Dave laughed and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’m sorry about what I said, too. Every time I think about it I feel sick. Things were heated. I didn’t mean it.”
“Water under the proverbial bridge,” Julia said, feeling that peculiar urge to poke him. But when her finger touched his stomach, it didn’t just pull away like it always did. It lingered there as if it had its own agenda, and Julia had to take a step backward to keep from making the moment awkward. What the hell was going on with her? “I’m going to try to get to know Gretchen better,” she said. “With the exception of your gross underappreciation for a certain faculty member at this school, you’re the best judge of character I know. If you say she’s cool, she’s cool.”
“Thanks, Julia,” he said, smiling sheepishly like he was wont to do.
“No worries.” The hallway was quieter now, just a few stragglers shutting their lockers and rushing to class, the sound of their sneakers slapping against the linoleum floor. Teachers reached to shut their doors so latecomers couldn’t sneak in. “I gotta get going or else Ms. T is gonna smack me around for being late. See ya!” Julia said, forcing cheerfulness.
They parted ways with a smile and Julia took a seat in class, happy that the tension had been put to rest so easily. That she was having strange thoughts and buzzing at his touch could be chalked up to it still being so early in the morning. Cringing when she thought of Gretchen, that was just because of what she knew about Gretchen, nothing to do with Dave liking her. Maybe the buzzing was just relief that everything was still right between Julia and Dave, relief that her ominous recollection of their fight had been a case of overworrying. This was all normal.
CUE THE MONTAGE
JULIA HAD BEEN the one to suggest the three of them hang out together. She wanted to see in Gretchen whatever it was Dave saw in her. She really did, even if she had her doubts about it.
Julia parked her car at Morro Bay, running late as usual. She stepped out of her car, avoiding a beer bottle that lay shattered nearby. When Dave’s bench came into view, it was strange to see a second body on it next to his. Julia had always loved this moment, the slow, watchful approach before Dave saw her.
Now there was a head of blond waves next to him, and Julia could hear them laughing. The sound actually slowed her down. She felt like she was about to interrupt, which was bullshit. This was Julia’s bench to share with Dave. If anyone should feel like she was interrupting, it was Gretchen.
This was not normal. Gretchen being there, and Julia’s reaction to it.
She took a breath, forced herself to move at a normal speed, to approach casually. “Hi, guys,” she called out, waving.
“Hi,” Dave said. “You guys know each other, right?”
“Yeah, of course,” Gretchen said, waving her hand once across her body, “we had world history together last year.”
“And we have a standing appointment every Tuesday to talk about you behind your back,” Julia said. “Nothing too judgmental. Just what color you should dye your hair, how you’re super conceited for running for prom king. That kind of thing.”
“Oh my God, teach me to keep a straight face like you do,” Gretchen said. “That was so good. You didn’t even flinch.”
Julia smiled and went to Dave’s side of the bench, scooting him toward the middle, feeling bittersweet that he’d be closer to both her and Gretchen. “Sorry I’m late. What’d I miss?”
“Well, Dave was telling me he’s never mall-ratted before, and I was having trouble believing him.”
“Mall-ratting? That’s a thing? I thought that was a made-up term from that nineties movie.”
“Apparently it exists,” Dave says. “People go to the mall. To hang out. For hours.”
“Surely, you mean they go to indulge in the great tradition of consumerism before returning home to enjoy their recently purchased products,” Julia said.
“No. Just...to spend time at the mall.”