Resplendent Read Online Free PDF Page A

looked down to see a tube of lip gloss. “Wear this shade tonight. It’ll look great on you with your skin tone.”
    I grabbed it and slicked it on while Carmin looked for her purse. “Thanks,” I told her before I puckered my lips.
    We stood side by side for a final inspection. I pulled the clasp of my necklace toward the back of my neck and took in Carmin’s features. She was a heart breaker. Her thick, curly hair framed her face nicely and she wore a soft pink shiny lip gloss, and smoky eyes.
    Carmin caught my eye and did a little shimmy before she bumped her hip against mine. “Andres is going to go crazy when he sees me in these jeans,” she said smugly.
    Andres? I thought to myself, my fingers twisting at the ends of my hair.
    Carmin ran her hand over the denim. “These are the same pair he saw me wear the night I met him. He wouldn’t stop grabbing my ass.”
    I wasn’t sure what to say, so I stayed quiet. Carmin wrapped her arms around my shoulder and steered us out of the room. A knot formed in my belly at her words.
    Andres and I talked at least twice a week—even though we hadn’t seen each other in a little over three months. He was the one that had told me over the weekend to come over tonight. Had he really called to hang out with Carmin? It didn’t make sense to me. Andres didn’t seem like the type to need others to help him with a hook up. Maybe he was trying to play us both. I grabbed my purse and replayed our conversation in my head, but I couldn’t for the life of me recall him mentioning Carmin. Still, Carmin was clearly really into him.
    “You girls ready?” Lola said behind me and jingled her keys.
    “Yep!” Carmin answered. Lola looked over at me and I nodded—my throat dry. I didn’t want to speak and have my voice come out like a croak.
    When I’d asked if we could go over to his house on a school night, Lola agreed as long as she could drop us off and pick us up. Carmin had been mortified to hear that her mother had called Andres and asked to speak to his father, but I assured her Andres didn’t think anything of it. It probably had something to do with the fact that his family was Cuban and they were notorious for being just as strict as Colombians.
    “You okay, Savannah?” Lola’s eyes peeked at me through the rearview mirror. “You’re frowning.”
    Carmin turned back and smiled. “She’s probably nervous about seeing Adam again.”
    Not really. I averted my eyes and started to pick off my nail polish.
    Lola spoke up again, “Adam? I thought his name was Andres?” I cringed.
    Carmin looked at her mom and rolled her eyes. “No, Mami . Andres is my guy. Adam is the one that was dancing with Savannah at the party.”
    I stopped my picking and noticed a dull throb had begun in my forehead.
    “ Your guy?” I couldn’t help but ask for clarification. I hadn’t heard Carmin talk to him on the phone once and we shared a room!
    Carmin looked back at her. “Well, you know what I mean. The guy I’m interested in. I did see him first. I think we have really good chemistry, if you catch my drift.” She winked at me but all I could do was smile meekly. She was right—she had seen him first. A jealous bug crawled in my stomach.
    Lola saw the wink. “What do you mean exactly, Carmin?”
    Carmin stared at her blankly. “We’d get along, of course, Mami.”
    “Mmm hmm.” My godmother murmured as I looked out the window to see she’d turned onto Andres’ street.
    You’d get along with any guy if you promised to spread your legs for him. The taste of my thought was as bitter as a ripe grapefruit.
    “Besides, Savannah would never go after the same guy I was already interested in. Right, sis?” She turned her head and smiled at me, her head lowered so I could see her eyes behind her sunglasses. I immediately chastised myself for my ugly thoughts and smiled back at her. “Of course not,” I answered. A true sister would never do that.
    I let out a small breath and