Page 62 of Running With Lions

As he tugs off his sneakers, Sebastian realizes his common sense has died a proud samurai’s death. Warnings blare in his head:You’re gonna get caught by the team!

Emir shoots him a blank face over his shoulder. Sebastian can’t get past how unbelievably handsome Emir is.

“Shouldn’t you be with the cool kids?” Emir asks when Sebastian sits next to him; their shoulders brush.

Sebastian mimics Emir, dipping his feet in the water. “Not in the mood.” His hand swats away smoke. Emir tips his head back and almost smiles when Sebastian says, “Plus, I’m not cool enough for that crowd, anyway.”

Emir snorts. His elbow jostles Sebastian’s each time he blows out a plume of smoke. The slop-slop of the lake water fills their silence.

Sebastian has absolutely no idea where the memory comes from, but he asks, “Hey, do you still like almond milk?”

Emir’s eyes light up. Their feet brush in the water, ankles touching. Emir says, softly, “A bit, yeah, but not as much as I did when your mom made us a mountain of—”

“Biscuits,” Sebastian, chin tilted up proudly, does his best impression of Emir’s accent.

“You remember?”

“Of course.”

Emir flicks his cigarette into the lake, then reclines on his elbows to stare at the sky. He says, “You used to cheat at Mario Kart.”

Sebastian gasps, scandalized. “I did not, you justsucked.” Emir’s eyes narrow; his nose is scrunched. “Who picks Yoshi, anyway? Poor choices, Emir, poor choices.”

“Whatever.” A laugh rumbles out of Emir’s chest. It’s Sebastian’s new favorite sound. “Your mom was always…” Emir’s eyebrows drop. He tries again. “She was always so nice to me.”

“She liked you.” On reflection, Lily was awfully sad when Emir stopped coming around. Maybe she stopped talking about him for a reason? Maybe the reminder made her sad too?

“Do you still stay up all night reading comics?”

Sebastian nods, drumming his hands on his knees.

“Me too.”

Nocturnal insects hum around the dock. Emir’s ankle skims Sebastian’s. “Back in London, I’d leave room on my bed… for you.” A blush spreads over Emir’s cheeks. Sebastian tries to imagine tiny Emir scrunched against a wall. “You took up so much space.”

“I can’t help that you’re a twig!”

Emir pokes a finger into Sebastian’s ribs. “Pretty sad, right, hoping you were gonna come take up all that space in my bed?” He bites his lip. “It wasweirdwithout you around.”

Sebastian shifts an awkward hand to Emir’s left knee. “It’s not sad.”

“Then what is it?”

Sebastian doesn’t know.It’s the coolest thing anyone has ever said, he thinks—not that he tells Emir. But his fingers squeeze around Emir’s kneecap, not his best response.

Emir’s expression softens.

Okay.

Off in the distance to their left, the team is murdering “We Are Young.” Emir’s palm slides across the back of Sebastian’s hand to twine their fingers. Sebastian’s heart mellows out. He never imagined, at the start of summer, that this is where they would be.

The nervous anticipation stirring in Sebastian’s body makes him say, “Pretty good night for a swim.” He sheepishly pulls his hand from Emir’s. Adrenaline vibrates through his cells. He stands and yanks off his sweatshirt. His fingers work to tug off his jeans next.

“What are you doing?”

Sebastian shrugs. He’s clueless, but going along with the flare in his belly that moves toward his chest. It’s his last summer here, so wasting time isn’t an option.

“I never do anything fun.”

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