Part 23 (1/2)
sixteenthings.indd 147 9/9/13 2:21 PM.
J a n e t G u r t l e r ”Ugh,” she says. ”I didn't realize we were staying at a prison.” She disappears out of the room.
”Too much?” I ask Adam.
”She'll survive. She may be a little pampered, but I sense she's very adaptable,” he says.
I laugh again and take out my phone, realizing I've hardly had it out in the last few hours- and surprisingly, I didn't miss it. I snap a few photos of the room to post to Twitter later. I point the camera at Adam next. Instead of striking a muscle pose or something, he stares back at me, his face serious.
”Hey, Morgan,” he says softly.
Gooseb.u.mps travel up my arm, and I lower the camera.
”That was not the guy you were supposed to marry,” he whispers.
The blush starts at my toes and swoops quickly all the way up.
Amy walks back in the room then, her eyes on us. She narrows them and puts her hands on her tiny hips. ”What're you two up to?”
”Nothing,” Adam says, yanking his gym bag off the top bunk.
”Want to go for a walk? Check out downtown?” He tosses the bag on the floor with a thunk. ”You guys hungry?”
”Not even a little,” Amy says. ”I have enough Cheezie calories to keep me fueled the whole weekend.” She plunks her little b.u.t.t on the bunk she's sleeping on.
”Yeah,” I agree. ”I'm full of junk food too.” Deep breath.
”Plus, you know...I should figure out what I'm going to do.
About my dad.” I grin but hold it in place for about one second before it disappears.
”Yeah. What's the plan? You haven't said,” Amy says.
148.
sixteenthings.indd 148 9/9/13 2:21 PM.
1 6 t h i n g s i t h o u g h t w e r e t r u e ”I have an address.” I sit on my bed and search my backpack for my ChapStick. ”For the dad guy.” I try to laugh, but it comes out flat and fake, and neither one of them even smiles.
”So what's the plan?” Adam asks and sits down beside me. My legs stiffen.
”Well, I thought I'd do it tomorrow. At his home. Show up.”
I rub my lips with ChapStick and press them together, trying to ignore Adam's thighs.
Amy stands, takes a step across the floor, and sits on the bed on my other side. And then she reaches out her arms and hugs me so tightly I can barely breathe. My hands stay down at my side. When she pushes me away, she stares into my face, her nose inches from mine. ”I totally understand why you're such an emotional mess,”
she says. ”It even explains some of your exhibitionism.”
The earnest expression on her face breaks some of my tension, and I giggle. ”I know. Right?”
Adam laughs too. ”Amy, you're growing on me.”
She leans across me to smile at him. ”I am? Really?”
”You are.”
”Well”- she leans back- ”I don't have a crush on you anymore, just so you know.”
”My loss,” he says.
She grins. ”Plus, you know, you do have a girlfriend, even if you are afraid to see her in person.”
”I'm not afraid.” But he develops a sudden interest in his sneakers and bends over to re- tie laces that look perfectly tied to me.
”No? Well, you don't seem excited. Maybe you like the idea of a 149 sixteenthings.indd 149 9/9/13 2:21 PM.
J a n e t G u r t l e r girlfriend? That's what my dad says to me. That I like the idea of a boyfriend but I don't want the emotional implications.”
”You mean, like s.e.x,” Adam says and then pulls in his chin and ducks to avoid smas.h.i.+ng the top bunk with his forehead as he stands.
”s.e.x is physical. Not emotional,” Amy tells him.
”Yeah. Keep telling yourself that.” He walks over to the window and looks out. ”You'll find out.”
”How do you know I haven't had s.e.x? Maybe I'm a closet nympho who happens to look young.”
”Amy.” I untangle myself from the bed and stand, holding out my hand to her. ”You don't have to pretend to be all jaded just because you look young.”
She narrows her eyes at both of us, ignores my hand, and flops on her back, staring up at the top bunk. ”Whatever. I'm so a virgin.”
”I'm shocked,” Adam says. My evil glare is directed his way, and he shuts his mouth.
Amy sits up and hugs her knees in a yoga- like movement. ”You need to do it. Tonight. Do it now.”
”I'm not a virgin,” I say, wondering if she's trying to foist me off on Adam.
She bats her eyelids slowly and claps very slowly. ”I'm happy for you. But. I was talking about going to see your dad tonight.”
”Oh.” I pretend to laugh, but it sounds like a baby's cry.
She crosses her legs and ticks off a finger. ”You're not hungry.”
She ticks off another finger. ”And you're not in Victoria to sight- see.” She scrambles off the bottom bunk and grabs her bag. ”You're not going to relax until you do this.”
150.
sixteenthings.indd 150 9/9/13 2:21 PM.
1 6 t h i n g s i t h o u g h t w e r e t r u e ”What? Now? No. Not now.”