Page 15 of Wrath

She shakes her head, looking crestfallen. "Only Josh Miller, but I think he might be gay because he never wants to kiss me." Her hand slaps over her mouth. "Oh my God, Ididn'tsay that."

"You didn't?"

She lowers her voice, leaning toward me. "I'm an awful person,” she says sadly. “The worst."

"Nah. And I won't tell."

"He might just not likeme. But he'stall. Like you. I like the tall guys. Likeme."

"Short guys can't get play?" I ask.

She looks forlorn. "They don't want to."

"I bet that's not true."

She brightens. "Hey you want to go get in the pool?" Her eyes widen like a child’s, and I laugh.

"I think you should stay out of the pool tonight."

"Is something bad in the pool?"She looks alarmed.

I decide to roll with it. "Yeah. I heard there was black mold or something."

"Moldisbad." She nods.

I nod with her. "Mold is so bad."

A few more minutes talking to her, and she tells me her best friend, a girl named Cara, is dating a guy she likes.

“He’s tall, too.” She gives an exaggerated frown, almost like she’s miming.

It takes some effort to hold in a laugh.

“There’ll be other tall guys,” I tell her. “Or what about the short ones? That might work out okay.”

“Maybe.” She looks unconvinced.

A second later, a shorter, curvier girl steps over to us. She’s Black, with a ponytail high on her head and a yellow dress.

“What are you doing, Landry?” the girl asks my new friend. “I’ve been looking for you.” Her eyes widen as she fans her face. “And who is this?”

I run a hand back through my hair, feeling self-conscious even as I smile at her. “I’m Landry’s new, tall boyfriend.” I wink at the girl beside me, and she covers her face with both hands.

“Landry, what did you do?” The yellow dress girl looks at me. “I’m Cara, by the way. Our girl here has had too much to drink. You can’t be picking up boys from the city,” she says to Landry.

I laugh. The city? “What city?”

“Are you from Huntsville or Atlanta?” she asks. “Or I guess it could be Chattanooga.”

I grin. “What makes you think I’m from one of those places?”

“Well, you’re not from here.” Cara crosses her arms, lookingdown her nose at me, which makes me laugh again. “You’re a city boy. I know ’em when I see ’em.”

I grin.

“See? Even that smile says city boy. You had braces?” she asks.

“No. I didn’t. Does it look like I did?” My hand hovers over my mouth.

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