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“Oh, wow. I’m flattered you would resort to borderline crime, Skye.” Lila’s wide smile is all warmth, but she works to smooth out the hair that’s escaped from her double braids.
“I’ve been followingGenuinely_Lilafor years. You’re kind of my idol.” Skye makes a face. “That sounds weird. I’m not a stalker or something. I just really love your style.”
“Thank you. I love yours. Look at that cute top! I’m so jealous.”
Skye beams. “I love the dress you wore to that charity gala last summer. The one with the beadwork in the neckline and all the tiers?”
“The only downside with that dress is my hair caught on the beads all night.” Lila pulls an exaggerated frown. “Would have been better with an updo.”
“I would kill for a dress like that for my graduation party.”
“Please stop saying you would kill for fashion,” Mitchell deadpans as he hefts Shannon’s pack into the van. “It makes me question my parenting.”
Lila looks her up and down. “You can have the dress, if you want. We’re pretty similarly sized.”
Skye doesn’t say anything for a minute, just breathes so fast I start to think she might be hyperventilating.
“Do you mean it?” she finally asks.
“Sure. I’d be honored to know it had a good home.”
“Can I hug you right now?”
Lila laughs. “Of course.”
Everyone else starts piling into the van’s three rows of seats. Skye gives Lila a brutal hug before asking for a selfie, too. Lila’s smile strains at the edges, but she nods and manages a wide one by the time Skye has her phone out.
The ride into town is full of conversation—the couplesbehind me making plans for dinner in Bend, and Skye recounting for Lila all of her favorite posts. I just listen, fascinated. I have social media, but I don’t do much with it. Lila’s obviously engaged there in a way that encouraged Skye to think of her as a long-distance friend before they ever met in person.
Skye can’t stop grinning and waves her hands in the air as she chatters. Lila smiles along, but there’s an undercurrent of awkwardness here, too. I’ve seen her in enough uncomfortable situations over the last few days to recognize the signs. I’m just curious about the reasons.
When we reach Sunshine and Horizon Hikes, Lila gets a reprieve from Skye’s enthusiasm while we unload our packs and gather our things. Deena wheels out her purple luggage, as shiny as ever.
“Clean clothes.” Lila croons and strokes the bag like she’s been reunited with a pet.
“Thought you’d be happy to see that again,” Deena says. She looks over her shoulder to where Mitchell and Skye are talking. “I hope you don’t feel you have to give Skye a dress in return for this trip. We’ll be totally square with the social media we talked about.”
“Oh, not at all. I have no plans to wear that dress again. If I don’t give it to her, I’ll just wind up donating it. It’s really no trouble.”
Deena still looks skeptical. “If you’re sure. After you’ve had a chance to recover, let’s talk about what you have in mind for the posts. Send me a text, and we’ll arrange something—I typically alternate trips with our other guide.”
“Thank you, I will. Post-shower. And Skye can call me about the dress whenever.”
After saying thank you a few more times, our hiking group winds up on the sidewalk for our own goodbyes.
“Are you sure we can’t tempt you to join us for a drink in Bend tonight?” Scott asks.
“We’d love to pick your brain a little more about your climbs,” Brian adds.
“I appreciate it, but I’ll probably just decompress tonight.”
Scott glances over my shoulder, where Lila is talking with Shannon and Cindy. “Decompress, huh? Good luck with that.”
Their ride share arrives, and the goodbyes become more vigorous before they climb inside and the car pulls away. Lila and I turn to face each other. Her small, genuine smile lights me up.
“I think I owe you a boba tea,” she says.
I’m willing myself not to respond with an overeagerAnytime, anywhere, when Mitchell appears at my side. I motion for Lila to give me a minute. She nods and wanders a few feet down the sidewalk to wait.
