So We Can Glow - Stories - Leesa Cross-Smith Page 0,48

Hate,” she said, lifting the sunglasses so I could see her roll her eyes.

“Let me guess…um, girls who read those lists. No, no. Wait, don’t tell me! Ummm, how about we don’t care what they hate because we can do whatever we want?” I said. Bri snickered like a little cartoon chipmunk.

We played the game we always played where one of us would open the magazine to a random page and we’d both pick our most and least favorite outfits.

“This dress is so pretty I hate it,” I said, tapping my finger on a thistle-colored dress with tiny embroidered hummingbirds swooping over one shoulder.

“Murder me if I ever wear something this ugly,” Bri said, poking the glossy picture of some H-list actress in a dark yellow jumper and matching espadrilles.

“If this pool was fucking empty I’d skate in it,” someone said and we turned to see some SoCal-looking guys walking through the fence gate—big T-shirts, long, baggy dark-colored shorts, bony hairy guy legs slipped into well-worn skateboarder shoes. All three of them were carrying skateboards. Two of the guys were wearing shadowy T-shirts with monsters on them and the other one was wearing a plain white one, bright as eggs.

“What’s up?” one of the guys said to us. He had on the forest-green shirt with a gray outline of Bigfoot walking across it. He had beer-blond hair and looked like he’d just woken up.

I was wearing a tiny tie-dye bikini and sat up a little straighter, readjusted my straps.

“Who are you guys?” another one of the dudes said. His shirt had some kind of winged dinosaur bird on it with lots of teeth.

“Well, for one, we’re girls. Not guys,” Bri said, closing the magazine and slapping it across her stomach. She pointed at her boobs with her thumb.

“Obviously,” he said.

“Obviously,” she said, laughing at him.

“I’m Whitney. She’s Bri,” I said to the one in the white shirt who hadn’t said anything yet. I liked him the most. He looked like the kind of guy who would help you load groceries into your car without being a creep about it. He pointed to himself and said Jay and he motioned to the monster shirt guys and said Jesse and Jimmy.

“You’re kidding me. Ugh, all of your names start with J?” Bri said. She pushed her sunglasses on top of her head.

“Getting kind of dark for shades, you think?” Jimmy said. He dropped his skateboard on the concrete and sat on it. He rolled back and forth and I liked the sound—chunky, growly. It sounded like such a dude sound to make.

“That’s why I took them off, asshole,” Bri said. She was flirting, but it was probably lost on the guys. Bri’s heart was as hard as a diamond, but it was just as sparkly, too. I loved her so much I barely noticed she was around.

“Where are you from?” Jay asked me.

“Not here,” I said, laughing a little bit.

“Figured.”

“What about y’all?”

“My dad owns this piece of shit motel,” Jay said with that comforting Kentucky coal miner’s lilt. He smirked, real cute. I liked looking at his face. Jimi Hendrix’s version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” started playing in my head when I looked at him. He was so gloriously American, I had to keep myself from standing and putting my hand over my heart.

“Okay, good ol’ boy. You need to tell your dad to change the name of this place to the Darl Inn instead of the Darling Inn. Get it? Darl Inn? It’s annoying it’s not called the Darl Inn. I can barely stay here. I’d want to leave if the vending machines weren’t so awesome. That one has the spicy chips I like,” I said, pointing across the pool. Bri and I had dyed the tips of our hair soft peony-pink with my mom’s help. I tucked a pale slip of it behind my ear.

“The Darl Inn,” Jay said and nodded.

“The Darl Inn,” Bri repeated.

I looked at the motel sign buzzing up by the road. It was super-pretty. The D was big, old-timey cursive and a dreamy blue color. Maybe that was the color I’d dye my hair next.

“I like it. Your hair,” Jesse said to us, pointing at his own head. It was the first thing that had come out of his mouth.

“Thanks,” I said. Bri stood from the chair and walked to the pool—took the steps real slow like she was in a beauty pageant. She was cracking me up, so I laughed and laughed and shook my