I almost blurt out how did you know before I realize she’s referring to McCarthy, not Jake.
“We were never dating,” I answer with a shrug. “We just hooked up a few times.” I hurry on when I see her opening her mouth. “That was Nate, okay? Relax.”
“Ugh. Say hi to him.” She looks disappointed that she hadn’t stumbled upon a major scoop.
If she only knew.
The other girls come back. Rupi is holding a plastic bowl full of a beige-colored mixture. She quickly teaches everyone how to put it on. “Are you wearing any makeup?” she asks me.
“No.”
Daphne glares at me. “Are you messing with us? You’re really not wearing makeup? Not even concealer?”
“Nope.”
“How does your skin look so good?”
“Genetics?” I offer.
“I hate you,” Daphne says frankly.
Under Rupi’s sharp eye, we all start slathering the weird yogurt concoction on our faces. “How long do we leave it on for?” Summer asks.
“Until it dries. No longer than ten minutes, though.” Rupi flops down on her pillow throne near my feet.
From the armchair, I grin down at her. “So what’s the deal with you and Hollis? Are you together now?”
“Of course we are.” She stares at me like I’m from a different planet. “We were together after our first date.”
“Does he know that?” Summer asks in amusement.
“Of course he does.”
I truly can’t figure out if this girl is delusional or—
Actually, there’s no “or.” I think she might be delusional, period.
“It’s been ages. We’re pretty much an old married couple now.” The freshman beams at me. “That’s why I don’t care about you guys hooking up. You weren’t serious about him, anyway.”
I needle her just because. “Maybe I was…”
“No.” Her confidence is astounding. “He’s not your type.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because he’s a puppy dog.”
“Who’s a puppy dog?” asks a male voice, and then the puppy dog himself bounds into the room. He yelps when he notices our faces. “Why the fuck are your faces covered with glue?”
“Of all the things you could’ve picked, why glue?” Summer asks in exasperation. “Why the hell would it be glue?”
“I don’t know.” He scans the seating situation, as if he actually has a choice about where to sit.
Rupi pats the pillow next to her.
I swallow my laughter.
Hollis lowers his big body onto the floor. Puppy dog, indeed. He’s wearing basketball shorts and a blue T-shirt that brings out the blue of his eyes. The shirt also hugs his impressive muscles, a sight that’s always a bit jarring for me. Mike Hollis is like an obnoxious kid in a hot guy’s body.
He slings an arm around Rupi’s tiny shoulders. “Yo,” he says.
I hide a smile. I swear, he’s so into her.
“See, you’re a puppy dog,” she informs him. “So silly and lovable.”
“I’m not silly and lovable,” he argues.
“Yes, you are.”
“No, I’m not. You can’t compare me to a puppy. You gotta pick something good. Like a stallion.”
“You can’t be a stallion unless you’re super hung,” I crack.
Audrey snorts.
Rupi glances at me in horror. “Brenna! You can’t make disparaging comments about a boy’s penis. It’s damaging to the ego. Just because Mike doesn’t have a stallion penis doesn’t mean—”
“Why are you talking about my dong?” Hollis interrupts. “Which you haven’t even seen, by the way.”
“I’ve touched it,” she says smugly, before patting his knee. “I was just telling everyone that our anniversary is coming up.”
Confusion washes over his face. “We have an anniversary?”
“Yes. Our one-month anniversary.”
“It hasn’t been a month.”
“Well, it’s been almost a month—”
“Two weeks!”
“Twenty days! That’s almost three weeks.” Rupi studies his face. “When is our anniversary, Mike?”
“What?”
I lean back in my chair and enjoy the show.
“When was our first date?” she pushes.
“Why would I know that?”
“Because you were there!” Rupi flies up to her feet and plants both hands on her hips. “You didn’t write down the date? What’s wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you? Who writes down the date of a date?”
“It was our first date. Are you telling me it wasn’t worth remembering?”
Hollis stands too. At six-one, he towers over five-foot Rupi. And yet any bystander can see who really wields the power.
“You showed up here and dragged me to dinner,” he reminds her. “I didn’t even know who the fuck you were.”
“I really wish you wouldn’t curse at me.”
“Well, if wishes were horses we’d all be equestrians.”
“Ha!” Summer lets out a high-pitched laugh.
Daphne looks utterly fascinated. “What on earth does that mean?”
“That’s not a real saying,” I inform him.
“It’s a real saying,” Hollis growls. “My father uses it all the time.”
Summer grins broadly. “Oh my gosh, Mike, your father is as incomprehensible as you are.”
I glance over at her. “Where do you think he learned it from?”
Rupi doesn’t appreciate the digression. She takes an angry step toward him, and now the two of them are in each other’s faces. Hers is covered with that gunk, and his is bright red from frustration.
“I can’t believe you don’t care about our anniversary.” Rupi spins on her heel. “I need to reflect on this,” she declares over her shoulder. A moment later, we hear her stomping up the stairs.
Hollis turns to me and Summer. “Why did you do this to me?” he asks miserably.
“We like her,” Summer announces.
“Of course you do. Of course you fucking do.” He stalks out, too.
There’s a beat of silence.
“Do you think we can wash our faces now?” Daphne asks, grinning.
“Probably?” Audrey answers.
We pile into the hall bathroom where we take turns ridding ourselves of the mask. After I pat my face dry, I can’t deny that my skin feels insanely smooth.
“Rupi said you have to apply moisturizer immediately,” Daphne instructs.
“Lemme grab something.” As Summer disappears, the rest of us admire ourselves in the mirror.
“Oh my gosh, I really do have a pinkish hue,” Daphne raves.
“My skin feels amazing,” Audrey gushes. “We should package and sell this stuff.”
“We can call it Face Glue,” I suggest.
Daphne snickers.
Summer returns with moisturizer, and our skin routine is back in business. Even though they’re all the way upstairs, we can hear Rupi and Hollis yelling at each other. I really wish they’d come downstairs and do it in front of us. It’s such good entertainment.