That Summer

“This is the skin of a killer, Bella,” Edward Cullen’s tortured voice says from Giovanna’s laptop.

I toss a handful of popcorn into my mouth. “Yeah, Edward’s hot, but like…Jacob’s abs.”

I feel Giovanna shift next to me from her spot on her bed. “He does have abs, yes.”

It’s been a week since I arrived in Port Haven, and I’ve probably spent ninety percent of my time with Giovanna. I probably would have done so, even if she wasn’t a bad bitch, which she is. MawMaw and PawPaw are always complaining about something and asking me what my favorite mystery of the Rosary is.

The answer to that is the real mystery.

“Don’t you just want to lick him?” I ask her, eyes on Edward and Bella.

She sputters. “ Edward? ”

“No, silly. Jacob. Don’t you wanna lick his six pack?”

“Not even a little bit.”

I feel her shift again. “Well, you’re probably the only girl in the world who doesn’t .”

She laughs, that loud laugh with a snort. “I promise you I am not. Lesbians exist.”

I roll my eyes. “Right, but like…I don’t know any. Do you?”

When Giovanna doesn’t respond, I turn my head to look at her. She stares at the screen, but her eyes are glassy, like she isn’t paying attention. “Giovanna?”

She snaps out of whatever strange trance she was in. “Right, uh. Sorry.”

“Do you know any lesbians?” I ask again.

She inhales deeply. “Me. I…I like girls.”

I stare at her. “Like…like that?” I point to her laptop screen. “Like how Bella likes Edward?”

She nods, staring at her bedspread. “Yeah. I like girls the way everyone else seems to like boys.”

“Oh!” I say, not sure what else to say. “That’s okay! Girls are so pretty, so I get it.”

Giovanna lifts her eyes to mine. “Don’t…don’t tell anyone, okay? No one knows. You’re…you’re the only one who knows.”

I furrow my brow in confusion. “Why would I tell anyone?”

“You don’t think I’m a freak?” she asks.

I bark out a laugh. “For liking girls? Giovanna, I told you I wanted to lick a fictional werewolf’s abs. If anyone’s a freak, it’s me.”

Giovanna laughs again, loud and clear. “You’re not a freak. You’re just…straight.”

I break eye contact and look away. “Yeah. I’m just straight.” I’ve never said I am straight out loud before. Where I come from, everyone is just straight. If they aren’t, they are an abomination. But Giovanna is so nice and makes me laugh…she could never be an abomination.

I reach out and squeeze her hand, jerking back when it feels like I’ve been electrocuted.

What the hell?

“I, uh. I think we missed some of the movie,” I stammer, feeling my face heat. Suddenly, I don’t really care about tasting Jacob Black’s abs.

I want to taste Giovanna. To kiss her and be close to her in a way I’ve never wanted to be close to anyone before.

“Right,” Giovanna murmurs, staring at her hand. I wonder if she felt it too, the electricity I felt in my bones. “The movie.”

The two of us are silent for the rest of the night, eyes trained on her laptop screen.