“I’d be lying if I didn’t say I wasn’t a little bit pleased to hear that.”
I nodded.
“So, uh, how have you been doing lately?” he asked with pity in his voice.
“Come on, Jonah, don’t do that.”
“What!? We’re just worried about you is all.” When Jonah used the word “we,” it drove me nuts. Not because it was him and Bridge. Well, maybe it was a little bit because of that, but mostly it was because “we’s” meant two people, and I very much felt like one person. “You’re not acting yourself and it’s starting to freak us out.”
I exhaled through my nose. “At the McAllen auction I told her I didn’t want to be her backup. I told her I wanted all of her or nothing.”
Jonah swallowed. “And she didn’t…”
“Are we together?” I shouted.
“Right, well, I’m sorry.”
I tapped the steering wheel in frustration. “Yeah, me too.”
The truth is, Bridge and I could have left Hunt Ranch if we’d wanted to, but she liked being there, and then there was the whole Jonah thing. Plus, the Hunts, well, all the Hunts except for Cricket, thought we didn’t have money, and even then, Cricket didn’t know exactly how much we really did have. I could have left almost immediately after my dad found out we were there, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave a life where I could see Cricket every day. Even if it did mean it was torture.
The campsite was at Hungry Horse Reservoir and was teeming with people; some had already pitched their tents and had fires going. I pulled in next to a few trucks and we unloaded the bed, deciding to set up our tents nearest to the water. When we were done, we gazed out into the reservoir.
“Jonah!” someone yelled from behind us making us twist around.
“Hi, Finley,” he said, cheerfully.
Finley was a pretty girl, tall, around five foot eight. She had a sort of bronze complexion, even her hair was a rusty color. She gave Jonah a side hug.
“Fin, this is Spencer. Spencer, Finley.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said, offering my hand.
“A pleasure,” she said, with a sweet smile, taking my hand.
That’s when I noticed someone was playing some old school Our Lady Peace. I loved Our Lady Peace. My gaze traveled around the campsite to find the source. Cricket was rocking out to “Automatic Flowers,” one foot perched on the bench of a picnic table and she was nerdily playing air guitar while singing at the top of her lungs. Four other girls about her age were singing along with her. Oh my God, why do you have to be so freaking amazing?
She was wearing worn cutoffs mid-thigh and shin-length combats with the tops unlaced and a baggy t-shirt. Her hair was bone straight and the edges looked razor fringed. She was so unbelievably sexy and obviously not trying at all.
“...around here?” I heard to my left.
My head whipped Finley’s direction. “I’m sorry?”
“I was asking why I hadn’t seen you around here before.”
“Oh,” I said, trying not to focus on Cricket. “I’ve been busy on the Hunt Ranch.”
“Are you one of their hands?” she asked.
“You could say that,” I said, feeling sort of proud to wear the badge.
“Cool.”
“Um, are you from this area?”
“Yup, born and raised,” she answered.
“Finley and I were classmates,” Jonah added. “She was in Cricket and Ethan’s class.”
The mention of their names together made me want to jump in the reservoir and sink to the bottom. “Nifty.”
Finley laughed. “Yeah, nifty.”
I eyed her sarcastically.
“Ethan and I got along great,” she said, “but Cricket hated my guts.”
“Not this again,” Jonah laughed, sitting down on a nearby rock.
“What?” I asked.
“Finley had, uh, well…”
“I had a crush on Ethan in high school,” she admitted.
“Oh,” I caught on.
“Anyway, so Cricket considered me her arch nemesis.”
“She really didn’t, Fin,” Jonah corrected her.
“I know when a girl doesn’t like me,” she said, tucking her hands in the front pockets of her jeans.
Jonah shook his head.
“I know Cricket pretty well,” I said, “and I seriously doubt she’s ever hated anyone ever.”
She nodded. “You’re right. ‘Hate’ is a strong word. Let’s just say, she wasn’t a fan,” she laughed.
We all looked over at Cricket and the group of girls. “Who are they?” I asked.
“Those are a couple girls from our class,” Finley answered.
“Those five girls were the biggest troublemakers in our high school,” Jonah said, shifting a foot onto the rock and resting his arm on his knee.
“Like how?” I asked, curious.
“Besides the random times they broke the law, they broke so many hearts in the halls of our school, I was surprised the walls didn’t melt.”
“That’s hilarious,” I said.
“Fin used to hang with them a lot too.”
“Sometimes,” she said.
“Come now, Fin, you’ve broken more than your fair share of hearts.”
“Not really,” she said, staring at Ethan.
Huh.
Finley brightened all of a sudden. “You guys going swimming later?” she asked.
“Swimming?” I asked, aghast. “In this weather?”
