Page 3 of Going the Distance
I craned my neck at the sound of my name being called, standing on tiptoe to look. Dixon was a few yards away, with Lee and our other friend Warren waving me over. I waved back, just so he knew I’d seen him, before heading over.
I weaved between a couple of cars to get to him and the guys, and just as I began to scoot past an unfamiliar green Toyota, the driver’s door opened into my hip and knocked me back against the Ford behind me.
I sucked in a sharp breath, waiting for the Ford’s alarm to wail—and I let the air out in a rush when it didn’t.
Guess I won’t be the school klutz this year. New beginning, here I am.
“Oh, shit. Oh, man, I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there….”
“It’s totally my fault—don’t worry about it,” I said, brushing the hair out of my face before taking a look at the driver. I didn’t recognize him: he was all long limbs, but not actually much taller than me, and his eyes were hidden behind sunglasses so dark I could see myself in them. He pushed the sunglasses up into his curly brown hair in a fluid motion; then his arm hung limp at his side, one hand clenched around a backpack strap.
He had nice eyes. Friendly sort of eyes. They were green and they crinkled in the corners. I had to squint a little, because the sun was just behind him. He shifted his weight to his other foot and blocked out the sun.
He was cute.
“Are you okay? Did I hurt you? I’m so sorry—”
“Seriously, don’t worry about it. I’m fine. Really.” I smiled for emphasis, even if my hip did hurt a little.
The sound of the passenger door opening caught my attention, and I immediately recognized Cam, with his floppy blond hair and battered blue backpack that he’d had since, like, the eighth grade. He grinned over at me.
“Why am I not surprised? Dude, we’ve told you, you need to watch where you’re walking.”
I pulled a face at him before turning back to the long-limbed guy with the sunglasses, about to say something like “You must be Levi,” but Cam beat me to the punch.
“I guess I should introduce you two. Elle, this is Levi. Levi, my friend Elle.”
“Nice to meet you.” He held a hand up in a wave and flashed a smile that showed teeth so white I thought they must be bleached.
“Nice to meet you, too. Sorry for walking into your car door. When Cam told us we should meet his new neighbor,klutzwasn’t exactly the first impression I was goingfor.”
His smile went wider. “So are you always this clumsy, or is this just an off day for you?”
“She’s a klutz,” Cam pitched in, and I thought he sounded kind of snappy. Did he not like his new neighbor, or was he just stressed? Sensing something off, I changed the topic.
“Dixon’s just over there, with the others.”
“Awesome.” Cam started off in the direction I’d just gestured, spotting the guys quickly, but Levi made no move to follow him straightaway.
“Come on,” I said to the new guy, “you should come meet everyone else.”
When introductions had been made, and Levi started asking about the sports here (he’d been on the lacrosse team back in Detroit), I nudged Cam in the side gently.
“What’s the deal between you two?” I kept my voice low. “Tell me to shut up if I’m crossing a line, or something, but…I don’t know, it just seems like you don’t really like the new guy much.”
Cam’s grumpy expression became something more abashed. “It’s not that I don’t like him—I don’t really know him that well yet,” he mumbled. “I just hate being responsible for the new kid, you know? I feel like I have to rein in the sarcasm and be super nice.”
“It’ll be fine. He seems nice. At least try not to look like Brad when my dad tells him to eat his broccoli.”
“Easy for you to say,” he muttered. “The guy drives like a maniac—and my car’s still in the garage.”
“I’d like to remind you of the time that you backed into a post.”
“Ugh, don’t.” But he smiled, and I grinned back. Lee’s shoulder bumped into mine as he gestured in his conversation with Warren and Levi about football, and I caught his eye briefly.
Senior year, here we are.
