Girls Who Play Guitars

•as the world is tips and slides away•

Kim ushered the rest of the milling crowd out the door and closed the door and Ellie let all the air inside her out and fell back into the couch cushions, flowers clutched to her chest.

"You wanna put those in water?" Kim stated, going to the mirror.

"Something's happened," Ellie whispered into the aromatic bouquet.

Kim turned, put her hands on her hips. Her lilac hair hung in two long plaits on either side of her face and her makeup was full glitter-bomb across her eyelids and eyebrows. "What did Brenin say?"

Ellie had forgotten about Brenin. She lifted her gaze to Kim. "He's here."

"I know. I saw you talking to him." Kim turned back to the mirror and grabbed for her lip gloss. Judging from Kim's attire, Ellie figured they would be going to the after-party. "What did he say?"

"Not Brenin," Ellie breathed. "Kombi Van Man."

Kim's shoulders stiffened. She turned around.

"He's here, Kim," Ellie muttered. "He's Coral's friend. He ... he ... "

"That was Kombi Van Man? The Kombi Van Man? Mr. 'Green'?" Kim dropped into the swivel chair and reached for her beer that she'd left on the dressing table. "That guy?"

Ellie nodded.

"That's the dude who popped your cherry and buggered off up north without even saying goodbye?"

"How do you know ... "

"Come on, Ellie. I'm not stupid," Kim said before swigging at her beer. "I hear what you're singing in our songs. I saw you go off with him at your party like you were totally Miranda from Picnic at Hanging Rock. We didn't see you the whole weekend, remember? We were gonna call the cops, but his van stayed at the beach so it was okay. We had the number plate—"

"You guys knew? This entire time?"

Kim let out a snort. "Dead set we did. How could we not? You shut up shop and moped for weeks; refused to talk about it—"

Ellie groaned, dropping the bouquet onto the couch beside her, the cellophane crunching as she did.

"But Ellie," Kim said, her voice flat as she tapped her fingernails on the side of her beer bottle, "think about it. This dickwad has the balls to show up after all this time?"

Ellie pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes.

"Please don't say you want him to paddle you off into the sunset on his surfboard."

Ellie took a long breath in. "He ... I ... " Ellie didn't know what she wanted, especially when she thought about what Daniel had said earlier. Especially when she thought about his perfectly pouty lips on hers. And she wasn't sure Ash was still the surfing type. He looked more like he might enjoy catching sales targets more than catching a bomb.

But that didn't matter.

He was here.

Kim raised a glittery eyebrow. "Why is he here, Ellie?"

"I mean he told me he was headed north last time I saw him—"

Kim looked at the dirty ceiling, then dropped her stare back at Ellie. "No, Ellie. Why is he here?"

Ellie picked at the yellow ribbon holding the flower stems together.

"This isn't high school." Kim sounded business-like; matter-of-fact and Ellie's skin prickled. "This is our lives. Don't drop the ball for some dick in a wetsuit—"