Page 55 of In a Pickle
“You are?”
“I think so. I haven’t quite worked out who I am yet.” He sucked in a breath. “Damn, I just told you another secret. You owe me like five secrets right now.”
She laughed.
“Come on,” he coaxed. “We’re never going to talk about any of this after tonight, remember? Not even if we’re somehow the last two people on earth. We’ll talk about — well, I guess we’ll have to talk about how to gather food and how to survive the zombies I assume are chasing us. But we won’t talk about this conversation.”
She grinned. “Zombies, huh?”
“I mean, I plan on surviving the zombie apocalypse through sheer force of will. I’ll keep you alive with me.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem. Hey, you’re stalling again. Secrets, remember?”
“Okay. Secrets. Well… I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I’ve always been good at school, but I have no idea if I’ll be good at anything else. I’ve been told all my life to put my career first, but I kind of want a family more than I want a career. My parents divorced and told me marriage is an institution straight from hell, but I really want to get married someday, and I feel guilty about it because my mom always told me never to get married. Also, I stole one tampon out of a box at CVS when I was 13 because I got my period unexpectedly and I couldn’t remember the PIN on my mom’s debit card. I couldn’t sleep for days after because I thought the cops were about to arrest me.”
James laughed. Liana gestured to the speakers blaring across the backyard. “Oh, and I hate country music. I know country music is cool and all that, and I’m supposed to know the words to all of these songs, but I simply cannot stand country music and I don’t know the lyrics to any of the popular songs.”
“Ditto. To all of that.”
She raised her brows. “Seriously?”
“I mean, except for the tampon story, obviously. And my parents aren’t divorced, although they share your parents’ general attitude toward the institution of marriage. But the rest of it, yeah. Ditto. Everything you said.”
“Oh. But I thought you knew exactly what you want to do with your life. Don’t you want to make a career out of tennis?”
He nodded. “Sure. But that’ll end sooner than later, and I’m worried I’ll be a middle-aged man with no idea of who I am outside of tennis.”
“Okay, so you only sort of know what you want to do with your life.” She nudged him playfully. “So, ditto only a couple of the things I said. Now I feel like you know way more of my secrets than I know of yours. Tell me more of your secrets.”
“Well, I once cheated on a sixth grade math pop quiz. I’ve been stealing bottles of beer out of my dad’s fridge for years, and I think he’s never noticed. Oh, and all of those beers were for my friends, not for me because I hardly ever drink. I’ve never been drunk in my life. I want to get drunk, just once. I tell myself I’m staying sober to keep in shape for tennis, but really, I’m afraid of letting loose and losing control in front of anyone I know. I hate my father more often than not. I fantasize about stealing all his money and running away to live on a private island where Inever have to talk to anybody. And I wish I could do high school over again and be friends with you.”
He dared a look into her big eyes. She looked like she was about to respond, but just as she opened her mouth, a voice rang out from inside the house. “Liana?”
Tori slid open the balcony door. “Oh, here you are, Li-Li!” She climbed onto the balcony and gave James a mock-salute. She looked around for a chair, and then, finding none, sat right on Liana’s lap. “I am waaaaasted, girl! Like, seriously! How many fingers am I holding up?” She held up her hand and wiggled all five fingers. “Seriously, I don’t even know how many fingers.”
“That’s not how it works, Tori,” Liana said, laughing. “You’re supposed to tell me how many fingersIam holding up.”
James slid his solo cup into Tori’s hand. “Drink this,” he said. Liana looked at him in a silent question. “It’s water,” he said, somewhat sheepishly, and he saw her fight to hide her surprise.
“James Alonsooooo,” crooned Tori after a long gulp of water. “You gave me a cup of water and now you are my hero!”
“Okay, girly,” Liana interjected. “Let’s get you into bed.”
“I don’t wanna go to bed. I wanna stay up and party some more! But wait —” she clutched her mouth. “Oh God. I’m gonna puke.” She rushed inside, shouting, “Bathroom!”
Liana stood up, shaking her head. “Sorry about her, James,” she winced. James realized it was the first time Liana had said his name. He had sort of thought that maybe she didn’t know his name. But he liked the way it sounded on her lips.
“It’s okay,” he said. “Go take care of your friend.”
Liana nodded, hearing James’ unspoken addition: “You’re lucky to have a real friend.”
“Well,” Liana said. “Thanks for the company. I guess I’ll never see you again. Have a nice life. Goodbye, stranger.”
James smiled. “Bye, stranger.”
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