He slid his palm against mine, and my knees threatened to buckle. It felt like the earth tilted slightly and I tripped toward him. But I caught myself, making my hand limp in his. He might be able to crack other girls with a single moment of sweetness, but I was not other girls.
He lifted our hands up and down, forcing the shake. “‘I’m Griffin’s girlfriend, Magnolia,’” he said, doing a terrible high-pitched impression of me. “Pre-med. I’m going to be a thoracic surgeon someday. Or a hematologist-oncologist. I’m still deciding.”
I wouldn’t laugh. Not even with his horrible girl voice. I let my hand drop to my side.
He popped his pecs and flexed his biceps, not giving up. “I bleed orange and blue!” he yelled. “Come on. Say it.”
“I bleed orange and blue,” I muttered, mechanical and hollow.
He pounded his chest and screamed, “Wah-hoo-wah!” Then he broke into a grin. It was the first genuine smile he’d givenme since the day we met, and it felt like a sunrise after the darkest, storm-filled night. “Your turn.”
“Wah-hoo-wah,” I said softly, fighting a smile.
He got right in my face, expression intense. “Wah-hoo-wah! Come on, Magnolia. Do it with me. Fists ready! We have lost time to make up for!”
I rolled my eyes but laughed. He wasn’t going to quit until I gave him what he wanted.
So I got my fists ready, inhaled, and then, together, we pounded our chests and yelled, “Wah-hoo-wah! Wah-hoo-wah! Wah-hoo-WAH!”
It became our war cry.
Every time we stood at the imaginary start line of the trail, we’d yell it. Every time we threw a spear and it landed. Every obstacle we nailed. Every inside joke. Every text goodnight. Every good morning phone call.
Every whispered dream.
No matter how hard I tried not to, once his walls were down and I got to see who he really was…
I fell in love with Bowen Dupree one wah-hoo-wah at a time.
Chapter Thirteen
MAGNOLIA
Shirtless,Bowen’s hands were laced behind his head, running shorts low enough to make my cheeks flame. His hair was knotted in a bun at the back of his head.
“Look.” He nudged a stick off the trail. “I’m not trying to be a pain in the butt. We should just run right now, or we’re going to lose our chance. The sun doesn’t care if Griffin can’t show up on time.”
I sighed. “I promised I would wait for him.”
I could see him fighting back a frustrated response. His look said it all anyway.You’re my partner. You should be running with me.
Anna and Christy jogged past.
“Hey, guys,” Anna called.
“Better get your laps in,” Christy sang. “The sunset won’t stop for Griffin.”
Bowen thrust his hands at his aunt, likesee.
“Go without me,” I said.
He stared at me for a moment before his shoulders fell in resignation. “No. I’ll wait with you.”
Maybe he was as excited to see me every day as I was to see him, and he didn’t want to give up a single minute. Thatwas normal, right? Friends could feel that way about each other?
“You should put your shirt on,” I suggested. Griffin hated that Bowen ran shirtless all the time.
“No,” he grumbled. “I take care of my clothes, unlike Griff, who treats his floor like a laundry basket. So if I can keep from drenching them in sweat, I’m going to.” He wasn’t wrong. Griff was a slob while Bowen folded his T-shirts like origami. I’d caught him using one of those folding boards the other night when I came over for dinner. He smacked a mosquito on his calf and flicked it to the ground. “Besides, why would Iaddlayers when I’m trying not to pass out from heatstroke?”
