Who We Could Be - Chelsea M. Cameron Page 0,32
she was smug.
We finished lunch, and then I had to just follow her.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she said, turning around and walking backwards and smiling at me. “That’s the point!”
I still wasn’t so sure about this.
TESSA SOMEHOW, THROUGH her powers of spontaneity, led us to an absolutely gorgeous park with a fountain at the center. It looked like the set of a movie. We even saw more than a few couples in wedding attire taking pictures, and even one wedding progress. The grassy areas were patchworked with blankets and picnickers and children chasing each other all around.
Tessa normally walked fast, as if she was always trying to get to the next thing, but she slowed down and we strolled together.
“See? Isn’t this perfect?”
It was.
“Are you ready to admit I was right?” she asked, bumping me with her shoulder.
“Never,” I said, shaking my head.
“Come on, admit I was right.” She took my arm and made me stop. Our toes touched and she was close enough that I could count the freckles on her cheeks, as if I didn’t already know how many she had. I’d been counting those freckles for years. I’d memorized them.
“Never,” I whispered.
“What can I do to get you to admit it?” She leaned closer, and my dress fluttered around her legs, wrapping them up.
“Nothing,” I said. “There’s nothing you can do.” I was having trouble swallowing.
“Oh, there’s something and I’m going to figure it out. Just you wait.” Tessa stepped away from me, and I realized I’d been leaning into her when I ended up stumbling forward and almost falling.
“Whoa, did that sweet tea go to your head?” Tessa said, catching me and helping me stand up again.
“I’m fine,” I said.
I didn’t know if I was fine.
THE NEXT FEW DAYS WERE filled with museums, historical walking tours, exploring the cobblestoned streets along the river, multiple trolley tours, and so many incredible foods and drinks. Being in a new place with new air was such a relief, and after that first night, I started sleeping better. There was something about being in a bed with Tessa that calmed my anxieties and let me rest. Or maybe it was being in Savannah. Either way, I didn’t ever want to go home.
Every now and then, Tessa would ambush me with “what does it take to make you say I was right?” and usually I would yell because she’d snuck up on me and then I’d say the same thing I’d said before, “nothing.”
She was persistent.
Our second to last night, I finally agreed to be spontaneous again.
“Okay, so this isn’t technically spontaneous, or at least our outfits aren’t going to be,” she said as she whipped something shiny out of her suitcase.
“What is that?” I asked as she held up the emerald velvet jumpsuit.
“Well, it was what I was going to wear to your wedding, but now it’s what I’m wearing tonight. And this,” she did another flourish and pulled out one of my favorite dresses, “is what you are wearing. I packed your petticoat and everything.” She pulled that out too.
“When did you get this?” I asked, taking the items from her.
“Like a few days before we left? You should probably pay better attention to what’s in your closet, Ford.” I crushed the fabric to my chest, petting the bronze taffeta skirt.
“I’m going to have to steam this to get the wrinkles out,” I said, holding it up. The dress was technically two pieces, a black high-neck crop top that was nearly backless and a bronze taffeta skirt. It made me feel both bookish and glamorous at the same time, especially with that little bit of my torso that peeked between the top and skirt.
“There’s a function for that on the iron,” Tessa said, pulling that out of the closet and hauling out the ironing board.
“Who are you right now? Have you ever used an iron in your entire life?” I couldn’t even imagine it. Tessa picked up the iron and looked at it as if it was going to bite her. “Give me that.”
I took it from her and went to put some water in it.
“Just because I’ve never used one, doesn’t mean I don’t know how. I’ve never used a penis, but I’m pretty sure I know what to do with it.”
I almost dropped the iron on my foot.
“What did you say?” I came out of the bathroom and set the iron down.
“What?” she said.
“The penis thing. You and Gus have never...” Tessa and