Jonah laughed. “There are a few hot springs nearby. We like to chill in there and throw back a few.”
“Wow, hadn’t expected that little bonus. The only shorts I brought are cargo shorts.”
“You’ll be fine,” Finley said. “Trust me.”
After dinner, everyone got their suits on and I put on my cargo shorts and we headed up to the springs with a cooler and a radio. I couldn’t believe how rad it was that they had hot springs in Montana. I joined everyone a little late, and most were already in the springs, which made it all the more embarrassing because when I came strolling up with my towel, all the girls came to the edge of the pool to say hello.
“Spencer! Over here!” Finley said, leaning over the edge a little and waving me over.
My eyes searched the pools for Cricket, but I couldn’t find her in the crowd of thirty or so. I walked over to where Finley was and set my stuff down on the rocky edge of the spring pool.
“These are some friends of mine,” she said, gesturing to the gaggle of girls lining the pool with her. “They’ve expressed a desire to meet you,” she said, winking and smiling.
I shook my head a little. “Nice to meet you all,” I said, waving.
“This is Sarah,” Finley began at the far left.
I bent down and shook Sarah’s hand.
“Ava, Grace, Faith, Clementine, and Eliza.”
I shook each hand in turn.
“Very nice to meet you all.”
They all floated in silence as if waiting on something when it dawned on me that they were waiting for me to get in. I pulled off my shirt and tossed it with my towel. When I turned around their mouths were agape.
“What?” I asked.
“N-nothing,” Finley said, her eyes wide.
I got in with them and they situated me in the center of their line, then fanned around me. They asked me question after question about life in L.A., if I was going to stay in Montana, etc.
“I can’t stay,” I told them.
“Why not?” Finley said.
“I just-I can’t stay.”
“Oh,” Finley said, “you hate us,” she teased.
“No!” I insisted. “I think Montana is one of the best places on Earth and I’ve been all around the world. The people here are so amazing. It’s just that I, uh, need to finish school,” I lied.
“Maybe you could come back afterward,” Ava offered.
“Probably not,” I said.
“You got a girl back home or something?” Faith asked.
“No, not at all. I could never date any other type of girl than a Montana girl,” I charmed. “They will leave a lasting impression on me,” I laid on thickly.
They all aww’ed which made me laugh.
“So it’s settled then,” Eliza ribbed. “Spencer will have to come back to Montana.”
“Yes,” they all chimed in, clapping their hands and being very girly.
God, I’ve missed girls, I thought. Maybe that’s all you need is a little feminine attention to help you get over Cricket.
Just then Cricket walked toward our pool and I almost sank completely into the hot spring muttering “hummina-hummina-hummina.”
“Here comes Cricket,” Faith said, waving her over.
Cricket smiled and made her way straight for our pool. She wore a vintage forties cherry red one-piece that tied in a bow at the br**sts. Her hair was up in a scarf and tied jauntily just below the crown. I wanted to die. How in the hell can this girl rock a one-piece better than any string I’ve ever seen in L.A.? When she saw me, her face fell and there was a slight hitch in her step but no one but myself noticed. Her smile picked back up and she stood at the outline of the pool.
“Hello, ladies!”
They all blasted her with cheery hellos while I could only stare at her.
“Come in!” Faith said to her.
“Oh, no, that’s okay,” she said, looking at me. “It looks like you guys got a good thing going here. I’m just running back to the site for a few more drinks.”
She turned and waved goodbye before they even had a chance to reply.
“See what I mean?” Finley asked, startling me.
“Huh?”
“She hates me,” she explained.
“Oh, I’m most definitely sure that wasn’t because of you, Finley.”
“Yes, it was.”
“No,” I held, “it was because of me.”
Finley furrowed her brows. “Why?”
Everyone broke off into private conversations by then so I proceeded to tell her everything I felt for Cricket, how badly I had fallen for her and how she rejected me.
Finley laid a hand on my shoulder briefly. “I know what that feels like,” she said, smiling at me in understanding.
I squeezed her hand in camaraderie. “Thanks.”
Her hand fell back into the water and we sat there in silence. “Do you still like Ethan?”
“Uh, yeah, I guess I never really got over him. Is that pathetic?” she asked.
“No, I don’t think so. Actually, I was sort of in love with a girl in high school. Her name was Sophie. She was incredible,” I said, thinking back on her.
“What was she like?”
“She had the most awful personality you’ve ever known,” I said, laughing.
Finley looked at me like I was crazy.
“But she was so hot,” I explained. Finley creased her brows in disgust. “Hear me out,” I said. “I used to be totally shallow about shit like that, and Sophie was the ultimate prize. She was beautiful, like, supermodel beautiful.”