“The speed limit is—”
“Do you take everything literally?”
I glanced down at my shaking hands. They looked pale and small in my lap. “I don’t understand the point of saying something you don’t mean.”
“I don’t understand the point of a lot of things.” She turned up the radio, and we rode the rest of the way home in silence.
WE WAITED FOR GRANDMA to go to bed before we lined the floor with newspapers and cracked open the paint. Naomi rambled on about Scott, the time Kari got lice, and a bad acid trip she had as if she’d completely forgotten the incident at the mall. I got this gnawing pain in my gut every time I looked at the stolen lingerie on my floor.
“You do realize this is a hideous color, right?” Naomi slapped the roller onto the wall, splattering paint across her cheeks. “Oops.”
“It’s a happy color.”
“Says the girl who almost always wears black. I like the smell of paint, though—makes my head all nice and fuzzy.”
“Hey, Drea.” Mom headed down the stairs. She was wearing a fitted black dress and matching heels. “Oh, God.” Her eyes widened at the lime green paint. “Grandma is going to kill us both.”
“I’ll paint it white again when we move out.”
“Damn it, Drea. You should’ve asked me first.” She sighed. “We’ll deal with it tomorrow. I’m going on a second date with that dentist tonight.”
“Ooh,” Naomi said. “Is he hot?”
Mom grinned and crossed her arms over her chest. “Very.”
I wondered if Mom wished I was boy crazy like Naomi. Maybe she’d talk to me more—like, tell me more about the guy in the first place.
“Anyway, make sure you keep the windows open and don’t sleep in here overnight.”
“I’m not a complete idiot.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m sleeping at Naomi’s.”
Mom gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Have fun, sweetie. See you later, Naomi.”
“Bye.” Naomi wiggled her fingers at Mom and slapped the wall with the roller again.
“You’re not supposed to beat the wall with it.”
She blew her purple bangs out of her face. “My arms are getting tired.”
I shook my head and dipped my roller in the pan. The jittery tunes of Imogen Heap’s “Goodnight and Go” wafted in the background. The song put a grin on my face because it reminded me of Justin. I sang along.
Naomi snorted out a laugh. “Okay, Drea, I think you’re a wonderful human being.” She sighed and met my gaze. “But you can’t sing.”
I moved closer to her and sang louder.
“Stop!” She covered her ears. “Get your mind off Justin already, will ya?” She smirked as if she’d read my mind.
I focused back on the wall. “It’s not on him.”
“It
Giggles escaped my throat. “Nooo.”
“You should invite him tonight.”
“He’s got work.”
“At midnight? I highly doubt it. But maybe it’s past his bedtime—he does seem like he’s every mother’s dream.” She laughed and slapped more paint on the wall. “I bet he helps little old ladies cross the street in his spare time.”
“Why do you think that?”
“He just seems a little too nice, you know?”
“I don’t think he’s fake, if that’s what you mean.” Usually people smiled too much or asked pointless questions in a high voice when they were being fake. Justin never did that.
She grinned and flung paint at me. “You’re so hooked.”
I loved moments like this with Naomi. They felt close and warm. If I could put this moment between us in a box, I’d hide it under the bed and take it out whenever I could. And I’d throw out the incident at the mall and Scott. I wished this was enough for her. I wished
We watched
Naomi was laughing at a scene where this guy Cameron didn’t want to leave his dad’s Ferrari at a parking garage in downtown Chicago. He listed all the bad things that could happen to it, which made perfect sense. But his friend Ferris didn’t think it was a big deal, even though they took the car without permission.
“You remind me of Cameron,” Naomi said.
“Why?” I detached Lizzie’s claws from my hair.
