The statement catches me off-guard and I nearly trip over a crack in the sidewalk, allowing Diana to move farther ahead and I try my best to catch up. Thankfully, we’re stopped and I manage to catch up with her.
“I’ve got one.” I press my hand to my knees, catching my breath for a minute. “The winner gets to ask the loser any question they want.”
“That’s it?” She furrows her brows. “One question?”
“One question. About anything.”
That definitely piques her interest. “Anything? Even…”
I nod. “Yup.”
“Deal.”
We’re then given the signal to cross and we run like hell. It takes us a while to even reach the house but by the time we do, Emma is sitting out by the lawn chairs, reading a book with a cover that would make my sister blush.
She looks up at us running and her eyes widen as she scrambles off the chair. Diana and I both reach for the chair. Our hands touch the chair at the same time, my left hand next to hers.
“What did I just witness?” She mumbles to herself.
“Emma!” Diana grabs her hand and brings her closer to the chair. “Who do you think won? We were racing.”
“Uh…” Emma glances between the two of us. Both sweaty and a little out of breath. “I wasn’t paying attention. Please, if this is a fight, then don’t get me involved. Just kiss and makeup or something. I’m calling a tie.”
She then grabs her book that she dropped and heads back inside Diana’s house, the door shut behind her.
I stare at the door. “Well, she was—”
“Yeah,” she agrees. “But we surprised her and she hates surprises.”
I nod, totally understanding what she just said—even though I do not. “So, it looks like I won.”
“No way! I got here first. See?” We look back down at the arms of the chair. Both of our hands are touching the same arm but—something I didn’t notice at first glance—the tip of her finger sits atop my knuckle.
“How do you explain that, then?” I gesture to the placement of our hands.
“You moved my finger.”
“Diana,” I sigh. “I moved nothing. You lost by a finger. Though I must admit, you were a tough competitor. Did you do track or something?”
She nods. “And cross country all four years of high school.” Wiping the sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand, she closes her eyes and she’s not breathing as heavily. “Is that your one question?”
“Nope. I’d do better than that.”
“Well, ask away,” she says, plopping herself down on the chair. “I might as well be an open book.”
I allow myself to ponder that question. Honestly, I should have let Diana ask me a question instead because I’ve learned a lot more about her than she has of me.
But the tiny part of my brain wants to be selfish and ask more because Iwantto know more.
“Coming from someone who’s never been through something like that,” I begin with. “Was it that terrifying?”
“Going deep aren’t you?” She chuckles before getting serious. “Without going into much detail, yes. A near-death experience could change someone. I was terrified of it happening again. So I avoided drinking, parties—anything that could lead to a similar occurrence. Even motor vehicles when I had the chance.”
“No driving?”
She gives me a look. “That was two questions.”
“I’m just saying. You live in California now, a state that practically requires driving from one place to another. Not once have you thought about learning how?”
