Some Kind of Normal

“It was all right.”

“All right?” He snorted. “Everly Jenkins is one of the hottest chicks in Twin Oaks. Damn, that girl has a nice ass. And her attitude? Off the charts. AT-TI-TUDE.”

Okay. Link was one of my best buddies, but I was starting to get annoyed. I really didn’t want to talk about Everly.

“She’s got attitude for sure,” I muttered.

“I know, right?” Link sped down the road. “I took civics with her last semester, and after that Jason guy moved out of state—”

“Jason guy?”

“Yeah, you know the dude she dated for, like, two years.”

Huh. How did I not know that?

“Anyway,” Link continued. “Brett Smith tried his hardest to get in her pants. Like, the guy pulled out all the stops. He must have asked her out five or six times. The dude seriously doesn’t know what the word no means. One day he grabbed her ass, felt her up real good. I was about to step in because, you know, I don’t like that kind of shit, but she slammed her foot down on top of his.” Link snorted and glanced at me. “And she was wearing these high-heeled things. It had to hurt like hell. And then she nailed him with a hard right.”

“What do you mean nailed?”

“I mean she slammed her fist into his face.”

“She punched Brett Smith?”

“Damn straight she did. Dude’s nose was bleeding all over the place, and he cursed her up and down.” Link’s grin was huge. “She didn’t care. She sat in her seat and took all her shit out, her books and stuff, put them on her desk as if nothing had happened, and then she told Brett that the next time she’d aim for his junk. Told him that she had a pair of steel-toed boots at home and she’d be wearing them to school until the end of the semester.” Link slapped the steering wheel. “Asshole totally deserved to get his balls kicked in, though it never happened because he didn’t go near her again.”

“Huh.” It was all I had.

“Yeah,” Link replied. “That chick is fierce.”

About ten minutes later, we pulled into line at the drive-in, and once inside, we cruised for a spot near the back. It’s where all the action’s at. The downside is that the walk to the concession booth is long, but the upside is…it’s where all the action’s at.

Monday night at the Starlight Drive-In was double-feature night. Sadly for Link and I and all the other guys who’d shown up to hang out in the back, the movies were both chick flicks. Which meant that most guys would end up getting lucky or arguing with their girl. That’s the thing about chick flicks—they either make a girl question her relationship or they get her in the mood for some heavy making out. It was a fifty-fifty shot, but since I was solo, I guess it didn’t really matter all that much.

A bunch of guys we knew from school were already parked, and a couple of them were tossing a football around, cheered on by a group of girls, most of whom were already halfway to loaded.

I nodded to a cute blond sitting on the tailgate of a truck. Her name was Jess, and we’d partied together in the past. She patted the empty spot beside her and I grinned. Things were looking up.

After we parked, Link and I hiked to the concession booth. We were both taking it easy tonight, Link because he was driving so no booze for him, and I knew that if I came home with beer on my breath, my mom would kill me. That’s if she could get past my dad. And like I said, Dad is built like a brick house. No way was I messing with that.

I volunteered to pay for our food and had just ordered two large popcorns and a couple of cokes when I heard a soft voice behind me.

Everly.

I don’t know how I knew it was her. I just did.

I grabbed the tray off the guy in the red-and-white-striped apron and turned around. Everly and a girl from school, Hailey I think her name was, were chatting with Link.

I walked toward them and stopped a couple of inches away, not smiling when I saw her, not reacting at all. The girl thought I was a moron. She’d been pretty clear about that.

She was still wearing the same clothes she’d had on at the library. White T-shirt that fit just right and those short shorts that showed off a whole lotta tanned leg. Her girlfriend was dressed for a night out in jeans and a jacket.

“I hope you brought a gallon of bug spray.”

Everly looked at her girlfriend and then back to me. “Excuse me?”

I nodded to her legs. “You’re gonna get bit up for sure, and we’ll be able to play connect the dots on your legs.”

“That’s all right,” Link said, putting his arm around the other girl. “I’ve got my fishing crap in the back of the truck, and I know I’ve got lots of spray. So, you girls going to hang with us or what?”