx is a better paint. It sprays quicker and dries fast. Plus, the nozzle won’t clog up and stain your fingers.”
The girl leapt to her feet, her eyes wary. She was maybe sixteen and sporting black Converse, denim overalls, and her hair was a shade of red that didn’t appear in nature. Everything was speckled in various colors of paint. People like Josh wore suits to the office; people like Piper sometimes wore paint stains and a chip on their shoulder.
“Unless you’re paying, I’ll stick to mine,” the girl said with so much false bravado Piper’s gut squeezed.
Arms casually at her sides, like approaching a feral cat, Piper walked over to study the girl’s art. Spanning the entire height of the garage door was the image of a teenage girl in a well-worn jacket and red beanie with a robin sitting on her finger. The composition was outstanding, the shading impressive, and the signature woven into the robin’s beak read:Bex.
The teen eyeballed her. “You going to call the cops?”
“Just looking at your work,” she said. “I’m Piper, by the way.”
“I’m Celest,by the way,” she said, and they both knew she was lying.
“What do you call it?”
“What do you mean?”
“A piece like this deserves a name,” Piper explained. “All the street artists name their work.”
This seemed to be new information to the teen. Piper stood quietly as the girl mulled it over in her head. Celest took a step back, a shocked expression on her face, as if seeing her work for the first time as real art. “Cinderella’s a Lie.”
The title was as much a shield as the fake name. But who was Piper to call her on it? There was a time when she’d been a surly wiseass who’d say or do anything to keep people from getting too close.
“I like it. Not sure the color scheme matches the house, but the name fits.”
Celest’s eyes flashed. “I knew you were going to call the cops!”
“Look, I’m as weary of the cops as you are.”
This seemed to appease her. “Why? You got a record?”
“Yup.”
“For vandalism?”
“And shoplifting, but the shoplifting wasn’t really my fault since I was planning on paying for the boots when I had the money.” Celest looked impressed, as if that gave Piper street cred.
Piper picked up a can of paint and went to slip it in the girl’s bag.
“Hey!” Celest snatched up her bag and scrambled back a few feet, holding the backpack close to her chest. “That’s mine.”
Appearing unbothered when the girl’s distrusting expression bothered Piper a hell of a lot, she held out the paint can. “First rule of vandalism. Hide the vandalizing equipment. It’s easier to deny when confronted.”
“I knew that.” She took the spray paint and put it in her backpack, which looked as if it held all her worldly possessions.
“Where do you live?”
“Around.”
“I livedaroundonce too,” Piper said, taking a handful of emergency chocolate kisses out of her camera bag. She opened one and popped it in her mouth. “Aroundsucks.”
Celest shrugged. “Other places suck worse.”
Piper’s heart went out to her because she’d been exactly where Celest was. Alone and scared with nowhere to go and no one to go to bat for her. Until she’d met Skye, who’d taken her in and showed her the world wasn’t all bad. She’d not only gone to bat for Piper, the older woman had given her the tools to survive.
“Been there too.” Piper held out the chocolate kisses, and the girl eyed them like they were laced with anthrax. “Can you hold these for a second?” Celest took the chocolate, and Piper pulled out her camera. “I want to take a photo of this. Do you mind?” The girl shook her head. “Chocolate for a picture?”
