Page 22 of Hairpin Curves

“He didn’t need a credit card?”

“I’m not sure if he even works there.” Scarlett shook her head and tucked her phone back into the side-door pocket of the car. “It’s like bizarro world.”

“As long as we’ve got a room. I want a bed that won’t wreck my neck. I’m so sore from sleeping against the car door.”

“At least you got to sleep.” Scarlett was not bitter, but she couldn’t help pointing it out.

“You slept the whole morning,” Megan reminded her.

“An hour. I slept an hour.” Scarlett curled up into herself. “You mind if I look through your wallet?”

Megan glanced over. “I don’t know why you’d want to.”

“Something to do.”

“Don’t you have a book or something?”

Scarlett had an entire e-reader, and a phone full of mobile games, but she wasn’t in the mood for those. “You can just say no.”

“Sure, whatever. Knock yourself out.”

Megan’s wallet was quite neat. Her driver’s license was first, boasting a photo that didn’t even look bad. “Your driver’s license photo looks good.”

Megan wrinkled her nose. “Nobody likes their driver’s license photo.”

“Yeah, but you really look like this.” Scarlett tapped it.

“Don’t remind me.” Megan grimaced, and Scarlett put the card away.

She found Megan’s debit card, and put the credit card back behind it, and then started going through the rest. A medical insurance card. A gym membership card. “You go to the gym?”

Megan paused. “Not as often as I probably should.”

Scarlett put the card away. The next item was a membership card for a bulk store. She also carried a gas rewards card. The wallet had a hundred dollars in it in twenties, as well as ten ones and a single five. She had receipts neatly folded in half and tucked back there along with the money. One receipt was for Target, with a number of snacks listed, probably the snacks for the trip. Another was for Sephora. “What did you buy at Sephora?” She couldn’t picture Megan there.

“It says it on the receipt.” Megan’s tone was a little sharp.

There was a whole list of makeup items, but that wasn’t the point. “I mean, why did you buy makeup? You don’t wear makeup.”

“I know.” Megan seemed to hesitate, her lips parting in a thought. “I thought maybe I could try.” She was quick to qualify her statement. “I’ve worn it before. For special occasions. I just don’t do it regularly. I’m probably not very good at it.”

“I could teach you.” Scarlett didn’t know what she was doing offering, but makeup was one of the few things she did well. “If you wanted.”

The silence hung between them.

“Maybe. We’ll see.” Megan pressed her lips together in a thin line. “Do you want to sleep? I can turn the music off.”

Scarlett put the receipt back into Megan’s wallet and returned the wallet to its former place. “Leave the music. I like it.”

Megan smiled, a tiny curl of her lips, and Scarlett could live with that. She closed her eyes. Maybe she’d be able to doze.

As soon as Scarlett closed her eyes, Megan felt something relax inside her spine. Scarlett made her feel tense and uncomfortable somewhere deep inside. It wasn’t a horrified discomfort, or even an unpleasant one. It was hard to describe. She just felt like she couldn’t settle when those beautiful eyes were focused on her. Scarlett probably didn’t even know how beautiful she was, and that was obnoxious. Her amazing curly hair, her tanned skin dappled with freckles, those big brown eyes? It was ridiculous. Megan could never look that good. It had been a source of tension throughout their high school years, and now that she was away from Scarlett for a few years, those feelings were all crashing back over her again.

Help her with makeup. Like Megan had a chance of looking anywhere as good as Scarlett, even with the help of makeup. Scarlett hadn’t slept all night and she still looked like she was a tinted lip balm away from modeling in a commercial for moisturizer or something. Megan was always operating about one level above goblin. Without Scarlett watching her, though, with Scarlett’s eyes finally closed, Megan let herself relax. The music helped, soothing her bones. She was tired, sure, but she had the open road in front of her and the novelty of her trip still keeping her content.

The highway itself was boring, though, and so was the road she turned onto in order to head toward Myrtle Beach. There was nothing to see this time of year. It was cold, first of all, and all the trees had dropped their leaves, so bare gray branches surrounded the road, except for some misshapen pine trees that didn’t have any snow on them. Not that Megan had ever seen snow except in photos and videos, but it would be the better option for these trees. Not this nakedness.

Scarlett thought she was ridiculous for going to the beach, and maybe she was. The beach was going to be more of this austere nakedness. But in winter, the beach had a type of raw beauty that made Megan feel close to something bigger than herself. Scarlett could think what she wanted. Megan was going to get past worrying what Scarlett thought of her. The beach, with its cold beauty and gray, crisp light, was the perfect place to feel like she could find herself.