Page 77 of Fortunate Misfortune
Sadly, it’s his finger.
“Dammit, Eddie.” His voice is tight and gruff with something I haven’t heard from him before. “I love your laugh.God, I love it so much that it’s probably a little unhealthy, but right now I need you to hold it in before we get caught.”
I follow his worried eyes and find white light gliding across the grass.
“You promised we wouldn’t get caught!”
Kenneth grips my hips and lifts me out of the water before pulling himself out. I focus on the beam of light getting closer, rather than the way his muscles bulge as he slips on his shorts and shirt.
“The worst punishment we’ll get is a strict lecture.”
“That’s a bold assumption to make,” I say, squeezing the water from my shirt and shorts. “What if they tase us?”
A laugh pushes through his tightly pulled lips. “It’s a campus police officer. Not a kidnapper.”
“You don’t know that!”
“Do you trust me, Ed?”
He asks it so easily, as if it isn’t the most loaded question I’ve been asked this week, and I took a biochemistry exam the other day.
But unlike biochemistry, where every question Dr. Lila asks makes me doubt everything I’ve ever known, I know the answer to this question. It’s as easy as breathing. I trust Kenneth so much that I’m sure if my old self could see me now, she would explode on the spot. Trust isn’t just a word or a feeling. It’s an action that is earned daily with effort and hard work.
Kenneth has been showing me I can trust him long before tonight.
His eyes crinkle at the corners when I nod and pull his hoodie over my wet shirt. We both fail spectacularly at hiding our goofy smiles as we slip on our shoes and prepare to escape.
Until my phone lights up, reminding me to take my birth control with a screeching alarm. Kenneth yelps at the sudden sound, which makes my jittery ass scream even louder.
“Hey!” a burly voice calls out. The flashlight beam finally makes it around the wall of trees and whips to us, showering us with light. “You kids know you aren’t supposed to be in the lake.”
I shield my eyes from the light and shout, “Don’t tase us!”
“Tase you? I wouldn’t do that—” The officer steps forward and drops the beam to the ground. “Well, I’ll be damned. Kenneth Gray, is that you?”
Are you kidding me?
“Hey, Officer Dylan,” Kenneth says so nonchalantly that I want to punch him. “Haven’t seen you in a while. Have you been able to golf with my dad lately?”
“Nope. Been too busy catching kids doing things they’re not supposed to be doing on campus.” They both crack a smile, but it does absolutely nothing for my stress level.
Who cares that they know each other? I knew we shouldn’t have come out here without a permit. I’m now a campus criminal, and I’ll take my punishment like a champ.
“I’m so sorry,” I say, holding my hands up. “I don’t think an arrest is warranted for this situation considering we were celebrating, but I also understand we have no permit.” I shoot an ugly look at Kenneth. “Whatever the punishment is, I’ll take—”
The collar of my shirt chokes me as I’m pulled backwards.
“No way,” Kenneth whispers in my ear. “I promised I wouldn’t get you in trouble.” When he turns me around and forces me to look him in the eye, I know he’s about to say something stupid.
“Run, Eddie.”
“What?” I hiss.
“Run!” he repeats.
I look over my shoulder at the man with the taser on his hip and a big smile on his face. He doesn’t even look shocked by Kenneth’s command.When Officer Dylan chokes on a laugh, I take off toward the parking lot with a wild cackle. In less than ten steps, Kenneth catches up to me with my sandal that fell off in his hand.
“Stay out of the lake!” Officer Dylan yells at our backs. “And congrats, Kenneth! I’m proud of you, kid!”
