"Oh, hell no." She tossed the keys over the top of the hood, and I jumped up to catch them.
"I was kidding." I watched her as she walked around the car.
"Yeah, well, just in case you're not. I'm not looking for any reason to talk to your dad. He's the only guy in the world I think has the ability to make someone feel stupid before even entering the room he's in."
I moved around to the driver's side door and opened it, getting in and buckling up. "You should try living with him. College has been a dream come true." Nostalgia rolled over me as I glanced up the road to see the signs for Arizona State. "I love this place. I'm going to miss it."
"Not me. I'm going to start my masters in the fall and before I know it, I'll be teaching in the science department. I'm never leaving." She settled in before turning around to look in the back seat.
"Lucky." I turned to see what she was up to before starting the car. "The snacks are in the back of the car."
"Why? That's not gonna help us when we're starving in ten minutes." She got out and moved to the back as I popped the trunk.
I was leaving behind a lot of good memories from college, as well as some not so good memories. I wanted to be excited about the future, but it was hard. It wasn't my future, but one my parents were still working to control.
A summer on Lake Havasu would do me some good, even if my parents highly disapproved of such a waste of time. Avoiding their phone calls was getting trickier, but I was still managing, somehow.
"Got 'em." She got into the car and tossed the bag in the back. "Let's go. I want to get there and let my hair down."
I reached over and tugged at her ponytail. "Let it down now. I'll roll the windows down, and we can let this hot ass air blow through our hair."
"No thanks. I'd rather breathe, but thank you." She pulled out her phone and leaned back. "Do you really think I might find someone to hang out with this summer?"
"You're hanging out with us." I pulled out of the parking lot and gave her a quick sideways glance. "Are you talking about a guy?"
She popped me in the arm. "Of course, I'm talking about a guy."
"Yeah, I think you could find several someones to hang out with. Let me do your hair and help you pick out an outfit one of the nights we go out."
I almost flinched as she turned to face me. We'd had the same conversation for most of our lives. I loved makeup and dressing up and being girlie. Emily, not so much.
"Alright. I'll let you do it, but you have to promise me that you won't set me up." She stuck out her pinkie. "Pinkie promise me."
"What are we, ten?" I extended my hand and wrapped my pinkie around hers. "I promise."
"Good, and stop degrading our trust system." She smirked and kicked off her shoes before putting her feet on the dashboard. "You okay with my feet up here?"
"Absolutely. It's my dad's car. I'm just using it until I disappoint him again." I gave a sardonic chuckle.
"That's dumb. You're twenty-two, Cora. When are they going to stop acting like you’re still a kid?" She brushed her hands over her legs and let out a long yawn.
"I guess when I stop acting like one, so never?" We laug
hed for a few minutes over how ridiculous my parents were, more so my father than my mother. She just nodded and went along with his directives. As much as I loved her, I wasn't sure she had ever had an idea that wasn't my father’s to begin with.
"What are you looking forward to this summer?" Emily glanced over at me as she worked her long, black hair out of the ponytail.
"Spending time with you, Cindy, and Dedra, for sure. Laying in the sun in a tiny bikini and getting a tan. Finding a cute boy to skinny dip with." I smiled as she let out a dramatic gasp.
"You hooker. You're not skinny dipping with a boy. That leads to sex, which leads to love, which…”
"Ain't nobody trying to fall in love." I rolled my eyes and ran my fingers through my shoulder-length, chestnut hair.
"I'm sure you're not going to be trying, but you know how these things go for you. You're horrible at flings. Dedra and Cindy? They have it down, but you're no good at it." She shook her head, and I reached over, gripping just above her knee and squeezing as she squealed.
"Oh yeah? Maybe I'm going to prove you all wrong." I pulled back as she swatted at me.
"No, you're not." She pulled her legs down and grabbed her phone as it buzzed. "That's Dedra."