Page 76 of Summer Breakdown
She pulls at her lips. “She might have.” Kissing her in front of everyone had been such a good plan. It was romantic, and honestly, she’d been waiting for a chance to kiss her. She thought Frankie would have done something about it by now. It’s been, like, four full days.
“Bro, if she had plucked up the courage to kiss you, I would have heard about it a million times.”
“She wants to,” she asks quietly, “right?”
“Yeah,” Ezra says. “It’s all she talks about, and she’s beating herself up about being too pussy to do it.” Jasmine wants Frankie to talk about it with her. It doesn’t matter if she won’t kiss her right now; she just wants to know what’s in her head.
“Anything else?” he asks.
“Not unless you want me to complain about how hot she is, or if you have anything to talk about.”
“You’re intolerable,” he replies, and Jasmine gasps.
“Did you finishAtonement?”
“Almost. No spoilers.”
“It’s hundreds of years old,” Jasmine replies, but she wouldn’t dare.
“Okay, and…?”
“Distract me.”
“I’m almost done with Lani’s jumper.” Jasmine is ridiculously excited. Of course Ezra knits. Lani might end up liking him more than her.
“Can you write me a recommendation letter?” he asks.
“Sure. What for?”
The door swings open, and even though it’s not Frankie’s office door, Jasmine hopes it’s Frankie. She’s not disappointed when it’s Cam. Especially not when she looks like she has snacks.
“I’ll tell you later.”
“Hi!” Mali shouts, as she paints a two on Lani’s cheek.
“Hi, hot stuff,” Cam replies, kissing Mali on the cheek. “Babygirl!” She kisses Lani on the cheek too. She walks over and hugs Jasmine before placing the treats on the table.
“Cato,” Ezra says, with a frown. It’s playful. Jasmine thinks it’s playful, but honestly, his face rarely changes. “Did you bring cookies, or are you just here to ignore me?”
“Cookies?” Lani asks, wiggling in Zach’s arms. He doesn’t seem to notice, and he doesn’t put her down.
“Zach,” Jasmine says, and he looks at her. “If you don’t put her down, she’s going to bite you.” Scandalised, Zach looks at Lani, and she laughs. She won’t bite him, but she does want to get down. He places her on the floor and looks terrified about it. Lani has walked in front of most of them, and it’s just a few steps. Jasmine likes that he cares about it. Jasmine tries not to watch her walk. She can walk just fine. They do physical therapy. She’s fine.
Cam meets her halfway. “What flavour would you like?”
Lani thinks about it, but Jasmine knows she’ll get double-chocolate. Her legs shake a little, but not enough to intervene. Ezra takes a step forwards.
“Ezra,” Jasmine whispers, holding onto his arm. He steps back, and she smiles at him. He doesn’t know.
“Do you want to sit down?” Cam asks, looking worried, as if her falling isn’t just one foot onto a carpeted floor. She would hurt herself, though, so Jasmine appreciates that they’re looking out for her, even though she’s right here.
“I’m okay,” she replies. “We didn’t bring my chair because it’s busy. My legs always shake a bit. Double-chocolate, please.” Cam hands her one wrapped in a napkin. “Uhm, and can I please have a white chocolate and strawberry one for Mama?”
“Sure!”
“And—“
“Lani,” Jasmine says. “You can only carry two at once.”
