Page 5 of Walk With Me
“Oh, I’m so excited for you, honey.” Mom laughs.
“I’m nervous,” I admit. “What if after all this time she’s not even interested?”
Mom blows a raspberry. “Not possible. You’re amazing in every way a human can be.”
“I think you’re a little biased,” I reply, smiling.
“Still true though.”
I was surprised when I first told my parents about the crush I had on Eden. She’s nothing like my ex-girlfriends and I’ll admit I thought they’d judge her unfavorably, which was unfair of me. They have money, but they’re not snobs and have never been those people. Maybe it was my own internalized snobbery coming out to play. Eden looks like she’s just fallen out of bed most days, whereas I’mthe polished cheerleader everyone expects. Yeah, definitely my issues at work.
“Well, we have class together tomorrow afternoon. I’m going to suggest we do this walking to running challenge. Start off small. Plus, it would be a good reason to see her outside of school.”
Mom nods approvingly. “Good plan, honey. She’s welcome here anytime. You could use the sauna, or the gym, or the pool.”
“I’ve gotta get her into sportswear first, Mom. I think bathing suits are a little way off.”
“Who are you trying to get in swimwear?” Dad asks. He’s in his finest suit, which means he’s had to wine and dine someone important.
“Sloane’s been buddied up with Eden in gym,” Mom announces.
Dad cracks a wide smile and holds out his hand for a fist bump. “Way to go, kid. When’s the date?”
“No date,” I say.
“Yet,” Mom tacks on.
We spend some time laughing and joking about my crush on Eden. I know it’s silly and I should have done something about it ages ago. I get butterflies when I think of her, and something tells me she’s going to be special. She’sthe right-time-kind-of-girl, not the anytime-kind-of-girl. Before, I was only ready for anytime. Now, I’m ready for Eden.
My prediction that Eden would pout was spot on. She’s frowning so hard when I approach her the next day outside the locker room. All is not lost, though, because she has a small tote bag with her that I’m pretty sure has sneakers in it.
“This is blackmail,” she shouts as soon as I’m within hearing distance. Her accent washes over me and makes me tingle. “I’m here under duress,” she continues.
“You’re here because it’s gym class.” I laugh.
Her jaw flexes and I can almost see how badly she wants to stomp her foot. There’s paint on her hands and a little on her cheek. I wonder how the piece is coming along.
Instead of asking and outing myself as an art sneak, I cross my hands over my chest and stand directly in front of her. My heart stutters a little when I catch her eyes looking at my legs before she snaps them to the floor.
“Eden. This doesn’t have to be painful.”
She scoffs. “Just being in the class is painful enough.”
Sighing, I try again. “We can just do some walking to begin with. Nothing strenuous.”
She mumbles something to herself before looking at my face. “Do I really have to get changed?”
My first instinct is to roll my eyes, but then it occurs to me she might be genuinely shy or uncomfortable with her body. It would surprise me because I think her body is…phew, it just got hot in here.
“No, you don’t have to change. In fact, why don’t we walk outside?”
She eyes me. “And not go into the gym at all?”
“Sure. I’ll tell Mr. Porter, and I’ve got my sports tracker on, so I can prove we walked.”
I can see the cracks. She’s softening to the idea. Biting my lip, I wait her out until she gives one giant huff and then nods.
The urge to fist the air in victory is strong, but I manage to hold it in until I’m out of sight. Mr. Porter is impressed with my progress and happily agrees to us walking around the school grounds. I feel like I’m batting a thousand.
