Page 21 of When You Smile

“That’s on purpose. Pink and purple.” She gestured to her socks. “Do you like it?” She blinked several times to show off the eyeliner. There were people in the world who wanted to fly under the radar, like herself, and exhibitionists like Caz.

“On you? Yes, please. On others, questionable.”

“I take that as a compliment.”

Caz was hard to offend, which was one of the things Taryn had grown to really like about her. They were compatible roommates and already pretty good friends. She was lucky to find herself a Caz, clearly a leg up from the gods.

“As well you should,” Taryn said. “You’re adorable. You going out tonight?” Caz opened her hand for a Le Croix and Taryn tossed her one.

“I wanted that guy Noah to call, but he’s been live on TikTok for two hours, going on about his PS5. So I texted Sareen from my statistics class, and we’re going to steal a moment at the dive bar on Fourth with the peanuts. Toby the Tiger’s.”

“Sareen. You’ve mentioned her before. Is this a romantic outing?”

“Oh yes. That’s why I chose the purple.”

“Noted. You gonna hook up with her?” Caz’s dating life was endlessly interesting. She was a romantic butterfly, flitting from one potential partner to the next, and operated with very little stress about it. She didn’t have a preference when it came to sexuality or gender identification, which meant she had no true pattern or type. Caz didn’t care about labels or explaining herself to anyone. Admirable and refreshing. In fact, Taryn wanted to be more like Caz and care less about other people’s opinions or perceptions.

“I’m not ruling it out. Love her style, a super feminine type but keeps wearing ties to class, and I can’t get enough of these ties. I forget to pay attention and miss half the lecture. If she wears a tie tonight, Taryn, I’m a goner. She’s like this little hot banker, and I love bankers.”

“Wildly specific.”

“You’re not into bankers? What’s wrong with you? With the little pads? I just can’t with them.”

“I’ve never pondered bankers.”

“Do.” Caz turned to the mirror on the back of their door. “My horoscope said I should prepare myself for the unexpected, so I’m going to do that.”

“I root you on. What does mine say?”

Caz dashed back to her laptop on the coffee table. “The highly heart-driven Aries.” She skimmed her findings. “You should be on the lookout for a blast from the past because they just might hold the key to your future.”

“My babysitter,” Taryn blurted. “Totally.”

“Excuse me?”

“I just had coffee with my old babysitter. She was the one who walked me home from the party that first month of school. Remember that?”

“It’s familiar but hazy. I was so fucking hungover when you were telling me, which was likely a deterrent to detail retention. Many apologies retroactively.”

“It’s okay. Charlotte, also known as Charlie, used to babysit me back home. I was eleven. She was sixteen. I was in awe of everything she said and did. Don’t get me started on how she looked in a swimsuit. I’ll just say it was formative.”

“And she’s here and she rescued you from the drunken clutches of Tau Kappa Epsilon?”

“Yes! And tucked me into my literal bed, something I wish I had been a little more lucid for. So much regret.”

“I love this. You’ve got the hots for the babysitter?”

“You’re ahead of the story.”

“Sorry.” Caz zipped her lips and sat on her hands.

“Then I ran into her in the reference section of the library. She apparently works there part-time as work study for her grad school program. She’s a writer.”

Caz unzipped her lips. “Already hot.” She promptly rezipped them and sat on her hands again, offering a nod for Taryn to continue.

“Anyway, she invited me for coffee and we had the best conversation.” She closed her eyes, ready to go there. “Here’s another big admission. I didn’t fully realize it at the time, but Charlie was likely my first crush.”

“Ah yes, the babysitter crush of many a youth.”

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