The Boyfriend Rivalry by Milana Spencer

15

Curtis: Girlfriend

"We're switching bedrooms not tomorrow, but the day after, so I'll have the master bedroom." Kennedy pauses when the waiter arrives to place our lunches in front of us. Kennedy chose a pretty restaurant — through the windows are views of the beach, and the interior is minimalistic and sleek. This morning, when Kennedy mentioned we'd be going out for lunch, it took me a moment to remember the date she'd promised.

"How long do you get the bedroom for?" I ask, picking up my fork.

Kennedy swallows her food before answering. "For the rest of the trip. Though I think we should plan for the day that I get it, to maximise our opportunities."

I nod. "And what about your period?" I sound awkward and wish I didn't. It's not that the thought of periods freak me out, but more that I'm scared of looking dumb in front of Kennedy.

"It'll be finished by then," she answers.

I nod.

She hesitates. "According to my cycle… I'll have a higher risk of pregnancy around that time. So we'll have to be careful."

I nod while my mouth is full of salad. Kennedy's on the pill and she's been on it for a while because of something to do with her cycle being irregular. I don't know what that means, but the point is she could get a prescription without her parents getting suspicious. I still need to buy condoms, though.

I should have bought them the last time I went to the supermarket. Then I remember that's when I went with Liam to buy stuff for Kennedy, and I'm glad I didn't. There's no way I'm letting Liam see me do that.

"How about we swing by the supermarket after lunch?" I ask.

"Perfect."

"How will we go about doing it?" I ask a moment later.

"I've thought about it, and usually someone's in the house or everyone goes out. We have a last resort, which is the middle of the night."

"That means I'll have to sneak out of the attic bedroom. Although Liam's a deep sleeper."

"Hopefully, we get lucky and the other three leave us alone in the house. Like if they go shopping or something."

I nod, realise I'm slumping, and straighten up. I'm going to have sex with Kennedy. I should be excited.

"The cousins go on runs in the morning," I say. "Maybe Liam could go with them?"

"Would Liam ever choose to go on a run of his own free will?"

That's true. "I'd rather everyone was out of the house."

"I know," Kennedy says. "Perhaps, we could conspire with one of them."

Is she talking about Liam? After the sailing trip, he seems pretty indifferent to the idea of Kennedy and me dating. The idea of Kennedy and I being intimate might weird him out, but if Kennedy asked him, he'd help her.

"Like who?" I ask.

"I'm thinking Bonnie. It wouldn't be weird, right? She can keep a secret."

I let out a subtle breath. "Yeah. Maybe Bonnie can suggest they go… surfing or something. They're pretty close."

"They are, aren't they?"

I think of Liam's secret crush, which I haven't been able to stop thinking about since he told me. It's like an itch I can't scratch or a puzzle I can't solve. "Do you think that maybe… Liam has a crush on Bonnie?"

Kennedy's brows jump up. "Why do you think that?"

"I don't know if I think that," I say. "But you said yourself that they're pretty close. They get along."

Kennedy's eyes shift to the distance. "I don't know if Bonnie likes Liam that way, but I'm pretty sure Liam only sees her as a friend."

"Really?"

Kennedy looks back at me, frowning. Her eyes run over my face, up to my hair, and then down the front of my shirt. I look down, worrying that I've spilt something. But no, my shirt is fine.

"Kennedy?" I ask because she hasn't answered.

Kennedy bites her pinkie nail. "I doubt it," she says, after a moment. "As far as I'm aware, Bonnie's not his type."

We settle into a strange silence as we eat our lunch, and I force that recent exchange from my mind because attempting to untangle it will give me a headache. While I eat, my eyes pass over the other patrons in the restaurant. There are families with pre-teen or teenage children having happy conversations. There are middle-aged couples too, but mostly there are young couples and groups of friends in their twenties, who check their phones scarily often.

Everyone looks happy and relaxed. If they looked at Kennedy and me, they'd think we're an adorable high school couple. I know the type of looks adults would give us — patronising smiles and questions about Year 12 and our plans for university.

My eyes slide to Kennedy, who's taking a sip of water. Has she thought about our future, about what will happen when we graduate from high school?

"How's your family?" I ask, then remember I asked the same question two days ago.

"Yeah, though Erin does most of the talking — reassuring my parents and my aunt and uncle that we're all okay. Actually, there's a bit of family drama. Our grandparents want us to visit them for Easter even though we already told them we would be here for the whole holidays."

"So what's going to happen?"

"Erin's still trying to tell them and her parents that we won't go. She hates disappointing them."

"It's only a couple of hours' drive, right?" I say, visualising a map of the state in my mind. Melbourne isn't too far from here.

"I'd rather stay here, and we have you and Liam with us. I don't want to drag you two to our family's Easter gathering because I doubt you guys would enjoy it, and I don't think my grandparents would be that pleased either, especially as they go on and on about how the holidays are for family," Kennedy says. "They've got nothing against you, though. I'm sure if you met them —"

"No, I know what you mean. That makes sense," I say. The idea of meeting Kennedy's extended family makes my palms sweaty.

"I'm waiting for Erin to grow a pair and tell them no. I can't blame her though — she's been a goody-two-shoes all her life."

