Page 16 of In Her Arms

“Nuh-uh, not allowed. You’ve already said it.”

“Sorry, did you just fucking ‘nuh-uh’ me? You’re not seven.”

“How would you know? My gorgeous complexion, my sense of whimsy, I could easily be mistaken for a seven year old.”

“Whimsy?You,Cameron? Really? You’d make a tall, miserable seven year old.”

“I can’t believe you” Cameron blew on her bowl of noodles, taking some from the top and inelegantly slurping them. “I would make a fantastic child.”

They sat in silence for a minute, eating quietly. It was so silly. Not the conversation—although it had been—but their dynamic took a one-eighty turn. Sure, it killed Goldie in ways she didn’t want to think about, but it was nice to actually be able to talk to Cameron and get an answer out of her. Although, the more she thought about it...

“I still know basically nothing about you, other than that you’re good in bed and make nice food,” Goldie blurted out, the realization so jarring she had to say it out loud.

“Ditto,” said Cameron through a mouthful of noodles.

“Seriously! I know nothing about you. You like...live nearby? You’re gay? You have nice hair?”

“You’ve got interpersonal relations down to a fine art, Richards. I’ll give you that much.”

“Don’t you ‘Richards’ me, you...”

A moment passed.

“You don’t know my last name,” said Cameron.

“Fuck off,” Goldie replied, not meaning it in the slightest. It was true. Goldie didn’t know. She didn’t want to ask. Cameron looked very smug.

“Warner.”

“Huh?

“My last name is Warner.”

“I’ll still call you Cameron, Cameron.”

“I appreciate it, Goldie-Goldie.”

“Can I tell you a secret, Cameron?”

“Go for it.”

“Goldie is my middle name. It’s not my legal name at all.”

Cameron’s face morphed to look like she had just found a fly in her noodles, and Goldie giggled like a schoolgirl.

“You just go by it for shits and giggles?”

“It was my aunt’s nickname when she was alive. Her name was Gloria, but everybody called her Goldie, even her mother. It made sense. I never met her, but it’s nice.”

“Itisnice. What’s your actual name?”

“My actual name is, functionally, Goldie. I’ve been using it since elementary school. My legal first name is Rachel, but that’s just on my birth certificate.”

“Wow, that doesn’t suit you atall.”

“Yeah. Please don’t tell anyone. Somehow I've managed to keep it hush-hush all this time.”

“Don’t be silly. Of course I won’t tell anybody. Who would I tell?”

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