Page 7 of Never Quiet

Noel chuckled and kissed her forehead. “God, I love you. I’ll get you some clothes. You jump in the shower.”

Alone in the bathroom, she turned on the shower and stared at herself in the mirror. She didn’t feel any closer to being a woman but it was a pretty big milestone. She bid a fond farewell to the last true piece of her childhood and got in the shower.

* * *

The next day, she was walking up the beach with Dakota when someone yelled her name. Turning, she watched Davis Lang run across the sand.

“Oh, my god!” she yelled. She raced to meet him and he spun her in a circle. “I didn’t know you were coming!”

“Dad can’t get away but he sent me with Lance who needed a bunch of papers signed by Gunner and Shawn.” He made a funny face. “I have my license now but Mom is terrified for me to make the drive alone.” Glancing past her, he smiled. “Hey, Dakota. Got room for one more?”

“Always. Holy shit, kid. You shot up since I saw you in March.” Dakota punched him in the shoulder. “You two catch up and head inside for ice cream. I’m feeling the need for a sundae bar before I go pick up Sterling. You know I can’t give that boy sugar.”

Davis wrapped his arm around Mandy’s shoulders and followed Dakota more slowly. “What’s new with you, Lang?”

“Not much, Lang. Started my period, if you can believe it.”

“Gross. So gross. What a bummer.”

“Right?” She sighed. “Now, I’ll have to think about the stupid details before I swim and stuff. It sucks. I wasn’t ready.”

He gave her a squeeze. “Something tells me girls are never ready for that. It derails my mom. She gets these horrible headaches. Sorry any of you have to deal with it at all.”

“You ask that girl out?”

“Nope. Totally froze.” He crossed his copper eyes. “Man, shows and movies make it look so easy. I asked her if she liked cheese. I was holding a cheese stick, Mandy. Do you have any idea how mental that sounded to her?”

“I do actually. What did she say?”

“That she did. It threw off my whole train of thought. Couldn’t figure out what to say…”

“Oh, no…”

“So I told her that was nice and walked away.”

“Davis. You’ve slayed me. I am slain.”

He stopped and turned to her. “I saw that video of you and Erick. Can I say, in all honesty, how adorable you two look side by side? The cutest nerds I’ve ever seen. Like, ever.”

“Don’t make fun of me. I’m hormonal.”

Laughing, he started toward the house again and kissed the top of her head. “Fine. You know what you need is a good cry. Mom says a sad movie does wonders. Something like…”

“If you say The Notebook…”

“The Notebook.”

“You know how much I hate that movie. She was horrid!”

“Ugh. They both were. I liked the old couple though.”

Sighing, she reminded him, “They were the same couple. How do you forget that?”

“Ah. Because the old couple was less annoying?”

“True that.”

He nodded. “Fine. What are your thoughts on Salt?”

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