Wing Jones(70)

I’ll go to the Riveo store tomorrow and hand deliver it.

I think about what Eliza said at Hilton Head. How I won’t be able to win if I run like I did that day. I can’t be distracted. I’m gonna run harder, faster, better than I ever have. Than anyone else.

I can’t afford not to.

And then when I win this thing and get the money, maybe my LaoLao and Granny Dee will laugh at the dinner table, my mom won’t look so stressed, and maybe even Marcus will wake up. Because if I can become the Riveo Running Girl, maybe anything can happen.





CHAPTER 48


“Wing! College scouts are comin’ to our races in the next few weeks.” I haven’t seen Aaron much since Hilton Head. I’ve been scared that if I see him, that feeling I had on the beach, the feeling of drowning in him, will come back. And I’ll be slow again. Because he turns my bones into honey, and I can’t have that. No matter how much I want it. I’ve turned in my Riveo Running Girl form. It’s official now; I’m going for it. And if I’m gonna win – and I’ve gotta win – it’s gonna take all my focus. I can’t afford to be thinking about Aaron.

I can’t afford much of anything right now. The electricity only came back on yesterday, and that was after my mom finally got through to a nice person at Georgia Power and convinced them to extend our payment period. I don’t know what she thinks is going to happen in the next three months, but at least we’ve got power again. Until we lose the house.

“Scouts? That’s great,” I say, looking down, worried that if I look too closely at him I won’t be able to control myself and I’ll jump on him like some kind of feral cat. “University of Georgia?”

That’s where Aaron is hoping to get a scholarship. He’s already been accepted, but his scholarship is dependent on his spring track performance. A bit like the Riveo competition.

Do I distract him too? I wonder what I do to his bones. What I do to his heart. I don’t want him slowing down either, not when he’s got so much at stake.

Not when we’ve both got so much at stake.

“Yeah! And I hear you’re going for this Riveo Running Girl thing?” He whistles low and long. “Gonna be tough, but I bet you can do it.”

“Yeah, I’ve gotta be focused, though,” I say, and the words come out sharp.

“You’re the most focused person I know.” Aaron smiles at me, and it’s enough to make me wobbly on my feet. “Anyway…” He smiles again, a different kind of smile. “I was hoping we could get together today, after practice.”

YesYesYesYesYesYesYes! screams my heart. Lucky for me, my heart doesn’t have a mouth.

“I’m training late tonight,” my mouth says. “You know, because of the Riveo thing.”

He shakes his head, still smiling. “Man, you are focused. But don’t put too much pressure on yourself, all right? I know you really want to win this thing, but you don’t want to get burnt out. What about tomorrow? You can’t be training late two days in a row. You’ve gotta take a break.”

He doesn’t get it. I can’t take a break. Not right now. Not tomorrow. Not ever. The Riveo race is everything. I’ve got to train and I’ve got to win.

“Aaron…” His name tastes delicious on my lips. I could say it over and over again. I don’t believe what I’m about to say, but I have to say it. “I think, right now, because we’ve both got so much goin’ on, maybe, um, maybe we shouldn’t … we shouldn’t…” I don’t know what to say. “I need some space.”

The hurt flies across his face so fast that for a minute I think he’s about to cry out, but then it’s gone, like it was never there.

“What do you mean, Wing?”

“When I see you … all I think about is you.”

“What’s wrong with that?” His voice is gruff.

“Like I said, I need to focus…” I look down again because I can’t take the hurt in his eyes. “And so do you. You’ve got scouts looking at you. I don’t want you losing out on anything because of me.”

He sighs, and there are so many feelings in his one breath, it’s more than one breath, it’s an orchestra of breaths, each instrument saying something different, and then he puts his hand on my lower back, just for an instant, leans down, and kisses my cheek.

“If that’s what you want, Wing.”

And he jogs off. Leaving me alone.

Two weeks later Aaron gets a letter from the University of Georgia offering him a full scholarship. He comes by the house to tell my mom, but not me. I hear him in the kitchen, but I stay in my room.

Aaron still comes round to our house quite a lot now, to ask how Marcus is doing, to say hi to Granny Dee and LaoLao. If my mom thinks it’s strange that I hide in my room every time, she doesn’t say so. I’ve caught her watching me when she thinks I’m not looking. But she doesn’t say anything. And for that I’m grateful.

Just like I’m grateful that none of the girls on the team have said anything about how Aaron doesn’t run with us anymore. Even Coach Kerry keeps her thoughts to herself.

I watch him at his next race. It’s like watching a cheetah. Or a gazelle. Or some kind of hybrid of the two, so much grace and power and beauty, and it takes all my strength not to run after him.