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“Yeah, it was really good gum, actually,” I defended.
“You’re such a dork. But I love that about you.” Mila leaned over and kissed my cheek.
I didn’t want her to do that in front of Gemma, actually, I didn’t want her to do that at all. Fuck if I just didn’t think that, and the guilt it caused. It wasn’t like I couldn’t have invited her, her apartment was practically unlivable, at least until the plumbing was fixed. I smiled and forced a laugh.
“I justreallywanted this one gold Spider-Man card, but never got lucky enough to get it.”
“Oh, agoldSpider-Man?” Mila chimed in, “Of course. I could understand that. I always wanted gold trophies as a child, so a gold card sounds pretty on par.”
“Trophies?” I asked.
“Yes. I used to do pageants growing up.”
“I’m really not surprised,” I joked.
“Good. You shouldn’t be. You’re in the presence ofLittle Miss Manhattan 2014.” She sarcastically raised her nose into the air. She was being playful, but Gemma was quick to interrupt.
“I don’t think he’s a dork,” she snapped back.
“Excuse me?” Mila cleared her throat, feigning interest while looking down at the shuffled music that played on my phone.
“It wasn’tdorkywhen Parker collected cards. It was fun and something we did together, and it had meaning. Parker was obsessed with superheroes, he always wanted to be one, he always wanted to do what was right.”
Gemma’s sweet words were an unintentional stab in my gut. I wasn’t a hero, I was a coward, and at minimum a complete fucking idiot that didn’t deserve another moment of either of the girl’s time. I chewed my tongue to distract from how warm her comment made me.
“He will be a hero, once he takes me up to Montauk during this trip. Isn’t that right, Parky?” Mila smiled to herself.
“Is that where you want to go?” I asked, confused by the plans we never discussed, and the newfound nickname I immediately despised.
“Yes! On a date night. Oh, we can eat oysters again,” she replied. I was at my tipping point, and it took everything in me to restrain a simple frown.
“That sounds good,” I kept my composure.
“And what do you want to do on your vacation here, Gemma?” Mila asked, her question a not-so-subtle attempt to single her out.
“Relax, I think…” Gemma reached for another peach gummy ring. I clenched the steering wheel harder. “Actually, I think I’ll go running while I’m here. The scenery is just too nice to pass up.”
“Running?” I couldn’t conceal my excitement. “That sounds great, Gem. I’ll definitely join you.”
“In the morning?” she asked, leaning between Mila and me, crossing the leather armrest that made Mila roll her eyes. “Sounds perfect.”
“You guys run?” Mila asked, more surprised than not.
“Parker was the captain of Columbia’s track team,” Gemma said flatly.
“I didn’t know…”
“Gemma and I used to run everywhere out in Bushwick, this was way before I could afford my own bike,” I responded, but my answer only confused Mila more.
“I forgot you were from there. It all seems so weird. You’re a kid from Bushwick, yet you have a house in the Hamptons. I mean, your family was rich enough to send you to Columbia, yet you had to deliver papers for money?” Mila snorted.
“Parker paid for school,” Gemma cut in again, answering as if my life were a series of Jeopardy questions. “Well, his track scholarship paid for it.”
“You got a scholarship?” Mila almost shouted.
“Like I said, anything I had was because I worked for it. I’m not joking when I say Gemma and I ran everywhere. She was essentially why I became so good.”
“Don’t tease,” Gemma playfully slapped my arm, her peach-flavored lips close enough to smell. Mila appeared to not care for the gesture, her face less than impressed.
