“Maybe to mix and match them?”
“It’s a cash grab,” she decided.
“Oh, definitely,” I agreed. As we tried to find colors that went well together in our respective sizes, I decided to check in with her. “So, how are things going with Chris?” We moved over to the clearance rack, finding mostly cover ups and dresses left over from cooler months.
“She’s so amazing.” I could hear the blush in Lilli’s voice. “We love a lot of the same things.”
“Really? She’s so… I don’t know. Masculine? And you’re a real girly girl.”
“It’s okay to say butch, Connie. Chris refers to herself as butch all the time. And yeah, we seem very yin and yang, butshe’s also really into skin care and hair care and accessories. It’s just that her accessories are chains and belts while mine are earrings and purses.”
“You do have an unhealthy purse addiction.”
“They’re very important to any good outfit. Besides, I need space.”
“Pack rat,” I teased.
“Oh! And she’s so dedicated to her health and fitness. We went to the gym this morning, and she’s crazy strong. And she helped me figure out some workout stuff. We ran so hard, for literally three miles. I was like, ‘oh my God, I’m gonna die,’ but it was so worth it.”
“You hate running,” I laughed. “You say it makes your face blotchy, and if you have to run, you’d rather do sprints than distance.”
“Yeah, but it’s good for you; like, no one likes getting vaccines but they’re good for you.”
“Be careful—the anti-vaxxers are going to come after you.”
We laughed, but I had an unsettling feeling in my gut. Lilli liked trying new things, so I shouldn’t be too worried. It wasn’t like she was suddenly going skydiving or anything. There was just something off, like maybe she was trying to change herself to fit into a mold of Chris’s design. Or maybe I was just overthinking it.
We made our purchases and headed back to the hotel. In my high waisted black bikini bottoms and white halter top, I was ready for the pool. I added a wrap dress with a floral white pattern on a burlap sack brown fabric. Lilli looked amazing in her low-cut, lime green one piece. She added a coverup that was some cross between a dress and a poncho.
The pool was crowded, and as I tended to do, I held hands with Lilli until we found Chris and Eric. Eric was in the deep end, shirtless and flipping his hair as he came up out of the water. Chris sat on the edge of the pool, and when she saw us, she waved us over.
“Connie!” Eric hollers. “Come on in.”
“So, I kind of don’t know how to swim,” I admitted.
“I want to lay out on the lounge chairs,” Lilli said. “Come with?” Chris got up and put her hand on the small of Lilli’s back before they moved over to the chairs.
“I thought you were a camp counselor?” Eric said.
“Yeah, but never the lifeguard.”
“You said your favorite part was canoe racing.”
“With a life jacket on!” I stepped into the water, heading to a built-in chair in the deep end. “I’ll be fine right here.”
“You need to take a leap of faith, Connie,” he said. “Trust me. Have I ever let you down?”
“I’ve known you for five days.”
He smirked. “And in those five days, have I let you down?”
“No,” I admitted, “but that’s a small window of time. Pretty sure you need a bigger data set to form a conclusion.”
“Well,” Eric flashed his white teeth at me, “you’ll just have to work with what you’ve got. And right now, you’ve got me.”
I felt the conflict of my anxiety tensing my muscles, his presence relaxing me. My mind scrambled, looking for something to grab on to, and all I found was Eric.
“Guess I have no choice,” I muttered.
