Page 48 of The Last Special Thing

She smiled and tapped her freshly manicured nails, pink with gold flecks, against the steering wheel.

“Buckle up,” she reminded him as she drove toward the apartment.

Amelia had shoved the salvia trip to the fringes of her mind and was content to forget it ever happened. Her UCLA welcome week activities were finalized, including a tour of the theater and a university housing move-in. She’d spent an hour by the pool, listening to the finches rustling the trees, and letting the sun bronze her skin. She was back to normal and at peace in reality.

Art led them inside, and Amelia did a double-take at Madisson and Reyna at the living room table playing cards.

“Hey?” She quirked an eyebrow as she sat on the couch, placing her nachos down.

“Hey!” Madisson responded.

“Good to see you, Reyna.” Amelia gave a tight smile.

“Did you know Renya’s going to SDSU too?” Madisson asked, her doe eyes shining.

Reyna reached for her hand. “I’m so excited. We found out we’ve been assigned the same building! How lucky is that?”

Amelia looked between them. “Super lucky.” She scraped a tortilla chip against a blob of cheese and crunched into it.

“SDSU is hosting a live art show next week. You totally have to come with me.” Reyna looked at Madisson.

“That sounds like fun. Have you ever been?” Madisson asked Reyna, reaching over for a chip.

A smug smile slid across Reyna’s face. “I modeled in one a few months back.” She settled back on her forearms.

Madisson’s hands covered her mouth, then fell. “Dude! That’s incredible.”

“Didn’t all the dancers do that?” Amelia asked.

Reyna side-eyed her. “Yeah, but not all the dancers were invited to do it a second time.”

Amelia didn’t say anything else. She fingered a jalapeno from the bunch and popped it in her mouth. Madisson caught her eye and raised an eyebrow. Amelia pretended not to notice.

Tapping her fingers against the table, Madisson suggested, “How about we play a game of King’s Cup?”

“Sure,” Amelia said.

“I haven’t played that in forever!” Reyna added.

Probably because she had no friends left.

Madisson called over her shoulder. “Hey, Babe, can you get beers?”

“Sure, Babe.” Max opened the fridge.

Madisson's inviting Reyna over twice in one week was overly generous. Reyna slept with her best friend’s boyfriend. Who's to say she wouldn’t sleep with one of their boyfriends?

The guys in the kitchen worked in tandem, pulling beers from the fridge and stacking them.

On second thought, she couldn’t picture anyone aside from Madisson sleeping with Max, and Art only had eyes for her. Maybe they were safe, but still. She turned her attention back to the girls. Madisson doubled over in laughter at something Reyna said, and Reyna’s head tipped back as she swiped the tears rolling from her eyes.

Maybe she wouldn’t be a boyfriend stealer. Maybe she would be a best friend stealer.

Max approached with an armful of Natty Ice beers and distributed them among the group. When he settled on the floor, Madisson crawled into his lap. Reyna sat in front of the short end of the table.

One by one, they pulled playing cards from the ring around the middle and acted according to the number or face card they drew. They poured some of their beers into the middle whenever one of them pulled a King card.

Madisson pulled a seven.