The Blind Date Agreement

Fourteen (part 2)

It's a good thing Emi was here, because I wouldn't have remembered the entire drive to the cliff by memory. The last few turns I needed her direction, and now we're pulling into the little dirt road with room for only one car, where the overgrown tree branches slaps at my beautiful car. Like last time, I wince every time I hear a scrape against the paint or a rock dinging against the car. I reduce my speed drastically.

Emi lowers the music's volume and twists in her seat to face me. "I think my throat is sore purely from the singing."

I laugh, my throat also feeling raw from singing over the car's stereo. "Me too." I pause a moment, letting myself be vulnerable. "I missed this."

"Me too." A mischievous smile lights her face as a Def Leppard song starts playing. "Remember when Kalani got her license and we spilled two full iced capps in the back of her brand new Audi when this song came on?"

I can't help but join in her merriment. "Yes! She was so pissed but she couldn't stop herself from belting out the chorus when it came on. But how could she not? Pour Some Sugar On Me is a song you have to sing to, even if you don't like rock classics like Kalani."

The clearing comes into view and I park near some other cars. I recognize Jay's a few spots over.

We step out, and Emi meets my eyes over the car's roof. "God, when did we stop doing that? Having nights where we just drive around pointlessly with the windows down and the music loud?"

When Kalani started dating Emmett.

It's on the tip of my tongue, but I just can't say it. Instead I say, "I miss it. I miss girl time."

Emi gives a small, sad smile. "Me too."

Maybe Emi gets it. Maybe I should say something. This would be my chance. We're alone and reminiscing and now is when I should say that we should have more days like this, just me and her and Kalani hanging out and goofing off, at least before we start school in September.

Just as I take a breath to gather the courage, a deep voice calls out, "Oakwoods?"

I turn to find Caleb, standing at Jay's car, with a bag full of drinks dangling from his hands. "What are you doing here?"

Emi and I shut our car doors and we close the distance between us and Caleb. He gives us a once over.

"I'm here for Jay," I say with as much confidence as I can. I brace myself for him to tell me off, to tell me Jay doesn't want to talk to me after I was so rude to him, to tell me I wasn't invited here, to call me Pukey McBarfface or some other mean name going around about me.

But he doesn't.

Caleb raises an eyebrow and says, "Well come on then. At least you're dressed appropriately this time." He pauses and eyes Emi, who's wearing designer black leather shorts, a black bodysuit with at least six chunky silver necklaces of varying lengths, and ankle high platform boots. "Or, at least one of you is. What is it with you Oakwoods kids? Only one of you at a time is allowed to wear a swimsuit or something?"

"Yup, they make us sign a contract and everything," Emi grins, lightly shoving Caleb as we walk through the trail to the opening. "We're also not allowed to stir our drinks counterclockwise, talk to caterpillars, or wear the color yellow on days containing the letter 'e'."

Caleb rolls his eyes but his lip pulls up at the corner just as we exit the tree line. Jasmine and Maddie are sitting on a log, talking to Ralph, who surprise surprise, is wearing his t-shirt unbuttoned with a pattern straight from an 80's bowling alley floor carpet. However, this time I think the look suits him. Maybe his weird pattern choices are growing on me, because the Carina from a few weeks ago would've wished he'd throw that shirt over the cliff and never retrieve it.