Page 56 of Cloudless
“I don’t really know what to tell you. I’m not very interesting.”
Her eyes are free of clouds as I follow her into the water. I might just follow her anywhere if she keeps looking at me like this. “That’s pretty subjective. And you, Sunshine, happen to be my new favorite subject.” The warm water rushes over my feet as I close in on her.
The water rises on our legs as she backs away from me. Her voice is so quiet, it almost disappears into the darkness. “I ran track in high school.”
I shake my head as my eyes roam over her face. “Not good enough.”
Her smile falls as the surrounding air turns serious. “What do you mean?”
“If I’m settling for one thing, you better make it good.”
She tilts her head as she thinks. “I, uh, I like to read.”
I shake my head again as the water pulls on my legs as I pull on her walls. I beg them to fall and let me in. “Try again. You can do better than that.”
“I’m, uh, a business major.”
The solitude we’ve found in the water fuels my resolve. “Still not good enough.”
I can barely hear her voice over the rushing waves. “I don’t know what more you want from me.”
“I want something real. I want something that no one else knows.” My voice falls to a whisper. “Something that’s just for me.”
A war plays out on her face as her eyes search mine. The sound of the rushing waves and indecision fills the space between us.
Her eyelashes flutter against her cheeks as she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Apprehension is written all over her face as her eyes open and connect with mine. “I can’t imagine our future without you in it, Kam.”
Her words nearly steal the breath from my lungs. “You don’t have to.”
She shakes her head as the clouds move back to her eyes. “You don’t know that.”
“You’re right. There are very few certainties in life, but know this, Lila Mae Sullivan.” Steel determination rings through my voice as I close the distance between us. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m here. With you. For you. Beside you. Whatever you need. I want to be that for you.” My voice falls to a whisper. “As long as you’ll let me.”
The string of friendship we’ve woven between us pulls taut as she searches my face. I beg her with my eyes to cut the string and set me free so we can weave a new thread. A thread that seems so full of possibilities.
Laughter drifts to us from the shore. Lila’s eyes flick behind me before she takes a step back. The night air takes her place as she moves away from me. “Looks like your thirty minutes are up, Trouble.”
I know I’ll find our friends packing up if I glance over my shoulder, so I choose to stay in our bubble a bit longer. I grab Lila’s hand as she tries to walk back to shore. The clouds in her eyes move in and out of focus as she gazes up at me.
The cool chill of her skin seeps into my palm. “Come to my game tomorrow night.”
Her eyes flick back and forth between mine. I see the exact moment she gives herself permission. She can’t hide the trepidation in her voice. “Okay.”
I mourn the loss of her hand as soon as I let it go. The waves wash around my legs as I watch her walk away.
I know one thing for certain.
Thirty minutes will never be enough.
CHAPTER 27
SEMANTICS
LILA
My eyes volley between the jersey on my bed, the note in my hand, and my crush’s sister as I try to calm my racing heart. “He gave you this?”
The number 23 on the back of the jersey grows smaller as the name “Stryker” written across the top grows larger. The significance of wearing Kam’s last name on my back to tonight's game feels monumental.
