She clapped, pleased. “Yes! So, you were only blind, not stupid!”
I snorted a laugh. “I was only slightly stupid. They mostly fixed it when they worked on my eyes.”
Her nod was resolute. “Oh, good.” She rubbed her hands together. “Here’s another thing you need to know now that you can see: I am the standard of beauty. Some might try to convince you it’s the girls with tits and ass and the wholeshiksalook, but they’re charlatans. Total frauds. My whole Jewess, coltish, flat-chestedness is where it’s at.”
“Interesting.” I crossed my arms over my chest, my heart freaking hammering. The girl wasn’t just the best thing I’d ever seen, she was also funny and strange—the best combination any human could be. “I can see that. Thank you for telling me the truth. I’m Murray, by the way.”
She stopped a couple feet from me, crossing her own arms. “Murray? Are you one of those guys who goes by his last name?”
“Uh…yeah.” I rubbed the back of my sunburned neck. “My first name is Alex, but everyone calls me Murray.”
She stuck out her hand. “I’m Yael Aronson.” I pressed my palm against hers, curling my fingers around hers. “I think I’ll call you Alex.”
I didn’t let go of her hand, and she didn’t pull away. “But everyone calls me Murray.”
Her big brown eyes flicked to mine. She was only a few inches shorter than me, which was rare since I had passed six feet when I was twelve. I liked her being this tall. If I dipped my head just a little, I could kiss her. She’d probably slug me if I did, but maybe one day she wouldn’t—and that made my stomach twist into a tight knot.
“I’m not everyone, Alex.”
A shocked exhale puffed from my lips. “No, you’re most certainly not.”
She shook my hand, smiling at me. Her teeth were straight and sparkling white. Perfect. Everything about her was completely perfect. “It’s super nice to meet you, Alex.”
“You too, Yael.”
Our eyes stayed locked for a suspended moment, and I was sprung. Mad. Flipped my shit for this girl I just met.
“What should we do today?” she asked.
I still hadn't dropped her hand. “Oh shit, I forgot we had plans.”
She shook her head. “Oh, Alex. It’s not like you to be so forgetful.”
“You’re right. Must have been that knock on my head.”
She tsked. “I always tell you to wear a helmet. Your brain is more important than looking cool.”
Her hand was still in mine. “You’re right, as always.”
She bit her lip, finally pulling her eyes away from mine to look down at the road. “You were going to teach me to skateboard today, right?”
“Of course. That was our plan, after all.”
Her fingers flexed around the curve of my palm. “I have to run inside for real shoes.” She poked my chest with her free hand. “Don’t leave.”
“I won’t.”
Her eyes were intense as they moved back and forth between mine. “Okay.” Then her hand slipped from mine and she ran down the driveway, disappearing into the house.
I stood there for a minute, pretty sure she wasn’t coming back. The thing was, I was a tall, gangly, red-haired, weird-as-hell skater. Girls around here, the ones who went to my prep school, weren’t into quirky or looking beneath the surface. Hell, the dudes weren’t either. Like I said, high school fucking sucked for me.
When Yael came darting up the driveway, her feet in hot pink sneakers, her arms raised over her head as she squealed, I decided I’d died. It must’ve happened when I hit my head taking a rail too fast the other day.
She stopped in front of me, her chest heaving, cheeks flushed. “Let’s go, Boo. The day is young, but not forever. If we don’t get out of here, my mom’s going to try to drag me back inside to unpack—and nobody’s got time for that.”
I couldn’t stop the chuckle of pure glee. “Well, all right. Have you ever skateboarded?”
“I have not, but I’m confident I’ll be excellent at it.”