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“You already promised we’re best friends.”
He gives a shrug. “Okay, we’re best friends, but that’sonlybetween us. If my brothers find out I’m best friends with a girl, they’ll clobber me,” he says as he kicks a hard clump of dirt in front of him. “Even worse, they’ll tease me forever.”
“That’s not fair, Tyler.”
“Life’s not fair. Get used to it.”
“Why are you being so mean to me right now?” Tears fill my young eyes.
“I’m older now. I’m ateenager, and my brothers say girls are for one thing only.”
“Huh? What thing is that?”
He looks away from me as if he’s not quite sure how to answer this question. “You know, the kissing and touching kind of thing,” he says, looking as unsure as I feel.
“Why do girls and boys have to do that?” I ask. “It’s stupid and... icky.”
“It’s just what they do, Vivi. See, that’s why we can’t be best friends. You’re too much of a baby.”
“I can kiss!” I insist. “I’m not a baby.”
“Prove it,” he says, and steps closer. What in the world is happening right now? We’re supposed to be climbing trees, not talking about gross stuff.
My heart’s racing a million miles a minute as my best friend, the boy I’ve been inseparable from for five years, is now only a couple of inches away from me and talking about kissing.
“Just do it,” I say. I’m more afraid of losing him than of doing something icky like kissing.
He leans forward and presses his closed lips against mine. Neither of us move; we stand here with our lips touching, our hands at our sides. We don’t have a clue what’s supposed to come next.
He finally takes a step back, and I open my eyes. That wasn’t so bad after all. In fact, I can do it again. He’s my bestie after all. We should do everything together... even kissing.
“See, we can still be friends,” I tell him with a bright smile.
“Thatwasstupid, Vivi. You don’t know how to kiss,” he says with a look I’ve never seen on his face before.
The tears that have been threatening since his mean comment earlier now spill over. “You don’t either, Tyler,” I say with an infuriating sniffle.
“Why don’t you grow up before you come around again, little girl?” Who is this boy who’s been my best friend forever? I don’t like him very much right now. I don’t like the way he’s talking to me.
“Fine. I don’t want to be your best friend anyway. I don’t even want to be regular friends. You’re a big jerk,” I tell him before turning and stumbling several steps away. “Andyou’rethe one who needs to grow up.” I take off running, refusing to analyze whether I was shouting or wailing when I said these last few words.
“Good riddance,” Tyler calls after me, making my heart break even more.
Boys are nothing but trouble. Unfortunately I’m going to learn this lesson over and over and over and over again as the years continue. If only I could stay this young and innocent forever. This is my first heartbreak . . .
ChapterOne
Olivia
Age 19
My boss isn’t going to be happy with me. I’m about to lose my job, but I have a point to prove: I’m not a piece of meat. I have a respectable quantity of gray matter in my head.
Yes, I need money, but after working at this gentleman’s club for the past six months, I realize the tips aren’t worth the harassment. I’ll make a lot less at any other waitressing job, but my pride’s worth more than the few extra dollars I can make by exposing my assets in a uniform that’s far too tight and skimpy.
Men don’t normally look at me, and they certainly don’t lust after me — not unless I’m dressed the way the club wants me to dress. I’m taller than the average woman, standing at five foot eight, and even at age nineteen, I haven’t grown into my body. Sadly, at least in my humble opinion, I appear more gangly than womanly. The tomboy curse has apparently pursued me long past puberty.
Looking in the mirror, I push back my long dark hair before gathering it up into a severe knot on top of my head. I actually like my hair, one of the few things I do like about myself.
