Page 4 of One Little Kiss
And by that I mean, boobs happened. My chubby cheeks slimmed down and my body filled out, and seemingly overnight I went from being one of the boys to a girl that most of the boys in our class were intimidated by.
Or, as they got older, the girl they tried to hook up with.
Elijah was the only one who never changed. He’s the only one who kept treating me the same, not expecting me to suddenly act all girly just because my mom bought me makeup and taught me how to blow out my hair.
With his free hand, Elijah holds his phone in front of my face, interrupting my game. “You’ll never guess what lunatics popped up in the scavenger hunt app tonight.”
I shake my head as I look at the app, because honestly, I’m still a little in awe of my crazy friend. Not only did he create this great senior class scavenger hunt, and promise three grand as prize money for whoever completed all his crazy tasks, but he even went so far as to create his own app that tracks each player’s status.
I know, right? That’s Elijah right there. So committed to making sure everyone is having fun, he’s basically made a career out of it.
The scavenger hunt had started off pretty simply, but Elijah kept adding to it, making it more difficult just to amuse himself. I drop the controller and snatch his phone from him. I can’t help but giggle at the sight he shows me. I know the photo well. It’s of Mara, Celia and me dressed in fireman outfits at the fire station.
We took it two days ago when I sweet talked our way into the fire house and explained why we were there. Mara must’ve just gotten around to uploading it to Elijah’s app tonight.
“That’s hot,” I say.
I’m obviously joking because we’re all making goofy faces and we’re drowning in the too-big uniforms. But I adore the picture because each one of us is wearing an idiotic grin and I can feel the fun we were having when the photo was snapped.
“Guess this puts Mara back in the lead,” he says as he takes his phone back.
I frown, returning my attention to the video game. “I’m up there too.”
“No way,” he says, his voice pitching with obvious interest.
I don’t argue. The numbers speak for themselves. I’ve done just as many items on the list as she has.
“Wait, you seriously are tied.”
The disbelief in his tone rubs me the wrong way and I sit up to face him. “It’s not my fault you made the game too easy.”
He scrolls through. “You’ve done them all with different teams.”
I shrug. “So? Is there some rule that you have to stick with the same teams?”
“No.” But he doesn’t sound sure.
“Why are you so shocked that I might be winning this stupid thing? You know I love pranks and games as much as anyone.”
“Yeah, but…” He shrugs. “I didn’t expect you to take it seriously. I mean…You don’t have to work for it.”
His offhand words sting, but it’s not his voice that echoes in my head.
Good thing you’ve got your mom’s looks.
My dad’s amused voice is still ringing in my head and my tone comes out too harsh. “What does that mean?”
Good friend that he is, he lets my tone slide with just a ‘whoa, weirdo’ look in my direction. “I just meant, you don’t need the money that badly.”
“Oh.” I deflate, sinking back into the stack of pillows. He has me there. Unlike Mara, my parents had more than enough money to help me through college.
It’s just the fact that they don’t seem to expect me to make it there that bothers me.
Elijah’s phone dings with a text and he slides his legs over the edge of the bed. “I should go.”
I nod, picking up the controller.
He turns to face me. “You should stay. The night, I mean.”
