Little Do We Know(53)

“What are we doing here?” I asked.

“Why are you asking me? You’re the one sitting on the steps.”

I peeked over my shoulder and grinned at him. “That wasn’t what I meant.”

“I know.” He was still brushing his fingers slowly across my skin. “Is it okay?”

I tried to play it cool, even though my body felt like it might melt into the stairs. “Yeah, it’s okay.”

My eyes were half-closed, my head tilted toward him. “Can I ask you something?” I asked.

“Mm-hmm,” he said.

“When did you know you liked me?”

When he laughed, I felt his breath, like a warm puff on my skin. “Seattle.”

A month earlier, we’d all been together at the Northern Lights Christian A Cappella Choir competition in Seattle. I spent the weekend listening to Alyssa talk about how she and Aaron had been alone in the hotel elevator together, and how he looked at her during dinner, and how he told her he liked her dress, and how his hotel room was only two doors away from ours.

The only reason I spent that weekend thinking about Aaron was because Alyssa hadn’t given me any choice.

But as soon as Aaron said “Seattle,” my mind immediately jumped to the flight home.

Alyssa, Jack, and Logan were all together in one row, and Aaron and I were across the aisle from them. I’d been disappointed with my seating assignment; I was hoping to sit next to Alyssa. She knew how much I hated flying. When we hit turbulence, she always knew exactly how to calm me down.

For the first hour, everything was fine, but then things got bumpy. The seat belt sign flicked on and the pilot came over the intercom and asked everyone—including the flight attendants—to take their seats. At one point, the plane dropped hard, and I gasped as I gripped both armrests so hard, my knuckles turned white.

Aaron wrapped his hand around mine. “You okay?”

I shook my head without looking at him.

“Close your eyes,” he said, and I did.

“Breathe,” he said, and I did.

“Good. Now pretend you’re a stick floating down the river.” His voice was soft and soothing, and I’d let myself get lost in it. “Let the water take you right around the rocks.” I opened my eyes. He was using his hand to show me how the stick moved with the bends and the curves. I closed my eyes again. It was better that way. “We’re just the stick and the air pockets are the rocks. We’re just going to slide right past them, okay?”

I’d nodded.

“The plane knows exactly how to do this, okay?” As he said it, he uncurled my fingers from around the armrest. He didn’t let go of my hand right away.

Aaron squeezed my shoulders, bringing me back to reality. “So, why are you sitting on the steps?” he asked.

I gestured toward the sanctuary. “Waiting for my dad.”

Aaron peered over my shoulder. “Who’s he with? Is that a friend of yours?”

Was Luke my friend? He’d always been Emory’s boyfriend. I’d spent time with the two of them in the months before she and I stopped speaking, but that was different. I still barely knew him, but now he was my friend, too.

“Remember that guy who died in front of our house last Friday night?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“That’s him.”





Luke returned to school on Monday.

When I stepped into the cafeteria, I saw him immediately, in his usual spot, at his usual table, surrounded by all the usual people and about twenty others.

He looked better, more like himself. His face wasn’t quite as puffy anymore, but I could still see the dark circles under his eyes.

As I walked closer, I could hear the buzz of questions all around him. Everyone wanted to know why he didn’t tell anyone he was in pain that night, what it was like to ride in the ambulance, and if it was weird to think that someone else’s blood was running through his veins.

By the time I reached his side, he was trying to avoid Dean Foster’s questions about the stitches they used to fix the tear in his spleen, and if it had hurt when they took the staples out.

“Hey.” I gave him a kiss. “You good here?” I whispered.

Luke barely shook his head, but I felt it against my cheek, and that was all it took for me to step into action.

“Excuse us. I need to borrow him for just a minute. Don’t worry, fans,” I said as I led him away. “I’ll bring him right back.”

I steered him past the tables, through the crowds, and into the hall, and then found a quiet place to hide between two locker banks.

“Thanks,” he said. “That was a little overwhelming.”

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, came up on my tiptoes, and kissed him. I waited for him to rest his hands on my hips like he always did, but he left them by his sides.

“How’s your first day back?”

“Well, I spent the last hour in the guidance counselor’s office. Where, you know, I thought I might get a little bit of guidance or maybe some counseling, but instead he informed me that my scholarship has been put on hold. Which I guess I expected….I just thought I’d hear the news from Coach, not from some guy I’ve never even met before.”

“It’s just temporary, though, right?”