Page 20 of All That Glitters
“I bought a copy at the grocery store for research and motivation,” he said. “I need to know where I’ll be eating when I’m rich and famous.”
“Not the all-night taco shop?”
He shook his head. “I’ll save that for hangovers.”
All around them was the world Tony had been reading about online, the lifestyle he’d seen in the glossy pages of magazines he could barely afford. He’d been studying it and memorizing it like a foreign language. To Debbie, it felt like walking through a theme park she was only visiting. To Tony, it was the future. It was the reward for finishing The Frat and getting it sold.
“Check this out,” he said, pointing at a bright red Ferrari parked at the curb. “That’s my next car.”
“And give up your truck?” she teased.
“I’m pretty sure it’s already given up on me. It’s just waiting for the right moment to let me know.”
“What about me?” she said. “I should at least get a Porsche for surviving fifteen years of your schemes.”
“Could we settle on a shiny new bicycle with training wheels and a helmet?” he offered. “I’m just thinking of what could cause the least amount of damage.”
She playfully swatted his arm, but even she had to admit, there was something infectious about his enthusiasm whenever he came up with one of his new schemes. Debbie had always been the practical one, who calculated risks and made sensible choices. Tony was the dreamer, the one who saw possibilities where others saw obstacles.
For as far back as she could remember, it had always been like this, with Tony leaping, and Debbie looking before they leaped. Sometimes his impulsiveness led to disaster, like the time they ‘borrowed’ his dad’s car to go skiing, and ended up stranded when it ran out of gas. But other times it led to adventures they never would have experienced otherwise, like the time they’d sneaked into a closed water park and had it all to themselves for an hour before security found them.
She hoped this was one of those times.
They grabbed food from a gourmet sandwich shop, something with names she couldn’t pronounce, and walked to the bluff overlooking the cove. They found a patch of soft green grass, sat down, and watched the sun begin its slow descent toward the horizon, painting the sky in fiery strokes of orange and gold. The ocean below was a deep, tranquil blue, dotted with sailboats and kayakers.
The sandwich, which had cost three times what she would normally pay for lunch, turned out to be worth every penny.
“Okay,” she conceded, her eyes fixed on the sky. “You were right. This is pretty cool.”
“Told ya,” he said, his mouth full of food. “I wanted you to see it at sunset. It’s like God’s showing off.”
She smiled and gave a big thumbs up at the sky. “Good job, God. Ten out of ten for that one.”
He smiled too. They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes, the easy kind of quiet that only fifteen years of friendship can build. She watched him as he stared out at the water, at the way the sea breeze ruffled his hair. She still saw the boy she had always known in him, but there was something new too. He had a determination in his eyes she hadn’t seen before. He really wanted this screenplay to work.
“You really want this screenplay thing to work, don’t you?” she said.
He turned to look at her. “Yeah. I really do.”
“Then I’m gonna help you. But I’m warning now, I won’t go easy on you. If I see you slacking, I will be your worst nightmare. I will follow you around. I will hide your video games. I will change your Netflix password.” She leaned in, a mischievous glint in her eye. “I will make you run up and down the beach naked.”
He laughed, a startled, happy laugh that surprised even him. He looked at her. “Did I mention that you’re awesome, Deb?”
She smiled. “No. But feel free to keep mentioning it.”
“Good. Because you’re awesome. I know you won’t let me quit, and that’s what I need.”
“A slave driver?”
“My best friend.” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into an affectionate side hug. “So, I was thinking — when I win, does that mean you have to run down the beach naked?”
She snorted, playfully swatting him with the back of her hand. “In your dreams, Harding. And you’d better not be imagining it right now.”
“Too late,” he laughed, receiving another playful swat. He squeezed her into him, and she was grateful for the fading light that hid the furious blush that had warmed her cheeks.
“I’m really glad you’re here, Deb,” he said, his voice softer now.
“So you can watch me trip while I’m running on the beach?”
