“Cold?” Blaze asked.
“Nah, I’m good,” I said out of pride, eyeing the blue cardigan that he was holding.
He smiled and shoved the cardigan under my nose.
The breeze made me miss Seattle. At least Seattle hit you in the face with the cold. It didn’t trick you by being 75 degrees outside when you left the house only for the temperature to plummet as soon as the sun set.
“How was your first day of school?” Blaze asked hesitantly.
His voice was delicately melodious—soft and kind. I caught him fiddling with his hoodie sleeves, indicating that he was feeling uncomfortable.
“Better than I expected,” I said as we walked into the park.
“Considering that you met these two”—he motioned to Brian and Amelia—“I’m guessing you had extremely low expectations.”
Amelia pushed him so hard that he lost his balance.
“It’s always the same with you, Blaze. Be grateful that we’re your ride. If it wasn’t for us, you’d be sitting on the couch right now watchingGilmore Girlswith your mom.”
Blaze’s cheeks turned pink, and he looked down bashfully. “I’m so sorry my mom’s Korean and my dad would prefer to put me up for adoption instead of letting me use his car.”
“Fine, play the victim. You can fool June, but it won’t work with us,” Brian teased as I smiled slightly.
As they bantered back and forth we reached another area of the park. The vibe changed completely: no families, just groups of students—some younger, some older than us.
A weird, pungent, smoky odor filled my nostrils.
“Do you know how skate parks began, June?” Blaze asked me.
I shook my head.
“In the ’70s, there was major drought, so people used empty pools to roller-skate or skateboard,” Blaze explained.
“Man, Blaze is really into her,” Amelia whispered in her brother’s ear, making me slightly uncomfortable.
“June, I won’t ask you again, but if you’re cold, you can put my on cardigan.” He held it out again and I shook my head again.
Blaze strained to look me in the eyes.
“No, no, really . . . I’m . . .” I stuttered.
The skate ramps bent and curved around themselves, tapering at some points and widening at others. There was every kind of ramp from beginner to expert level. Most kids were concentrated in the widest part of the basins, trying out new tricks and routines.
As soon as we sat down near a small café, Brian left to join a group of guys in football jerseys.
“Who are they?” I asked Amelia as Brian bent over a petite brunet. They were making out so passionately that I had to look away.
“Brian’s teammates. They have a game in a couple of days.”
The weird odor made me gag and cough. It hung in the air everywhere. If I came home reeking of that stench, my mom would force me to take a bodyguard with me.
Amelia pulled a blanket from her bag and laid it out on the grass. We’d been sitting and talking for around ten minutes when Brian came back in a weird, indecipherable mood.
“You’re still not getting any, huh,” his sister teased as she waved at the girl.
“Come on, for once he seems like he’s truly in love. Don’t torture him.” Blaze grinned.
I moved closer to Amelia to make space for Brian, whose eyes were still glued to his girlfriend.
