“Yeah?” she whispers.
Do it.I lean in closer, prepared to make the biggest mistake of my life.
“You know it’s pretty creepy out here in the dark!” Daisy’s voice booms from the shadows, and we split apart into our camping chairs with a silent rustle.
The morning air feels good on my face as I run the path down and back up through the park. It’s eerily quiet out, and my headphones are broken, leaving me alone with thoughts of Brighton’s face inches from mine.
“Rhea?”I can hear him in my head, the way his voice dropped—the intention.
“He was going to kiss you,” I pant, narrowly avoiding a stray root on the path with my sneaker. “Brighton Black was going to kiss you.” My breathing is heavy against the quiet backdrop of the forest, and I’m stomping so loudly after mile three that the birds are rustling around in the tree above me in protest. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” I lift my hands and cry out to them. “But I’m having an existential crisis here, and I have no cell phone service to call my friends!” I yell out in a frustrated whisper.
Brighton Black was going to kiss you.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I swear and push my legs faster into the run.Maybe if I run fast enough, I can forget the way he smells after sweating his ass off setting up camp.
“Probably not, though—ow!” A branch catches my cheek and leaves a stinging impression as I carry on through the forest. It’s like everything that’s been happening over the last months is sticking to my skin and demanding attention.
“Did I want him to kiss me?” The question comes out confused and stress-laden. I almost hit another tree thinking about the answer, but I hop to the left and manage to keep my pace.
“Do I want him to kiss me?”Kinda.I shake off the quick thought to focus on my run, curving back toward the campsite—and the lake.
“Oh...shit.” I skid to a stop, nearly tumbling down the hill, when I spot Brighton sitting by the lake alone, watching the sun rise over the horizon. “Go back to camp, Rhea,” I hiss, as a squirrel yips overhead. “Yeah fuck you,” I groan quietly.
Brighton sighs, his entire body shifting on the rock in the most gentle way. I’ve never seen him so still and quiet before, which is a wonder because that’s basically who he is as a man. Listening to him talk to Daisy about Auggie reminded me of my conversation with Sunday, and now everything is tangled up in the most confusing way.Are we still friends?
“Don’t be a coward,” I whisper to myself.
After Daisy interrupted the tense moment between the two of us, we spent the rest of the night listening to her rank her favorite musicians in order. It’s like without her phone, she was a completely different kid; she talked and talked. Thankfully, filling the silence and leaving no room for either of us to be awkward about what had almost happened.
But now you’re alone.
I shake out my body, look around at the path that leads back to the campsite, and consider my options carefully. “Alright. Definitively: you’re friends. It’s not weird to join him for the sunrise.” The birds above my head start singing a funny song that sounds like laughter. “Stop mocking me,” I mutter.
“Who are you talking to?” Brighton’s voice comes from ahead of me, and he’s still staring at the lake, but I’ve definitely ruined any escape plan.
“The stupid birds,” I grumble.
“You’re fighting the wildlife?” He asks, confused. “That’s a new low.”
“Don’t start, you’ll ruin the sunrise.” I roll my eyes.
“You’re the one running around here like a bull in a china shop,” he teases.
“Are you calling me fat, Brighton Black? Because we’re alone in the woods, I listen to a lot of crime podcasts, and there are no witnesses.” I warn him, and his shoulders shake with laughter.
He looks at me over his shoulder, with his dumb messy bedhead, in hisdumbweather-worn hoodie, and a smile on hisdumbhandsome face.
My breath catches uncomfortably at the base of my throat.
I wish the birds were more helpful.
“What did you do to your cheek?” he asks, and I lift my fingers to the small scratch with a grumble.
“I was assaulted by nature, what else is new?” I groan, and he laughs, the sound almost startling against the serene backdrop.
“And why are you still standing back there?” he asks, and I don't know how to explain to him that being around him is confusing right now. And I don’t want it to be confusing. I just want my friend.
“I’m sweaty. Didn’t want to ruin your morning with my stench.” He eyes me, unsatisfied with the answer, as his lips press into a thin line.
