Page 42 of Hairpin Curves

“Still get seasonal allergies?”

“These are some pretty crappy questions, you know.” Megan was really relaxed now, though, and even laughed.

“Okay. So...” Scarlett didn’t want to bring it up again, but the words came to her lips before she could stop them. “Are you ever going to forgive me for lying to you?”

Megan was quiet in response to that. Maybe that was all the answer Scarlett was going to get. Finally, she said, “I’m hurt that you didn’t trust me.”

Scarlett fiddled with the cuffs on her shirt. “I was embarrassed.”

“You know, I always looked up to you. I thought you were so damn perfect.” Megan wrapped her hands more tightly around the steering wheel. “It would have been nice to know you weren’t.”

“You wanted me to fail?”

“I wanted you to be human.”

Silence again. Scarlett wanted to get defensive, but parts of Megan’s accusation rang true in uncomfortable ways. She did always hide her vulnerabilities. To her friends, she was the one with everything put together, and even if her life was a mess, she would be an unstoppable force. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you. I didn’t think you’d understand, because you’ve always been so good at school.”

“Well, it doesn’t seem to have done me any good now, right?” Megan snorted. “My life is a train wreck.”

“You’re moving forward, though.” Scarlett waved a hand to the road in front of them. “Literally, at least.”

That got a small smile out of Megan. “What am I supposed to do after this?”

“What about that podcast, or radio show? You said that’s your dream. You could pursue it.”

Megan made a noncommittal noise. “We’ll see.”

Another mile or so of quiet between them. Scarlett didn’t want the quiet. She wanted conversation. She wanted something tangible to build on, something that they could construct in the quiet closed space of this car. “I want to be friends with you again. Can we do that?”

Megan’s eyebrows went up. “I thought that’s what we were doing.”

“You keep going between casually friendly and politely neutral.” And whatever she was the other night when she’d gotten off while Scarlett had breathlessly listened in the midst of her own pleasure. “I don’t know where you stand.”

Megan made a thoughtful noise. “Will you promise not to ghost me again? To actually stay and talk through whatever’s hard, instead of running away or going silent?”

New York came to mind. “Running away is kind of my thing, you know.”

“I know. That’s why I ask.” Megan looked pointedly across the center console at her before returning her gaze to the road. “I won’t be friends with you if I can’t trust you to be here when things are tough.”

“Okay. And what about you?” Scarlett needed something in return for this. “Are you going to make fun of me for the places where I fall short?”

Megan frowned. “Sarcastic humor is kind of my thing.”

“You can give me sarcastic humor, but not about being dumb, or flunking out of school.” Scarlett’s voice was steady, even if her innards trembled at that assertion.

Megan’s eyebrows went up, and her lips formed a little O of surprise. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“You think I’m bulletproof, and I’m not. Not about those things.” Scarlett wasn’t bulletproof about anything, actually. “I think you think you can’t hurt me, but you could.”

Megan’s gaze softened. “Okay. I promise.”

Then it was Scarlett’s turn. “I promise not to run away.”

It felt like a vow, and Scarlett wasn’t sure that she liked the similarities. They made her feel all unsettled inside.

“I now pronounce you friends,” Megan said gravely, with a dead serious expression on her face. Scarlett broke out laughing, but something eased inside her chest. It wasn’t everything; it wasn’t dealing with whatever sexual tension seemed to ebb and flow between them. But it was something. It was a start.

Megan pulled up the collar of her new winter coat and tucked her face into the protective fleece-lined fabric, wind whipping past her skin as she gazed up at the Lincoln Memorial. The marble statue of the president himself stared out into the middle distance, larger than she had expected, looming over her and Scarlett as they stood at his feet.