there was a girl here, too, down the drugstore aisle and her appearance made Tawny all too aware that she had come here with her hair in a struggle bun, wearing an oversized university shirt, shorts and flip flops.
for her, it was an off day.
she didn't allot herself many, so by default, this was her rarest form.
it had already been a week since her date with Jagger, an eventful week with lots of kisses in between "studying" which was really him being his usual flirty, teasing self, and her wanting to rip his clothes off but not because she was too shy to do so.
she loved it.
this morning, Tawny felt the telltale cramps and fatigue and realized she was low on pads, thus the drugstore run. she promised herself she'd be in and out, but was starting to regret the lazy girl outfit choice the closer she walked to the other girl.
and it wasn't necessarily a jealousy thing, she could appreciate her beauty but she wanted to signal to the girl down the aisle that they were one in the same when it came to glam and fashion.
had she been in her usual joie de vivre, she would've befriended her, for now she'd give her a compliment.
"You're so pretty. I love your outfit."
and the girl had turned around with her nose up, looking down on her. she gave her a quick once-over, immediately displeased, immediately dismissive, turned back around and grabbed what she needed and clicked her heels beyond her, not even bothering to look back or respond.
what the fuck?
apparently they were not one in the same in any manner, Tawny guessed, not when she herself had rolled out of bed and was menstruating and had a little period bump on her face and non-prescription glasses. not when the other girl, had a perfect complexion, even and light with that glass effect, light eyes, bombshell curls in her hair, and a black mini dress that fit her like a glove.
if Tawny didn't already look like shit, she sure did feel like it now, her eyes unfocused on the sanitary napkins in front of her, a little stunned, and a little hurt and extremely silent.
"Bitch." she mumbled.
she shook her head to snap out of it, and, albeit stunted, had finally made a decision on the pads. Tawny grabbed the box when she heard a familiar voice,
"No, no, baby, these won't fit. I wasn't joking when I said I needed an XL."
why did she glance that way? why was that mean girl walking back with Evan in tow, making a beeline towards her. she was trying to turn around but hadn't done it fast enough because not a second later, she heard:
"Tawny?"
him, being the drama he was, had stopped completely in his tracks when she faced him, his hands outstretched. "I haven't seen you in a minute!"
he smiled and his grillz beamed.
"Evan. Hey." Tawny replied flatly.
"Bring it in!!!" he hugged her like they were best friends, arms wrapped around her tight, rocking side to side. He took a deep breath. "You always smell so good."
the other girl cleared her throat. "You know her?"
"Of course." He finally pulled away, with this cheesy grin on his face. "We're tight."
"Mm, not really.. acquaintances."
"TT, stop playing." he looked at what she was buying. "Oh, that's where that 'tude is coming from. Auntie Flo came for a visit."
she gave him the finger and he winked at her.
"This is LaLa. LaLa, Tawny."
LaLa gave her a wave though it was more like a swat. "Hey, babe." Her voice was flat.
"Hi..." Tawny replied. "Babe."
LaLa pulled out her phone.
"But anyway." Nav nudged Tawny's shoulder. "Never send a woman to do a man's job, am I right?" He traded the condom boxes. "You're the reason I'm seeing less and less of ole Jag, huh? How's that going for you."
"Great."
"Great?"
"Mhmm. Splendid."
"Splendiiidd. Wooow."
"Yep."
"Then maybe you should get a box of these, too?"
"I could...But condoms are so irritating."
He mouthed, "Raw?" His eyes widened. "I love that for my brother, I really, really do. Oh my god."
"Okay but relax because it hasn't even gotten to that point yet. Now go get some business and stay out of mine, maybe?"
"Leading with mystery, guess I'll just ask him about all the juicy stuff."
"Catch him if you can."
"Oh, I will." He looked her up and down and for some reason, Tawny braced herself. He winked, "Sweatpants, hair tied, chillin with no makeup on. You're so.. what do the girls say, La? Backstage model?"
"Model off-duty." she sighed, disinterested.
"Model off-duty, right! Only, I shouldn't compliment you. You really don't know how to take it."
"I'm not the only one." Tawny said lowly and smiled.
LaLa cleared her throat for the second time. "Can we go now? I'm hungry."
He shrugged. "Duty calls."
"Yes it does. Bye now." Tawny saluted him.
"I'll see you again soon, I'm sure. We could double date. Me, you, Jag and whoever is on my arm that night."
"Very funny." the other girl chimed, all but dragging him away.
"Bye, TT."
leaving the store made her realize how long it was since she had last seen him. had to have been a couple of months...
had he always looked like that? the cute freckles and the big lips? the perfect smile that made his eyes go all slanted if he grinned wide enough? the deepest dimples?
for some reason, she always forgot he was that handsome. she just remembered him as annoying.
yet...
Evan was such a golden retriever when it came to his energy, it was infectious and uplifting, and completely annoying because of those two things but she'd be lying to herself if she didn't admit that seeing him today made her realize there was one subatomic particle inside of her, somewhere deep, like the pea under the stack of mattresses, possibly in her pinky toe that actually, sort of...missed him.
it wasn't crazy.
Jagger and Evan were best friends who acted a lot alike so it made sense.
but she did wonder if he felt that little shock when they hugged too.
YOU ARE READING
GOLDEN MOUTH
Romance"what would you do if a mermaid washed onshore?" his dad would ask. "let her take me away."
