any.”
“Mine is coming up soon,” I say. “Mom and Dad want to make it a big one.”
The next part is hard. Harder than I thought it would be. I’m never usually nervous around girls, but there’s something about Leela that makes it hard for me to get the next words out. “Would you like to come to mine with me?”
Leela looks shocked, but then she smiles. “I’d love that.”
It would be so easy to lean in and kiss her. I want to do it. I want to do it so badly, but her brother is there, and she’s only just agreed to go to the party, and a dozen other things. So I watch her go instead, staring at her lovely back and taking all of her in. I can’t seem to take my eyes off of her, and I don’t. I’ve asked plenty of girls out before, and they’ve said ‘yes’, but none of those have made me feel as light-headed as I do now, with Leela’s ‘yes’ to go with me to my graduation party. She doesn’t know it, and I can’t tell her, but somehow, she’s come to mean more to me than just a girl. Like Dr. Dex, there’s something about her that makes me feel as though I’ve known her before. The question is… where?
Chapter 12
Leela
T raining continues tonight, and I’m working with the Svenkos on a high flying act. The idea is that I swing from a long ribbon of cloth suspended from a chain, wrapping myself up in it and turning acrobatics in the air high over the floor of the big top. That’s hard enough, but then there’s Zachary too.
The Svenkos paired us up earlier, taking us off individually to get us dressed in costumes that we’ll wear in the actual performances. Mine is a shining white leotard with a short chiffon flirty skirt. Mrs. Svenko tied my hair up in a ribbon too, claiming that it would get in the way and saying that I look beautiful either way. She takes great care in doing it, like she was enjoying it, and I feel a maternal presence coming from her, as she does it. She doesn’t look old enough, but she’s slightly younger than my mother, and the Svenkos unfortunately could not have children of their own. “When you perform, even in training, you want to look and feel your best,” she says. “Do what would make your poor mother proud.” I nod, thinking about how Mrs. Svenko probably would have made a great mother herself.
Zachary comes out from the dressing room, and he’s bare-chested, in just long shorts. It’s hard not to be distracted by the definition of his tanned perfectly chiseled upper body as I wrap myself up in the long scarf falling from the chain, but I have to concentrate. Zachary is waiting for me up on the chain, and if I get this wrong, it’s a long drop to the safety net below. I need to focus, or we could both fall.
The idea is a simple one. I’m to hang from the scarf while Zachary gives the illusion of holding it. In reality, it’s tied off for this part. It’s the next part that’s the really dangerous one. Zachary starts to pull me up level with him, and I climb up onto the chain. I look at him. He’s ready.
We swing off the chain, holding onto the scarf so that there’s one of us on either end of it, balancing one another. We swing past once, then again, tying the scarf in place as we swing back and forth. This part looks like it’s for show, but if we get it wrong, it could be a disaster, given what I have to do next. We swing down again, and this time Zachary is upside down, just like we practiced on the trapeze. I swing close and there’s a moment where I have to let go completely, flying without support as my momentum carries me along, holding up my arms and just trusting that Zachary will catch me.
He does. His hands wrap around my wrists, the strength of them obvious as he catches me and we swing around. I
“Mine is coming up soon,” I say. “Mom and Dad want to make it a big one.”
The next part is hard. Harder than I thought it would be. I’m never usually nervous around girls, but there’s something about Leela that makes it hard for me to get the next words out. “Would you like to come to mine with me?”
Leela looks shocked, but then she smiles. “I’d love that.”
It would be so easy to lean in and kiss her. I want to do it. I want to do it so badly, but her brother is there, and she’s only just agreed to go to the party, and a dozen other things. So I watch her go instead, staring at her lovely back and taking all of her in. I can’t seem to take my eyes off of her, and I don’t. I’ve asked plenty of girls out before, and they’ve said ‘yes’, but none of those have made me feel as light-headed as I do now, with Leela’s ‘yes’ to go with me to my graduation party. She doesn’t know it, and I can’t tell her, but somehow, she’s come to mean more to me than just a girl. Like Dr. Dex, there’s something about her that makes me feel as though I’ve known her before. The question is… where?
Chapter 12
Leela
T raining continues tonight, and I’m working with the Svenkos on a high flying act. The idea is that I swing from a long ribbon of cloth suspended from a chain, wrapping myself up in it and turning acrobatics in the air high over the floor of the big top. That’s hard enough, but then there’s Zachary too.
The Svenkos paired us up earlier, taking us off individually to get us dressed in costumes that we’ll wear in the actual performances. Mine is a shining white leotard with a short chiffon flirty skirt. Mrs. Svenko tied my hair up in a ribbon too, claiming that it would get in the way and saying that I look beautiful either way. She takes great care in doing it, like she was enjoying it, and I feel a maternal presence coming from her, as she does it. She doesn’t look old enough, but she’s slightly younger than my mother, and the Svenkos unfortunately could not have children of their own. “When you perform, even in training, you want to look and feel your best,” she says. “Do what would make your poor mother proud.” I nod, thinking about how Mrs. Svenko probably would have made a great mother herself.
Zachary comes out from the dressing room, and he’s bare-chested, in just long shorts. It’s hard not to be distracted by the definition of his tanned perfectly chiseled upper body as I wrap myself up in the long scarf falling from the chain, but I have to concentrate. Zachary is waiting for me up on the chain, and if I get this wrong, it’s a long drop to the safety net below. I need to focus, or we could both fall.
The idea is a simple one. I’m to hang from the scarf while Zachary gives the illusion of holding it. In reality, it’s tied off for this part. It’s the next part that’s the really dangerous one. Zachary starts to pull me up level with him, and I climb up onto the chain. I look at him. He’s ready.
We swing off the chain, holding onto the scarf so that there’s one of us on either end of it, balancing one another. We swing past once, then again, tying the scarf in place as we swing back and forth. This part looks like it’s for show, but if we get it wrong, it could be a disaster, given what I have to do next. We swing down again, and this time Zachary is upside down, just like we practiced on the trapeze. I swing close and there’s a moment where I have to let go completely, flying without support as my momentum carries me along, holding up my arms and just trusting that Zachary will catch me.
He does. His hands wrap around my wrists, the strength of them obvious as he catches me and we swing around. I
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