Page 14 of Double Trouble

“Yep.” She slithers past me and walks backward down the long hallway to the half-pipe. “Get ready for some real angry boarding.”

***

Mad’s been on the course for two hours and hasn’t said a word. I’ve taken the hint that she needs the quiet, she needs the therapy only boarding can give her. Since I don’t have nearly the stamina she’s got, I’m hunkered down at the top of a quarter pipe, my phone camera out, and I’m snapping stills and recording some great tricks she hasn’t done in a while.

Every time she falls, she pushes to her feet and jumps on the board before I have a chance to ask if she’s hurt. It’s been a rough run for her tonight, but she’s still going.

Around 12:10, she lands a toeflip and then boards toward me. She rolls up the quarter pipe, jumps off the board, and catches the thing before it hits me in the head. A large breath whooshes past her lips as she rests next to me, her body barely an inch away.

“I think I’ve finally figured it out,” she wheezes. I quickly hand her water.

“And what’s that?” Since I have no clue what the hell has got her so in her head tonight, and I don’t want to prod where I’m not wanted, I offer up an encouraging grin. “I mean… if you’re ready to divulge.”

He lets out a breathy laugh and takes another large gulp from the water bottle. Sweat rolls down her neck as she swallows, collecting in the hollows of her collarbones. Her chest rises and falls with the exertion of boarding for so long without a break, and heat spread throughout my body. If I could be bold, reach out and hold her, I could cool her off, be her sounding board.

Instead I lean back, propping myself up on my elbows, getting some much needed air.

She licks her lips free from the water and sweat, slowly screwing the cap back on the bottle. “Pete proposed tonight.”

I raise a brow. “That was fast.”

A hollow laugh billows from her mouth. “Yeah. The date is Valentine’s Day. So I’ve got a little more than six months to come up with a game plan.”

“And you think you’ve got it?”

She holds a finger up. “For the most part. Still thinking through the kinks. But another couple brainstorming sessions on a board should do it.”

I chuckle and push up off my elbows. “Just give me a head’s up for when you need help.”

“Will do.” She lets out a long exhale, and for the first time tonight, a smile teases the corner of her mouth. Her hazel eyes drift toward mine briefly before she drops her head to my shoulder. “You’re kind of the best, you know.”

I freeze underneath her, sweat building in my palms. I completely lose hold of my board, and it rolls down the quarter pipe and bangs against the grinding bar.

“Whoops,” I croak. She silently laughs against me, and I feel every movement, every shake of her amusement, every gorgeous and joyful hitch in her breathing.

“I will tell you all of my drama at some point,” she says, lifting her head and resting her chin on my shoulder. Her eyes are so alive right now, so full of passion. I love what boarding does for her, and what she does for me. “Just not tonight.”

“Hey, you don’t owe me anything,” I manage to say without croaking my way through it.

“I kinda do. You are breaking a lot of rules for me.” She sits back, breaking that small contact and washing me with a cold wave of clarity. “But even if you weren’t, you’re a real good person to talk it out with.”

“Objective party?” I ask.

“No.” She pushes to her feet and offers me a hand. “I like talking to you. I can tell you anything.”

I get to my feet, my shaking hand lingering in hers. “Likewise.”

Now could be it. Perfect segue. We can tell each other anything… including those three little words. My voice locks up behind my tongue, and I beg it to be of some use to me. Do it now.

A chime from Mad’s pocket rings through the air, and she drops my hand. “Damn,” she says, pulling out her phone with the R2D2 cover. “I gotta run. If I’m not back by 1:00, Pete gets suspicious.”

She hitches her board up on her shoulders, and we walk together to mine. I shut all the lights off, my brain still yelling at my voice to work, but it’s not listening. The moment’s gone, and I don’t think it’s coming back tonight.

Next time, though. I will tell her next time.

I’m gonna do it.

Today. Tonight, actually.

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