Page 3 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
I almost went cross-eyed staring at it. “Anything.”
“You find someone to be our bootleg and buy me a bottle of rosé.”
I laughed. “My girl. Too classy to be hanging around with us schmucks.”
Lina took the front of my robe in both hands and yanked me toward her. “True. But I sorta like you schmucks.”
You need to tell her. Now. Stop putting this off, you asshole. Just. Tell. Her.
Lina released my robes and raked her fingers through her hair. Her eyes darted back and forth between mine, and I opened my mouth. The words were right there, dangling off the tip of my tongue like a rock climber, ready to leap to the next ledge.
“Lina—”
I was silenced by a big pair of hands closing over my shoulders as my father returned. He stepped around me to give Lina a big hug. “Congratulations, Lina. You should be very proud of yourself with those grades of yours.”
“Who told you my grades?” Lina asked when they broke apart. She was smiling as she turned her gaze upon me. “Have you been telling your dad how much smarter I am than you?”
I didn’t have time to answer her. My dad beat me to it. “Nah, he wouldn’t do that. Come on, now. Mr. and Mrs. Rollins told me when I went over to talk to them.”
Lina blushed. “Oh, right.”
“Come on,” my dad said, taking us both by the shoulders. “Kelli’s parents and I want to take you kids out for a celebratory lunch. Then you can go off and do whatever it is you want to do. David has a party planned, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“All right. If either of you need a ride in the middle of the night, or in the morning—”
“We’ll call you,” I said.
“Thank you, Mr. Gabriel,” Lina said.
2
LINA
The white wicker chair creaked beneath me as I leaned forward to get closer to Kelli’s vanity mirror. Her makeup was spread out in front of me, and I’d dabbled in a bit of her eye shadows and eyeliners to create a bit more of a vampy look than what I would usually do. I painted a dark pink gloss on my lips and rubbed them together.
“Sexy,” Kelli said.
I looked at her in the reflection of the mirror. She was standing behind me in her bra and a black pair of high-waisted jeans. She was in the process of buttoning them up as I screwed the cap back on the lip gloss. “Do you mind if I bring this with me? For touch ups?”
Kelli shook her head. “Of course not. Just don’t lose it.”
“Never,” I said before pulling my shirt open and tucking the glass tube between my boobs.
Kelli picked up her shirt from where it lay on the bed and sighed. “I wish my tits were big enough to use them as a purse like you can.”
I giggled. “It’s not all it’s cracked up to be, Kelli. There are a lot more cons than pros.”
“Says every girl with nice boobs ever.”
“It’s true, though,” I said, turning around in the chair to face her. “I can hardly ever find a bra that actually fits me. And if I do, it’s triple the price of a normal bra. Sports bras don’t work. Bralettes are out of the question. And don’t even get me started on bathing suits or backless dresses.”
Kelli gave me a flat look. “If you’re trying to make me feel pity for you and your perfect boobies, good luck. It’s not going to happen.”
I shrugged. “A girl can try.”
Kelli ran her fingers through her sandy-blonde curls and tied her hair up in her signature high ponytail. “So, what are your plans for after the party? Are you going to get Cal somewhere alone? Somewhere the two of you can, you know, celebrate in private?” Kelli thrust her hips forward a couple times.
