Come and Get It

by Kiley Reid

But she tried to go to the gym more often because she liked the way she looked. She felt as if her body had gotten its braces off. Like she’d reentered her room after a deep clean.

Being tepidly high, in addition to her recently pulled waist, made Millie feel creative and not so alone.

By spring, so much of their conversations were in their own shorthand. Once, at breakfast, Glory said, “Mill. Guess who finally got married.” “Who?” “The bad guy we like from that show. The one with the name.” Millie made a face. “To that woman with the mouth?”

Everything that happens is not related to what happened before.

But Robin was so stunning and her purse was so small.

Agatha hated stories like this—Getting-There Stories. It was like someone talking about their dreams. They were only interesting to the person they’d happened

The house looked to have once been painted a canary yellow, but now it was the shade of a lemon rind left in a glass.

Millie didn’t know why, but she thought Tyler’s laugh was pretty. It sounded dreamy, like a flashlight bouncing through a country wood.

Agatha felt the physical terror of trying to lift one’s self out of a pool.

There in the backyard, he kissed her, and while it didn’t feel great, it felt like something she should be doing.

When Millie offered to return her favors, Agatha pushed her hand away. She’d replace it with her own in a strangely polite gesture, as if she didn’t want Millie to pay for a meal.