We settle into silence again, and I try to think of something to say. I pick at my salad.

"So," Kennedy says after a few minutes. "How's your investing book?"

"I finished that one, and I also finished one about the property market." I open my mouth, ready to give her the same spiel I gave Liam about real estate in Australia, but remember that Kennedy's not interested in that stuff. "Now I'm reading one about mindset and how that relates to wealth."

"So is the book just saying, think about being rich?"

"Well, kind of, but there's more nuance. It's about not only thinking positively but financial stress and anxiety and how that can cause… never mind. It's pretty interesting."

At my expression, Kennedy tries to smile and ease the conversation. "You're such a fast reader. I can't believe you're already on your third book when it hasn't even been a week."

I shrug. "I started the first one before the holidays and I have a lot of time to read, in the evenings, you know."

"Yeah, you always disappear into your room with Liam after dinner," she says. "I barely see you after nine."

"Did you want to spend more time together?" I ask. Shit, we should, if we're dating and all. Back in Easton, we didn't get a chance to spend as much time together. Now, we're living together, and we still don't hang out as often and one would expect.

"Oh, no," Kennedy says, waving a hand. "I'm happy hanging out with the girls. I'm glad you're getting along with Liam."

I chew on a mouthful of greens, thinking of what to say. "He's a good guy. To you. And to Bonnie and Erin. And everyone."

"And you," Kennedy adds.

"Yeah."

Kennedy smiles. "Sometimes you can be very shy, you know."

I try to think of a reply to that, but by the time I have some kind of response, it's been too long, and we've settled into another silence.

After we finish our lunches, we walk to the supermarket, pointing out interesting things about the landscape that don't equate to proper conversations. If Liam were here, he would have begun a riveting conversation. He's so good at talking, and maybe I'm good at talking to people like my parents' colleagues, but Liam can get anyone involved in conversation.

I wish I was like that. Kennedy's my girlfriend. I should be able to have a good conversation with her.

My body prickles with panic. I'm overthinking. Who cares? I don't need to talk to Kennedy all the time. Silence isn't bad. It's just that I remember we used to talk more when we first started dating because we were still getting to know each other. But now, I feel as if we talk less and less.

We buy a packet of condoms — thank god for self-serve checkouts — and walk back to the beach house. We've just turned back onto the ocean-front road when the words just come out. "Liam said something, the other day."

"Good or bad?" Kennedy asks.

"Um." I swallow. "It was when we were sailing. It was a comment he made, and he never said it again, but I've just remembered it —"

"So it was bad," Kennedy says. "God's sake —"

"No," I interrupt. "I mean, it wasn't a compliment, but…" I look down at my feet. Maybe I shouldn't say it. Better to play it safe and not cause trouble. My parents taught me to always be diplomatic.

I glance at the bulge in my pocket where I've stored the box of condoms. Kennedy and I have dated for three months. We're going to have sex.

"Just say it, Curtis," Kennedy says.

I hesitate.

"Curtis."

"He implied we were only dating because we're horny. He said something like, 'the things teenagers do for lust'."

Kennedy stares at me, but she's not so taken aback as to stop walking. "Oh," she says.

"Yeah," I mumble, sticking my hands into my pocket. I feel like a primary school kid, snitching on a classmate to the teacher.

Kennedy gathers herself. "I didn't know Liam was still being a dick to you. I thought he stopped on this trip."

"It was when we were sailing," I clarify. "He's been friendly, it's just that this was before we cleared up a misunderstanding."

I wonder if Kennedy knows about our conversation about Melanie and Elizabeth. She nods as if she does — in fact, now that I think about it, Liam must have warned her against me, and she still dated me, regardless.

"Still, he shouldn't have said that to you." Kennedy looks at me. "Don't worry about it, Curtis. Liam's just being cynical about high school relationships. It's not a big deal."

"What do you mean, cynical?"

She shrugs. "Well, he's a romantic and all — at least, he likes the idea of romance in fiction — but sometimes he thinks that most teenagers only date out because of their hormones and surface-level attraction. Which, yeah, that might be true for some people. But those people can still date and sleep together without his haughty judgement. He's a snob, remember?" she smiles.

"Right."

"Anyway, he can't criticise other people's relationships if he's never been in one himself. That sounds bitchy, but it's true. Don't worry about it. Liam would have just said the first insult he could think of to upset you." She glances at me, lips twisted in concern. "You weren't worried, were you?"

I shake my head. "No."

"Because he wasn't relaying my opinion or anything," Kennedy clarifies.

"Oh," I say, almost pausing in my walking. "No, that thought didn't even cross my mind." Never did I think Liam was repeating what Kennedy believed. I always knew it was his opinion. But something about that opinion bothered me.

"Okay, good. So — Liam's been good to you, right?"

My words are genuine. "No, he's been great. I see why you're friends with him."

Kennedy releases a subtle sigh of relief, then talks about how much fun Bonnie, Liam, me and her with have tonight.

I nod my head and make sounds of agreement, but in my mind, I'm replaying the conversation. It's strange but I feel unsatisfied, and want to bring the topic up again. But there's nothing more to say. Right?