* * *
Ronnie was so excited about school starting that she jumped out of bed the minute her alarm went off. She raced down the hall for a shower and then ran back to her room to put on her new outfit. She couldn’t wait to show off her tattoo at school. The white halter top and black ruffled mini skirt were sure to get her noticed. She giggled a she lifted her hair and looked back over her shoulder to check out her tattoo in the mirror. It looked perfect. She put her hair up in a messy knot on top of her head and secured it with two glossy chopsticks. She pulled an old red fake-leather biker jacket out of her closet and pulled it on to hide her tattoo until she got to school. By the time she was ready to go, Andi was in the kitchen having breakfast with her parents.
“What took you so long?” Andi asked when Ronnie entered the cheerful room. Ronnie grinned at her.
“This is our first day as upperclassmen, Andi; I can’t go looking like a frump,” Ronnie pointed out. Her mom looked up from behind the business section of the paper.
“Is that what you’re wearing?” she asked, a slight frown on her face. Ronnie looked down at her new outfit and then nodded, defiantly meeting her mom’s gaze.
“What’s wrong with it?”
“Will they even allow you to wear it in school?”
“Yeah, Mom, this is high school; I’m a junior. I’m sure there will be plenty of girls wearing less than I have on.” Ronnie rolled her eyes. “What’s the big deal?”
Her mom frowned. “It’s a big deal to me; I don’t want my little girl looking like a tramp. But obviously you aren’t going to listen to me.”
“Geez, Mom, it’s just an outfit. I look fine.”
Her mom’s eyes scrutinized her skirt and top. “Is that new? I don’t remember seeing that skirt before.”
“Yeah, I bought it Saturday with some of my birthday money.”
“Do you have any left over?”
Ronnie shook her head. “No, I spent it on books and clothes. Sorry, Mom.”
Her mom sighed. “Well, it’s your money. As long as you put it to good use, I guess I can’t complain. Though it would have been nice to see some of it go into your college fund.”
Ronnie ignored her mom’s comment as she grabbed a bagel and slathered strawberry cream cheese over half of it. There was still plenty of time to worry about saving up for college. She didn’t have to start filling out applications until next year, though she was sure her parents wanted her to start a lot sooner. Grimacing, she smashed the other half of her bagel on top of the cream cheese and glanced at the clock as she took a bite. Her eyes bugged when she saw it was already almost seven. School started in half an hour.
“We have to go,” she told Andi, who glanced at the clock and stood up.
“Crap; I didn’t think it was that late already. We’re not going to have any time to ask Shawn about his trip to Florida.”
And I’m not going to have any time to show off my tattoo, Ronnie thought as she rushed around the kitchen to gather up her new black leather bag and her tiny beaded purse. She slung both over her shoulder and followed Andi out of the house.
“I was about to come up to see if you left already,” Shawn said from the bottom of the steps. Andi squealed as she launched herself at him from the porch. He laughed as he caught her in a tight embrace. Ronnie stood at the top of the stairs and watched it all happen, admiring him before he noticed her. His mop of usually dark blond waves was lighter and streaked with platinum blond, giving him a totally cool surfer look. His skin was golden tan and his t-shirt did little to hide the muscles underneath. Ronnie felt her mouth water as he set Andi on the ground and grinned up at her.
“Hey, Ronnie,” he said. Her knees weakened and she felt like she would faint right there.
“Hi,” she replied breathlessly and shook her head, her cheeks warming as she hoped he didn’t realize this was all because of him. He hadn’t looked this good when he left for Florida two weeks ago; he now looked like a sun-kissed god. Andi returned to her side on the porch and tugged on her arm to get her moving.
“Come on, we don’t want to be late,” Andi reminded her. Ronnie nodded as she started down the stairs towards Shawn.
“I didn’t think I was gone so long that you would become shy with me,” he commented. The blush blossomed full force across her cheeks now.
“You just keep looking better and better every time I see you,” she replied boldly and clenched her hand into a fist to keep from covering her mouth. Andi’s eyes widened as she looked at Ronnie and both girls thought the same thing: where had that come from? Ronnie never flirted with guys and all of a sudden she flirted last night, had her first kiss, and was now flirting with Shawn. A slow grin crept onto Shawn’s face as he slowly looked her up and down.
“I can say the same thing about you,” he told Ronnie. Both girls giggled as he draped an arm over their shoulders and the three of them climbed into Andi’s car to head to school.