The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle Read Free Book Online

them.
    Wren was pretty sure Tessa would be kissing P.G. before
    the end of the day. It was clear Tessa liked him, and Wren
    realized that she liked him, too. Liked him and trusted him, despite her initial reservations.
    She tried to pinpoint when her opinion of him had
    flipped. She’d been impressed with his gun-safety training,
    but the real turning point had been at the shooting range,
    when he put his hand on Tessa’s back to steady her. There’d
    been protectiveness in that gesture that went beyond his
    everyday slickness.
    Now, at the restaurant, P.G. slipped back into his macho,

    stud-boy persona, but it didn’t bother Wren the way it
    used to. The day was warm. Her Coke, when it arrived,
    was cold. Tessa and P.G. were both amusing in different
    ways, and it was easy to relax and talk and laugh.
    First, they discussed their shooting range experience.
    Wren said “no thanks” to the idea of going back—not
    because she hadn’t had a good time, but because she
    had. She didn’t feel like explaining—she suspected P.G.
    wouldn’t understand—but her solution to gun violence
    would be to make all guns everywhere disappear.
    Tessa, on the other hand, said she was definitely up for
    another trip to the shooting range, adding, “And I really do
    want that cute pink Glock. Was that what it was called? A
    Glock?”
    “You don’t want a Glock,” Wren argued.
    “I do want a Glock,” Tessa said. “I really, really do.” But
    she flitted to the next topic before Wren could decide if
    she was kidding, proclaiming with the same level of inten-
    sity that she could not wait for their graduation ceremony
    the next morning.
    They talked about whether they were supposed to
    show up in their robes or put their robes on at the school.
    They talked about P.G.’s graduation party the next eve-
    ning, which P.G. assured them would indeed be epic. They
    gossiped about different kids in their graduating class,
    wondering who would become movie stars, who would

    be drug addicts, who would live in Atlanta forever, and
    who would move away as soon as they could.
    Wren wondered about Charlie. She was curious about
    what his far-off future held, but she was more curious
    about his nearer future. Would he be at P.G.’s party?
    She hoped so . . . unless he showed up with a girl, and
    the girl turned out to be his girlfriend. Did Charlie have a
    girlfriend? Might P.G. know?
    “Hey, P.G.,” she said. “Do you know a guy in our class
    named Charlie? Charlie Parker?”
    Tessa’s eyebrows shot up. She’d just grabbed a chip, and
    in her shock, she snapped it in half.
    “Sure,” P.G. said. “Why?”
    “I don’t know. I guess I’m kind of wondering if he’s dat-
    ing someone,” Wren said.
    “Oh my God,” Tessa said. “Oh my God . This morning
    you told me you were up for new things. Is Charlie Parker
    one of those new things? Wren, this is huge!”
    Wren tried to ignore her. “He hangs out a lot with this
    one girl, but maybe they’re just friends. Her name’s Des-
    tiny or Star or something like that. She’s got long blond
    hair, and she, um, dresses kind of—”
    “Skanky?” Tessa supplied. She clapped a hand over her
    mouth, then moved it to say, “Sorry, sorry. That was mean.”
    “Starrla Pettit,” P.G. said, nodding. “Hangs out with the
    black kids.”

    Tessa whacked him. “Racist.”
    “What? She’s talks black, too.”
    “Dude,” Tessa said. “ Owen , who happens to be our vale-
    dictorian, is black.”
    “And?” P.G. said.
    “And he doesn’t ‘talk black,’ does he?”
    “Fine, Starrla talks ghetto,” P.G. said. “Is that better?”
    Tessa spoke loftily. “I don’t know. And, plus, I would like
    to take this opportunity to point out that Starrla also hangs
    out with Charlie, who is Caucasian .”
    P.G. stretched out in his plastic patio chair, taking up
    space the way guys like P.G. did. “Starrla does hang out
    with Charlie. Yes. And I will take this opportunity to sug-
    gest,