Chapter 7
Leo ruined his third hedge in a row when I decided on letting him be my swim instructor for the summer.
“I want to know one thing before we make plans.” I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. We’d found a shady spot for our last fifteen-minute break of the day.
Leo leaned against the tree and took a few sips from his bottle before saying, “Whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you.”
I shifted my weight from one leg to another, debating on how to phrase my question. “Why are you talking to me now?”
His eyebrows wrinkled. “I’ve been talking to you all day.”
I shook my head. “No, you know what I mean. Don’t pretend like you don’t, it’s very dismissive.”
He cleared his throat and nodded. “I didn’t mean to sound dismissive. In all honesty… I thought we talked an average amount for two people who aren’t that close.”
“Maybe.” I shrugged. “But we stay far apart because you have an invisible hand up, stopping me at every turn.”
“I know. I had walls up when it came to you.” He nodded. “You have them too, though. For the past few years, it’s been hard for me to even imagine getting past them.”
There was a lull in the conversation as I considered his observation. He wasn’t wrong. I put up walls to protect myself. Maybe my gut reaction to immediately pull away hadn’t been the best one? I contemplated my next words because I wanted to start this new friendship off on a good foot.
“How about we agree to forget about the awkward past,” I suggested. “We can start breaking the walls by actually addressing each other whenever we’re in a room? Baby steps.”
Leo nodded with a hopeful look in his eyes. “I could do that.”
“No more ignoring each other during parties and whatnot,” I added.
“No more,” he agreed. “You should know I did that because I thought you might prefer it that way.”
I blinked, confused. “Why would I prefer to be overlooked?”
He scratched the back of his head. “I don’t know. You acted strange after I texted you about not coming to the swim lesson. I thought I upset you.”
“You did. That doesn’t mean I didn’t want to talk.”
“I wanted to talk,” he explained with a shrug. Leo tried to keep his expression neutral, but I could tell this was difficult for him.
“I tried one night, and you blew me off,” he continued with a low, awkward chuckle. “So, I gave you space. And space paired with time seemed to go on forever. Eventually, it was easier to not look in your direction.”
“I don’t remember blowing you off,” I whispered, trying hard to recall what happened.
“Doesn’t matter,” Leo assured. “We’re forgetting the past, right?”
“Right,” I agreed with a bit of reluctance. Leo had his own side of the story and now, I couldn’t stop thinking about how things looked in his perspective.
He pushed off the tree with renewed energy from our break and said, “Now, what actual tips do you have for me?”
My eyes trailed to what Leo was pointing at, the hedges I’d banned him from.
“Come on, they’re not that bad.” He stepped back from them and tilted his head to the side. “Not… completely.”
I replaced my gardening gloves and said, “Okay, if we’re going to work on goals together this summer, I’m going to need you to not lie to yourself. A good accountability partner never lies.”
“I wasn’t lying…” he trailed off when he saw my face. “Per se. I was merely saying that this is a decent first attempt. You at least have to give me that.”
“I only give away compliments when they’re earned.”
He gave me a grin. “Fine. I don’t mind working for it.”
