Page 6 of Yours and Mine (Friends with Benefits)

“Thank you. Is Nick ready?” I started heading for the door to the back where I hoped to find my best friend.

“Oh, you can’t go in there, Joelle.” Her eyes went wide with fear.

I stopped. “Has something happened?”

“No, it’s just that…”

“It’s okay, Mom. I’m done.” Nick came out from behind the swinging back door. At the front of the house, the Tuscans had the store; at the back, a ginormous kitchen that took up the rest of the downstairs. There was a small sitting area with a door out to the patio, just like at our house, that they called a dining room. It was just a table with four chairs in the back of the kitchen. One day, when I had a job, I dreamed of buying my father a real house with a fireplace, a family room, a proper dining room, and a way smaller kitchen than the one we had now.

“Done with what?” I asked, swiping the buttercream frosting off his shirt pocket.

“I’ll tell you after the movies. Ready?”

I nodded, and we hopped out the door. We were meeting a few friends from school at the theater and were going to go out for pizza later on. Although our town was small, we did have a movie theater. There was only one screen, but at least it was there. I’d heard theaters in large cities had several screens, but I was sure that ours was much more intimate. Different movies were scheduled at various times during the weekends, and the theater was closed during the week — except during the summertime when kids were off school, and they held camps and acting classes. I hadn’t heard of anyone from our town obecoming a famous actor, so I wasn’t too sure about the quality of those classes. Perhaps it was just another activity to pass the time.

“Be careful.” Marge waved us goodbye and we ran out the door.

“Which guys are coming?” I asked, once we were on our way.

“Andrew and Carter.”

“You three are inseparable.”

“I could say the same thing about you, Molly, and Daisy. That’s who you invited, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” I laughed. “Why are you wearing your swim shorts already?”

“Because they’re a two in one. They’re shorts – and you can swim in them. What’s the point of carrying both around?”

“What about a towel?”

“Did you see the sun outside? They’ll air dry.”

“You’re such a boy.” I shook my head.

“So?”

“So nothing. Let’s just go.”

He pulled out a granola bar from his pocket and chewed it. One thing about Nick was that he always had something to eat in his pockets.

We walked along the side road, not talking to each other, which was very odd. Any other day, it’d be difficult to get one of us to shut up so that the other could speak. I saw Nick sneak a look at me once every few minutes, but I pretended not to notice it. I wasn’t sure what it was about today that irked me, but something was off.

The heat wave the past two weeks had dried up the grass, road, and anything else the sun had touched. Each time a car passed us, yellow dirt rose up, swallowing us in its cloud. By the time we got to the theater, I could taste it in my mouth and shake it off the curls of my hair.

We walked up to the concession stand. The aroma of melting butter and popcorn filled the air.

“The usual?” Nick asked, heading for line.

“I’ll have a water instead of a coke today.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s less calories.”

“Since when do you worry about that stuff? You’re like a toothpick, no matter how many cookies my mom tries to stuff in you.”

“Since I’ve seen the way Carter looks at Daisy. She’s skinnier. I have to watch what I eat. I can feel my body changing.”

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