“In fact, it is and I know how to use it.” I wink at her as I rush off the stool because I know she’s going to hate that comment. In a lackluster attempt, she tosses her scrunched up napkin at me as I smirk and start to walk away.
“Oh my God, get out of here,” she calls from behind me, but she can’t keep a straight face and I see her smile from across the room.
“One of these days we’re going to drive out here and the for sale sign will be gone and a stunning white house with a big wrap around porch and black shutters will sit on this lot and we’ll be out of luck,” Mia says as she sips her milkshake and we pull into the same vacant lot we’ve come to countless times.
We found it by mistake one day when I first moved here. It’s just an open patch of land with an old battered FOR SALE sign in the ground. You can barely read the numbers on it anymore.
“Fuck, don’t say that.” My eyes go wide at her. I love this place. It’s my one quiet escape. Somewhere I find myself often. Everything is quiet out here, especially my mind. The stars and the moon shine so fucking bright out here. Downtown, it’s hard to see it like this, with all of the city lights taking away from their light.
Glancing to the passenger’s seat, Mia’s dress is hiked up above her knee so she can keep her milkshake between her legs,even though there’s a perfectly good cup holder in the center console of my truck. My eyes drift to her legs, they’re so fucking tanned right now. The scar above her knee looks more noticeable when she’s this tanned, and seeing it gives my chest a burning sting at the memory.
“What do you think about going to outer space? Amazing or terrifying?” Her wrist moves back and forth as she gives her milkshake a twirl.
“Terrifying. Absolute horror,” I answer without any hesitation. Going in space or deep into the abyss of the ocean are two places you’ll never catch me.
“Really? I think it’d be so amazing. I mean look at how gorgeous this is just from where we’re sitting. Can you imagine how amazing it probably looks up close?” She cranes her neck a little further looking out the windshield and I sigh at the sight of her out here. She loves this random patch of dirt. And hell, I do too.
My phone dings at the same time as Mia’s, causing us both to reach down and see a photo of a scrunchy faced little baby with a pink bow on her head with a text from Chase.
CHASE
It’s a girl! And she’s so fucking cute.
Last night reminded me why Nate’s my best friend. Without a single prompt, after I so graciously accepted defeat in our stem tying contest, we went to Frenchie’s for milkshakes and then to the old abandoned lot to sit in silence and darkness, and it was fucking glorious. There’s literally no one else on the planet who gets me like he does.
Although, this morning as I lay in bed, the one regret I do have is the late bedtime. I’m usually up with the roosters no problem, so when my seven o’clock alarm starts blaring, I’m finding any excuse I can to snooze it. It works for about fifteen minutes before I force myself up and out of bed. I reach for the curtains to open the blinds just a tad to get some sunlight in as it’s rising. Glancing out my bedroom window, I can see the sidewalk below and the bakery just a few buildings over. Some days I can read the specials from my window, but today isn’t that day. Whoever wrote them this morning has very smallhandwriting, making it impossible to read, even when I try squinting.
Nate’s name flashes on my screen as I’m mixing the almond milk with my coffee and I quickly answer it.
“Hey, morning,” I say into the phone as I’m drizzling the caramel over my iced coffee.
“Hey, Smalls. Want to go for a run?”
The thing about Nate is, any time he has a lot on his mind, his go to form of release is pounding the pavement. I have a list of things I want to get done today, but I can spare an hour to burn off some steam with him.
“Yeah, do you want to run the track at the high school?”
“Yes. I don’t want to run downtown, there are too many people, it stresses me out,” he answers eagerly.
“Perfect. I’ll meet you there in thirty.”
“Are you wearing that in case we get lost and the helicopters need to be able to find us?” he snarks while chewing on a protein bar, and referring to my very loud colored workout set as I approach him.
“No, it’s solely to embarrass you. Is it working?” I quip back. Yellow is a great color, okay.
His eyes trail up my legs and I notice when he lingers a moment before moving up to my eyes. Best friend or not, Nate’s still a guy and even though I know he isn’t into me, the stares and looks are sometimes a little reassuring. Ol’ Mia’s still got it. Whateveritis.
“You look like a highlighter,” he teases as he walks by and smoothly grabs the scrunchie off of my wrist. My knee jerkreaction is to swat his hand away, but like normal, he’s too quick and already out of arm's reach.
“Alright, a few times around this track should do it.” Reaching down, I tighten my shoelaces and take a sip of water before we get started.
Nate and I don’t talk as we run. We stay within a similar pace, although he’s slightly ahead of me. The heat is making this a lot harder than it should be, but we power through. I force my mind to think of things other than the sweat pooling everywhere or the ache in my left knee that’s starting to flare up.
The second he stops and throws himself on the grass in the middle of the track, I do the same. He’s lying there, white t-shirt completely soaked in sweat as he pulls it up to wipe his forehead. I don’t look at Nate with the same eyes that most women do. But I can appreciate a nice thing, and Nate Campbell’s body is a true work of art. His muscles are so defined, and the way the valleys on his stomach contract as he sits up slightly definitely isn’t the worst view to have on a Saturday morning.
Nate pulls his shirt off over his head and wrings out the sweat that it’s collected. It’s truly… disgusting.
“You guys have it so easy,” I snark as I sit there across from him, wiping sweat off of my forehead and cursing myself for not bringing a towel.
