“So what are we going for?” I ask.
Becca shoves a stack of Doritos in her mouth before answering. “Oh, how about…‘We’re Here, We’re Queer, We’ll never live in fear!’”
“Perfect!” Bella yells.
“I love it,” Pia adds.
“Queers Unite,” Sloane calls, raising her water bottle for us all to cheer.
After some more laughing, we fall into a natural quiet because we’re all getting to that time of the evening where the beer is acting as a sedative. Sloane is the only one who still looks semi-alive. Pia’s head is lolling to the side as she falls asleep.
“Are you guys nervous for tomorrow?” Sloane asks, breaking the silence.
Bella shrugs. “I plan on running exactly as far as the first donut station, then eating my body weight in carbs.”
“It’ll be further than you made it on the last run,” I deadpan. Bella still hates exercise but loves joining in with the fun stuff. I bet she’ll get ten minutes into the run and start walking, which means Becca will join her, and it’ll just be me and Sloane. I’ll have my earbuds in because I still haveto listen to music while running. My guess is Sloane will be with the frontrunners early on.
“Valid,” Becca says knowingly.
They turn to me, and Sloane’s gaze lingers. In the low light, her eyes are huge and blue and hopeful. So I tell the truth. “I want to set a personal best. I know it’s for charity, but I’d like to push myself.”
My statement earns me some fist bumps.
We end the night a little after ten, because apparently, we’re all OAPs now and need our race-day sleep. Pia leaves first, promising to bring confetti. She doesn’t elaborate, so fuck knows what she’s got planned. Becca and Bella head to their bedroom, arms linked and singing the chorus from “Eye of the Tiger” at a volume sure to get us evicted.
Their door shuts, and suddenly it’s just me and Sloane, standing in the quiet.
She lingers, half-in, half-out of the entryway, twisting the cap on her water bottle.
“This was nice,” she says, in a tone that feels like it contains several unspoken paragraphs.
“Yeah.” My brain is cycling through a hundred ways to extend the evening. I could offer her another round of cookies or ask about her run playlist. What I really want to do is invite her to stay the night, but I chicken out.
“Need a ride home?”
She looks up, startled, then smiles. “That would be really great actually. I’d prefer not to call my mom at this hour.”
I grab my car keys and jacket, gesturing for Sloane to go first. The journey to the car is silent and weighted. Halfway to her house, Sloane turns to me.
“Hey, Eden?”
“Yeah?”
She bites her lip. “You make all this look easy. I mean, after everything.”
I snort, which is as attractive as it sounds. “It’s always felt easy with you, Sloane. Even in the harder times.”
She doesn’t reply, and that’s okay. We pull up to her mom’s house and I stop the car.
“See you tomorrow?” I smile, reaching over and squeezing her hand.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” she replies before opening the car door and climbing out. I watch her go, letting my eyes linger on her body.
I turn the car back on and drive home, thinking about how lucky I am to get another chance.
We meet at the starting line just before sunrise. Getting Bella and Becca out of the apartment this morning was ridiculous. Why would anyone need to primp themselves that much when they’re going to get sweaty?
Sloane is waiting for us by the entrance, as agreed. She looks fresh and full of energy. Pia, on the other hand, is waddling through the crowd looking murderous. The early morning start clearly hasn’t left a positive impression.
