Читать книгу Souvenir - Therese Fowler - Страница 17

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When Kyle called her Saturday night, Savannah pretended to be busy with family – her dad’s birthday gathering, she lied. Rachel had taught her by example how to string a guy along at first, to get him more interested. ‘But, thanks for calling! Sorry I can only talk for like ten minutes,’ she said.

‘Nah, that’s cool. Nice that they still like having you around.’

‘Yeah,’ she said, wishing they truly did. This morning it seemed like her mom wanted anything but her company, and her dad spent the whole drive to Rachel’s on the phone. ‘So what are you doing?’

‘Thinkin’ of you.’

‘Seriously,’ she said, turning on her stereo, low, so he’d hear background noise.

‘Way seriously. I think about you all the time. I feel like we … you know, like maybe we belong together.’ He laughed. ‘You think I’m a dork, right? But it’s just … you have this amazing effect on me. I can’t wait to see you in person.’

She tried not to give away how flattered she was, though from the sound of it, he didn’t need more stringing along. From the sound of it, he was hooked. What a relief; she wasn’t good at all the boy–girl game-playing that came so naturally to other girls.

‘Yeah, well, I’m really looking forward to seeing you, too,’ she said. ‘Where should I get a room?’

They talked about hotels, and then he asked if she was getting a rental car from the airport.

‘Oh – well … do I have to? Because, um, it’s kind of a hassle driving in Miami, right?’ Especially without a license to allow a person to rent a car in the first place.

‘True,’ Kyle said. ‘I usually let one of my brothers do the driving. So whatever – we can pick you up.’

‘Or there might be a shuttle.’

‘Or you can, you know, bunk with us at my brother’s place, right? If you wanted to save some bucks, I mean.’

‘I can afford a hotel,’ she said. She knew enough to not plan to stay in an unfamiliar city with someone she’d met over the Internet, no matter how great he seemed so far. ‘Thanks, though.’

She asked him about his brothers (he had two, both older and both ‘making the parents proud’), and then they talked about what sorts of things they could do in Miami, including topless tanning, if that was her thing. Not that he was expecting it, not at all. And no, it wasn’t exactly legal. But girls did it. ‘If something like that appeals,’ he said, ‘well, you’re so gorgeous you could fit right in with the other babes on the beach.’

Gorgeous. No one ever called her gorgeous before.

She was savoring the compliment when Kyle said, ‘So, I want to make sure you really do have the bucks for the trip.’

‘Yeah, definitely,’ she assured him, wanting to sound independent, mature. ‘I’ve got tons of money in savings –’ cause my parents, they’re paying for school.’ This wasn’t a lie, they were paying for her private high school. And they’d be paying for college when the time came. ‘So yeah, money’s no trouble. What about you? If you needed, I could help you out.’

‘What, me? Hey, no, I’m good.’

‘Are you sure?’ she asked. He sounded like he was trying to cover.

‘I don’t want to take your money. Anyway, I’ll be bunking with my brothers and all, so it’s cheap for me.’

‘Okay. But I’m definitely paying for my own food and stuff.’

He laughed. ‘One of those liberated girls, right? Hey, I’m good with that. I admire independence – which is why I’m not taking money from my parents anymore.’ He and his parents didn’t quite see things the same way, he said, and so he’d broken ties with them. ‘Good that you didn’t have to go to that extreme.’

Savannah was impressed by his strength of conviction. She said, ‘So far. My parents don’t really get me either, though, you know? Luckily, if things get bad there’s always my trust fund to live off of.’ Part of her dad’s obsessive financial-planning strategy, not accessible until she was eighteen – but of course she didn’t say that part.

‘That is lucky,’ Kyle agreed.

They talked a minute or two longer, during which he told her again how he couldn’t wait to see her, and how he already felt like they were so right for each other. ‘I’ve never felt this way about a girl so soon, you know?’

‘Never?’ she asked, skeptical but wanting to believe.

He said, ‘Trust me, you aren’t like everybody else. You’re special, and I dig that, I see it – bet every other guy does, too.’

When she got off the phone she was glowing – she went to her mirror and checked.