Page 90 of Anyone But Her

"Sure," she says, but she didn't even look. She's staring at her phone.

"Birdie, I need your advice. Do you like this or not?"

She looks up. "What look are you going for? That shirt says rich country club girl. Is that what you want?"

I hold up the shirt. "Rich country club girl? Really? It's just a polo shirt."

"But it's got that crest emblem on it. That's from one of those preppy designers, right?"

"Well, yeah, but it's a nice shirt."

"Then wear it. It'll look good on you. The white will show off your tan."

I decide to wear it. Birdie had me questioning my choice but we have totally different styles. She wears whatever the latest fashion is, whereas I'm more into classic styles. She also wears more skirts and dresses than me. I mostly wear shorts and t-shirts, or polo shirts. Birdie thinks polo shirts are for guys. She'd never wear one. Today she has on a flower-patterned romper that she insists is the in thing right now but I refuse to get one. It's not my style, plus it's way too hard to go to the bathroom in those things.

When we get to the gym we go out to the weight room where they're filming. There are so many cameras and lights and people swarming around that I don't even see Luke. But then I hear his voice.

"Hey, man."

I turn and see Luke going up to Cal.

"Looks like you hit it big," Cal jokes. "Got a whole crew just to take a few pictures?" He points to Luke's face. "You wearing make-up?"

"Don't give me shit about it. They made me do it."

"They do the same to me," my dad says going up to Luke. "They pat me down with so much powder I can barely breathe."

Luke sees me behind my dad and smiles. "Brought the whole family?"

My dad moves aside so he's not blocking me. "Taylor had some time before she meets with her coach." He grins at Luke. "You didn't tell me you had a girlfriend."

Luke freezes and his eyes go to mine. He thinks my dad's talking about me.

"We told my dad about you and Birdie," I say to Luke.

"Oh." He nods. "Right."

Birdie goes up to him and gives him a hug. "I wanted to come wish you good luck." She lets him go. "Break a leg!"

"That's for the theater, not commercials," Cal mutters.

She spins around to face him. "So now you're an expert in theater? I bet you've never even been to the theater."

"Okay, you two," my dad says. "Stop it right now. You're not fighting here. You both need to get along."

"Not gonna happen," Cal says, glancing at Birdie.

She glares at him. "What is your problem?"

"That's enough," my dad says. "He grabs Cal's arm and leads him over to Birdie. "You two are going to dinner."

"Dinner?" Cal asks. "What the hell? I'm not going to dinner with her. Are you crazy?"

"You're going to dinner and you're going to stay there until you work out whatever it is that makes you two fight all the time. I'll pick the restaurant and pay for it. And I'll be driving you there to make sure you don't leave."

Cal and Birdie shake their heads and say, "No way."

"C'mon, it's just dinner," Luke says. "You might as well try it."

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