on, her voice brighter. “It’s our third summer working here, and everyone kinda feels like family at this point, even when they’re driving you crazy.” She smirked and met my eyes. “So whose portrait are you doing next?”
“Oh,” I said, caught off guard by the question. “Um … I don’t know. I guess I’ll see if there’s any demand.”
She nodded, her expression thoughtful. “Cliff will probably ask next. Natalie will make him because she’ll want to see what you do.” She paused. “Maybe you could paint mine sometime, too.”
I’d been hoping she would offer that, but I was also overwhelmed by the idea. I couldn’t imagine being alone with her for such a long stretch of time. All I managed to say was “Yeah, definitely.”
There was a pause, and I wondered if she had wanted me to give a more specific answer. I tried to think of a follow-up, something that would give me a guaranteed reason to see her, but it was like trying to summon an answer for a pop quiz.
“I should get going,” Lydia said finally, peeling herself off the car. “I have class in an hour.”
“Class?” I asked, my heart sinking.
“Yeah, I’m taking some credits at the community college. I’m going to GCSU next year, and they have a bunch of math requirements for freshmen, so I’m trying to get a few out of the way this summer.”
I could tell from the way she said it that it was the last thing she wanted to do. I thought back to the night we’d met at Ricky’s party, when she’d confided in me about not getting into UGA. It seemed like school was a point of sensitivity for her.
“I hate math,” I told her. “My best friend is a genius at it—she, like, wants to be an astrophysicist—but I despise it.”
Lydia’s eyes settled, and I could tell I had said the right thing. “Really?” she asked. “Me too. My mom is an accountant, and she can’t figure out how the math gene skipped over me. Everyone says I have her work ethic and smile, but somehow I didn’t get her brains.”
“You have an amazing smile,” I blurted out.
She gave me a funny look, almost like she knew I’d said that by accident, and my face and neck burned all over. “I mean … I’m sure you have a great work ethic, too,” I said stupidly.
She laughed lightly, not quite looking at me. “Thanks. Um, so … I’ll see you soon? Are you coming to Samuel’s party on Friday?”
I blinked. This was the first I’d heard of Samuel’s party, and I didn’t know how invites to these things were supposed to work.
My confusion must have shown on my face, because Lydia smiled and said, “He just texted about it this morning. I’m sure Ricky will give you the details.”
“Oh,” I said, blushing. “Yeah, I’ll ask him about it.”
“Cool. Well hey, thanks for letting me watch today.”
“Oh, yeah, no problem,” I said, nodding too much. “It was really helpful, having you there to talk to Natalie—I mean, just having you there in general, ’cause I think it helped us be more loose and relaxed…”
She grinned at my rambling. “Yeah, it was awesome.”
“Yeah.” I paused. “Um, well … see you Friday.”
“Friday,” she agreed, ducking into her car. “Catch you later, Codi.”
“Bye, Lydia,” I said, slinking off before she could see me blush.
* * *
The whole way home, I imagined myself painting Lydia’s portrait. We were on the Court Café’s porch again, with her in that sky-blue polo, and I was making her laugh while I painted her long, honey-colored hair. The moment I finished, she stepped up next to me, dropped her head on my shoulder, and whispered how perfect it was.
My stomach was whirling all over the place by the time I walked into the house. Mom and Dad were still at work, and I didn’t know where Grant was, so I sat down at the kitchen table, pulled out my sketchbook, and began a preliminary sketch of how Lydia’s portrait might look. Even though she’d raved about Natalie’s, I had to make sure the one I painted of her—if it ever happened—was exceptional.
My phone was buzzing with a slew of texts from Maritza and JaKory, but I switched it to Do Not Disturb mode and popped my headphones in, playing the same song on repeat while I practiced. Sunshine streamed through the windows and spilled across the table, inching its way toward my drawing, and I took off