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"Arethe passenger sun visor down to apply lip gloss in the tiny, cracked o Road Just beyond, the Strip spreads brightly, a carpet of lights and blasting horns rolling out before us "But for you? I’ll do gross shots and dance with questionably soberShe pretends to choke, but puts her hand over et away No one rejects cuddles less convincingly than Harlow
"I love you psychos," I say, and even though with anyone else, the words would get lost in the wind and street dust blowing into the car, Harlow bends to kiss lances over to s pauses and pluck my voice out of chaos
"You have to ?"
"This doesn’t involve irl, does it?"
"Sadly no"
We’ve been planning this trip for rown-up life and responsibility catch up with us I’ot for me I stretch my neck, take a deep breath, pretend to crack my knuckles "Too bad I could work a pole like you don’t even know But okay, hit ht," she says "Don’t worry about your dad or which fangirl Luke is banging this weekend"
My stoh we parted on good tero It’s just that Luke was ether I feel like I should be earning royalties on his current parade of conquests
Lola continues "Don’t think about packing for Boston Don’t think about anything but the fact that we’re done with college--college, Mia! We did it Just put the rest of it in a proverbial box and shove it under the proverbial bed"
"I like this talk of shoving and beds," Harlow says
Under any other circuh But as unintentional as it may have been, Lola’s mention of Boston has just obliterated the tinyof anxiety-free space I’d soed to find It immediately dwarfs any discomfort I felt over the subject of est ceremony oftide of panic about the future, and now that we’ve graduated, it’s inore it anymore Every time I think about what conites, chars The feeling happens so ive it a na for Boston, to business school of all places, and about as far froined I’ll have plenty of time to find an apartment and a job that will pay my bills and accommodate a full schedule of classes in the fall when I finally do what my father has alanted and join the river of business-types doing business things He’s even paying for nanimously, "so your mother and I and the boys can visit"
"Mia?" Lola pro when, out of the three of us, I becae Lola’s dad is a war veteran Harlow’s parents are Hollywood I’ it under the proverbial bed" Saying the words out loud seeht behind them "I’ll put it into the box with Harlow’s scary sex toys"
Harlow throws me a sassy kiss and Lola nods, resolute Lola knows better than any of us about stress and responsibility, but if she can put it away for the weekend, I can, too
WE PULL UP to the hotel and Lola and I tu like we just eross and filthy Only Harlow looks like she belongs here, cli a shiny black town car, solossy suitcase behind her
Once we get upstairs, we’re all speechless, even Harlow--clearly this is the surprised form of her silence There are only a couple of other rooms on the floor and our Sky Suite is enorrapher, booked it for us as a graduation present We thought ere getting a standard Vegas hotel rooo crazy and raid theit to his card Snickers and tiny vodkas for everyone!
We were not expecting this In the entryway (there’s an entryway), and tucked next to a decadent fruit basket and a cone, there’s a note It says we have a butler on speed dial, a masseuse to come to the room e need it, and Harlow’s dad is more than happy to provide unlia wasn’t the father of ht offer sex acts to thank hi barely anything onstage in front of hundreds of people where I could pretend to be so, I’m decidedly more comfortable in one of the dresses Harlow chose for us than Lola is She won’t even put hers on
"It’s your graduation present," Harlow says "Hoould you have felt if I turned down the journal you got me?"