Some Kind of Normal

“I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.”

Annoyed, I made a face. “Why would you say that?”

She ignored my question and ordered us both a chocolate cone with chunks of peanut butter.

“Is it Trevor?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure.”

“Then why are you blushing?”

“I’m not…” I started, but I totally was. In fact, the longer she stared at me with that half smile on her face, the hotter my cheeks felt.

“Did he kiss you?” she asked, handing me my ice cream cone.

“What? No, we’re just study buddies.”

“Uh-huh.”

I licked the top of my cone. “He’s pretty intense.”

She got this “duh” expression on her face. “Of course he is. Trevor Lewis is an artist. A guitar player. Those dudes are all intense. Link’s the same.”

“Really?” I replied. “So you and Link are dating?”

“Dating?” She looked horrified. “No one dates, Everly. Geez, what is this middle school? We hang out.” Her grin widened. “A lot.”

“So you’re hooking up.”

“No, it’s more than that.”

“Then what is it?”

She giggled. “I don’t know, but I’m having fun finding out. He’s so artistic, you know? Like he paints and has even done some sculpting. He’s got this thing at his house, it’s this big…” She laughed, holding her arms wide. “I don’t know what it is exactly but…hello! Sculpting? What guy does that? And oh my God, does he know how to kiss.”

Great. I had to listen to a detailed account of Link’s fantastical tongue and this technique he used with his… I’m not sure what she was talking about, because my mind was wandering into uncharted territory.

The Trevor Lewis kind of uncharted territory.

“So do you like him?” Hailey asked.

“Who?”

“Trevor, you idiot.”

By this time we were nearly done our cones. “He’s intense.”

“You already pointed that out and I agreed, remember?”

I knew Hailey well enough to know she wasn’t going to let this go.

“I don’t think it matters if I like him or not.”