“Should I schedule a drop by through carrier pigeon, then?” he teased.
“You know, my high school actually owned carrier pigeons. The gardener fed them and tried to teach us how to tie notes to their feet. I used to spend lunch with the guy so I know a weird amount of random bird knowledge.”
“Wow, was definitely not expecting that.” Dakota chuckled. “I guess I now know who to go to in case I do go forward with making the investment of buying pigeons.”
I laughed. “Oh, hands down, I got you. But, also, don’t be afraid to just drop by — without the pigeons, of course.”
“Of course,” he agreed.
“You don’t seem like the kind of person who’d want to hang out at weird times. And, even if you did, I’ve been known to make exceptions for the right kind of people.”
When he paused for a second, I thought he got distracted by the girls’ laughter ahead of us. I looked up to find his forehead wrinkled as he tried to find the right words.
“Uh,” he struggled, losing all momentum. “Sorry.”
I shook my head, confused at his sudden mellow change of tone. “No worries.”
He slowed down a little and his voice lowered too, “Can I ask you something and you shoot straight?”
“Of course.” I stared at him, curious about the change in walking pace. “I am known to be a straight shooter.”
“You’re a flirt, but you’re not interested in going out.” He spoke slowly as if he was working things out in his head. “I don’t mean to put you on the spot. There’s nothing wrong with how we’ve been interacting. I would like for this to continue… It’s just I’d like to know the limits. Whether I can do stuff like flirt back and visit you at your place.”
“You’re flirting back?” I asked, half-joking to buy myself some time.
“Trying to, but I’m a little hesitant and rusty,” he admitted.
“No, I’m not interested in going out.” My cheeks heated a bit in fear I overstepped. “People have called me a flirt. I understand it can be annoying sometimes, I can stop-”
“It’s cool with me,” he cut in. “I like it. Keep doing it.”
I let out a sigh. “Awesome. This felt like it was about to be more awkward.”
“Agreed. We were on the cusp, for sure.” He chuckled. “But I’m glad we got on the same page. Flirting only.”
“Flirting only.” I nodded in agreement, even though my gut laughed at the statement. I knew I wanted more, but that’d be my little secret.
Chapter 7
Wemanagedtodyetwo other fountains before getting distracted from our plan. Yara asked for back-up on the walkie, so Dakota decided to take a quick detour. The girls didn’t seem too thrilled with helping the enemy. Instead of arguing, Dakota suggested we go on and meet up with him afterward.
“I don’t mind a detour,” I said as I jogged to his side.
“You sure?” He glanced back at the girls who were more than pleased to take on the full bag of paints as they finished the mission.
I quickened my pace to keep up with his long stride. He slowed a bit when he noticed I struggled to match him. “Definitely, I could come in handy.”
Dakota smiled. “Thanks. That’s nice of you.”
I grinned back. He led us through an alleyway behind one of the large, Digital Arts’ buildings. My poor white sneakers splashed in puddles as we emerged back into open space. I spotted rows and rows of vending machines lining a brick wall. We were near the entrance of the campus library. Steel picnic tables and a massive fountain took up space at the front of the building.
Yara sat on the edge of the fountain, alone. One of her shoes was off and she massaged her ankle.
“What happened?” Dakota stopped in front of her. Our sudden appearance made her jump, but she recovered quickly.
“Some guy from Kevin’s team took things too personally,” she grumbled and redirected her attention back to her ankle. “Shoving started, and I got caught up in the mix.”
“Where did everyone go?” I frowned and knelt in front of her.
