Free Aspen by Rebekah Crane Page A

perfect.”
    “You say ‘vagina’ all the time,” Kim says.
    “No. I think about vaginas all the time. I don’t usually talk about them.”
    “I agree with Kim. The fact that we’re even here is weird enough,” I say. “We don’t need to be shouting about vaginas.”
    “How about olives?” Kim says.
    “Olives?” Cass rolls his eyes. “Vagina is so much better.”
    “‘Olives’ is perfect. ‘I hate olives , don’t you?’ ‘Aspen, didn’t you have olives on your pizza tonight?’ See, plenty of excuses, but not a word people usually use in everyday conversation.”
    “Perfect.” I smile, relieved.
    “I still like plain old vagina better, but since we’ve said it a few times in this conversation, I’m satisfied.” Cass runs his hands through his long green-brown hair. “Can we really do this?”
    “It’s our senior year. We’re getting drunk tonight.” Kim pats him on the back and links her arm through mine, pulling me toward Suzy’s house.
    We walk to the backyard, three in a row. I fidget with my hair, tucking it behind my ears, untucking it, and then retucking it. Frustrated with myself, I pull it into a ponytail.
    “Maybe this was a bad—” I begin to say, but I get cut off by a flailing Suzy, charging at us full steam, cigarette in hand.
    “Oh, my GOD. You made it,” she slurs, spilling a bit of whatever’s in her red plastic cup on my sandals. “I’m so happy.” She hugs me, stumbling to the side.
    “Isaac is still a little bummed he wasn’t invited.” I pat her back.
    “Well, if he didn’t look like such a narc . . . ” Suzy wags her cigarette.
    “You know Cass and Kim,” I say, helping Suzy balance, while trying to avoid getting burned.
    “Sure.” Suzy extends the word for two syllables too long and then looks at me, leaning in too close to my face. Her breath smells like cigarettes, sugar and alcohol. “We need to capture this moment. You mind?” She hands Cass her phone to take a picture of us. Then Suzy pulls me into her side until we’re cheek to cheek, like we’ve been friends for years, and smiles. “Just don’t get the cigarette. My parents would kill me.”
    “Say cheese.” Cass takes the picture. I’m not sure I’m actually smiling when it flashes. I might look like a deer in the headlights. That’s what this moment feels like.
    “I’m totally gonna Instagram this.” She smiles down at the picture. “You guys don’t mind if I steal her for a while, right? I have to pee.”
    “Can I come?” Cass asks. Suzy squints her eyes at him.
    “You’re cute. I heard about you and Marcy Humphrey. She’s not the only girl with that talent.” And then she blows Cass a kiss. His eyes grow three sizes.
    “We’re getting a drink,” Kim says, violently pulling him away from Suzy by the arm. And then it’s just Katelyn’s best friend and I.
    Suzy squashes her cigarette out on the ground. I fidget with my hands, unsure of what to do, and she yanks on my shirt. “Come on. I need to piss like a race horse.”
    Inside the house, Suzy stumbles toward the stairs. I glance around, checking out the living space. A long wooden table that seats about twenty fills a white dining room, where a gigantic chandelier with what look like real crystals hangs from the ceiling. Ninny and Toaster wouldn’t know what to do with all the open table space. White furniture decorates the living room. Silver candlesticks stand over the huge fireplace, and hanging above them is a framed professional photo of Suzy, her brother and her parents posed in a field of wildflowers, the whole family smiling widely. A shiny black baby grand piano sits in the corner, not a speck of dust on it.
    Once we’re upstairs in Suzy’s room, she slams the door behind me.
    “You have a bathroom in your room?” I ask. The room smells like flowery perfume and face powder.
    “Make yourself at home.” Suzy checks her reflection in the mirror hanging over her large wooden dresser, fixing her