grin slip onto my lips. “I am?”
“Unfortunately, yes, you are. It’s just about the only thing you have going for you at this point.”
“Not true.”
“ So true.”
I roll my eyes. A slight breeze whistles past us and I feel the goosebumps prickling across the skin on my arm. My eyes lock on hers. Suddenly, it’s just Cat and me and nothing but darkness.
I shift my gaze to m y feet. “I miss you,” I whisper, letting the wind carry my words, because this close to her, I know she can hear me. I can feel her, can almost anticipate her touch, her smile, and I know from the bottom of my heart that I really do miss her.
“I miss you too,” she says, her eyes so big and genuine. “But I also miss us. Us… before.”
“ I know.” I find myself nodding. “Me too.” Then, “Think we can go back to being friends?”
She hesitates. A look crosses her eyes—a glimmer of something that looks like… regret?—but it’s gone the second it comes. “Yeah,” she finally breathes, turning her head back to the car. “I… I can do that, I think.”
The air is cool all around, but between us, with each other so close, it’s all warmth.
“Good,” I say . “That sounds… nice. Being best friends again is nice. But promise me you won’t try anything?”
“Like what?” A devilish look flashes across her lips.
“You know the answer to that,” I say, my lips curling. It feels good to be smiling with her again, like a weight I didn’t even know I was holding has been lifted off my chest.
“I don’t,” she says , feigning innocence, but I can see the faint trace of a grin on her lips. “Enlighten me, West Ryder.”
I laugh softly. “Well, when mommie and daddie love each other very much , they…”
“They what? They eat pizza together?”
“Yes, Cat Davenport, when mommie and daddie love each other very much they eat pizza together. It’s very romantic.”
“Knew it all along,” Cat says proudly. I shoot her a look that reads, “You are so weird.” She responds by ever-so-eloquently sticking her tongue out at me.
There’s a pause. Something crashes in the house behind us, a falling lamp or a giant textbook knocked off a table or something. Out here, I feel nothing but calmness, though, and even with the racing of my heart, I know I can’t feel anything but it when I’m around Cat.
“So,” I say, holding out my hand. “Friends?”
For an instant, Cat just stares at my outstretched hand, and I feel more coolness rush all around me. I can even taste the dew in the air, feel the softness to the night sky. “Okay. Friends,” Cat says after a while, and she shakes my hands.
She starts to turn away after that, whether to go to sleep or return to working on the car I do not know. I start to turn back, too, shoving my freezing hands into my pockets, but before I can move Cat spins back around. Without a moment’s hesitation she leans into me, her lips hovering a millimeter from my ear, whispering, “We can be friends for now. But West Ryder, if you think this means I won’t fight for you with every last breath I have, you’re in for a hell of a surprise.”
Then she lets her hand slip from my arm, spins back around, and heads inside.
I stand there for the longest time, just staring at the spot where she was standing. Her touch sends a tingling sensation up my arm, her words making my heart pound harder and harder. I feel it all, but I don’t know what to do.
Then, through the darkness, I smile.
Chapter 10
The next few days roll by quickly, and I find myself more focused on school and m y vlog than anything else. I post another video, this one about relationships and euphemisms (I even include “having chocolate” as a potential euphemism, no thanks to Cat.) Cat and I talk here and there, mostly short conversations in the hallway or during lunch about why Albert Einstein must love ice cream or her lecturing me on the origin of lettuce, but
“Unfortunately, yes, you are. It’s just about the only thing you have going for you at this point.”
“Not true.”
“ So true.”
I roll my eyes. A slight breeze whistles past us and I feel the goosebumps prickling across the skin on my arm. My eyes lock on hers. Suddenly, it’s just Cat and me and nothing but darkness.
I shift my gaze to m y feet. “I miss you,” I whisper, letting the wind carry my words, because this close to her, I know she can hear me. I can feel her, can almost anticipate her touch, her smile, and I know from the bottom of my heart that I really do miss her.
“I miss you too,” she says, her eyes so big and genuine. “But I also miss us. Us… before.”
“ I know.” I find myself nodding. “Me too.” Then, “Think we can go back to being friends?”
She hesitates. A look crosses her eyes—a glimmer of something that looks like… regret?—but it’s gone the second it comes. “Yeah,” she finally breathes, turning her head back to the car. “I… I can do that, I think.”
The air is cool all around, but between us, with each other so close, it’s all warmth.
“Good,” I say . “That sounds… nice. Being best friends again is nice. But promise me you won’t try anything?”
“Like what?” A devilish look flashes across her lips.
“You know the answer to that,” I say, my lips curling. It feels good to be smiling with her again, like a weight I didn’t even know I was holding has been lifted off my chest.
“I don’t,” she says , feigning innocence, but I can see the faint trace of a grin on her lips. “Enlighten me, West Ryder.”
I laugh softly. “Well, when mommie and daddie love each other very much , they…”
“They what? They eat pizza together?”
“Yes, Cat Davenport, when mommie and daddie love each other very much they eat pizza together. It’s very romantic.”
“Knew it all along,” Cat says proudly. I shoot her a look that reads, “You are so weird.” She responds by ever-so-eloquently sticking her tongue out at me.
There’s a pause. Something crashes in the house behind us, a falling lamp or a giant textbook knocked off a table or something. Out here, I feel nothing but calmness, though, and even with the racing of my heart, I know I can’t feel anything but it when I’m around Cat.
“So,” I say, holding out my hand. “Friends?”
For an instant, Cat just stares at my outstretched hand, and I feel more coolness rush all around me. I can even taste the dew in the air, feel the softness to the night sky. “Okay. Friends,” Cat says after a while, and she shakes my hands.
She starts to turn away after that, whether to go to sleep or return to working on the car I do not know. I start to turn back, too, shoving my freezing hands into my pockets, but before I can move Cat spins back around. Without a moment’s hesitation she leans into me, her lips hovering a millimeter from my ear, whispering, “We can be friends for now. But West Ryder, if you think this means I won’t fight for you with every last breath I have, you’re in for a hell of a surprise.”
Then she lets her hand slip from my arm, spins back around, and heads inside.
I stand there for the longest time, just staring at the spot where she was standing. Her touch sends a tingling sensation up my arm, her words making my heart pound harder and harder. I feel it all, but I don’t know what to do.
Then, through the darkness, I smile.
Chapter 10
The next few days roll by quickly, and I find myself more focused on school and m y vlog than anything else. I post another video, this one about relationships and euphemisms (I even include “having chocolate” as a potential euphemism, no thanks to Cat.) Cat and I talk here and there, mostly short conversations in the hallway or during lunch about why Albert Einstein must love ice cream or her lecturing me on the origin of lettuce, but
Similar Books
