Mark My Words

60 | Party Favors

"I'm worried about Ray," Rosalie confessed to Sami that Sunday over a mug of hot apple cider. Tante Bee made an excellent homemade cider, and as Rosalie stirred it with a cinnamon stick, Sami sat on the far edge of his bed, legs crossed, a paint brush in hand.

Sami laid a thick stroke of acrylic paint onto the canvas sitting on his easel. He hummed in acknowledgement, head tipping to the side. "She seemed happy in Delaware," he said.

"I know, but... she doesn't smile all that much, but she was so smiley in Delaware. I think she just didn't want us to know she was hurting."

"Over Lennie? Yeah right," he scoffed.

Rosalie pushed her cheek against her knee as she muttered a pitiful, "I guess..."

Sami twisted around to look at her, and groaned at the sight of her sad-looking form. He took a sip from his mug before setting his cider aside. He twirled his paint brush in a jar of water. "I suppose there's the chance that Ray's torn up about the guy, but this is Pittmen we're talking about. Not exactly the catch of the day—I'm talking about his personality. Physically, he is quite the specimen..."

"Your point," Rosalie grumbled.

"Ray's just gotta find a new hottie. Take Mark, for example."

"Does Mark even like Ray?"

"Mark likes everybody," Sami said, as though it was common knowledge. Rosalie had to admit, Mark was a delightful guy. She was certain she never once saw him in a bad mood. He was rational, sweet... a little like Ray, in that aspect. Though, Ray was aggressive, and Rosalie couldn't picture Mark arguing with her. She couldn't date a guy who didn't have an argumentative backbone.

"What about Dylan?" Rosalie offered.

Initially, Sami snorted at the idea, but then they both got to thinking about it. Dylan would certainly be competition for Ray. Rosalie could picture them as gym buddies, but perhaps... not romantic buddies.

"He's too much of a knucklehead," Sami said.

"Yeah, you're right. Michael Lancaster's also a bit of a knucklehead," Rosalie sighed, scratching at her hair. Michael, the idiot who scraped his arms up on the pavement catching a goose, was hilarious but dimwitted. Ray would definitely be looking for humor in whatever guy she dated, so in that aspect, Michael was still in the running.

"I guess we wouldn't know unless we set up some speed-dating shenanigans," Sami said.

"They'd probably go for it," Rosalie said. She brought her mug to her lips and asked, "Do you know of any Adam kids who would date Ray?"

"Absolutely," he said. He dragged the bristles of his brush over the curve of Ray's neck on the canvas, defining the highlight on her skin. He had the photographed portrait pinned on the wall, and he looked at it as he said, "I would definitely be down for hosting a meat-fest in Ray's honor."

"Please don't call it that," Rosalie said. "And maybe she is into girls. We should invite some girls, too."

"Ray isn't vegetarian, hunny."

"You realize there's vegan meat, right?" Rosalie said.

Sami turned around to stare at her. Rosalie lifted her eyebrows at him, and he put a hand to his heart and whispered, "Rosie."

Since Sami would be little help with enlisting girls of Ray's type, Rosalie decided to go to Joanna, but not before doing research. She spent Monday scanning the rows of desks in her classes and penning a list of people she thought were appropriate for Ray. In English class, she met Juliana early to ask for opinions.