Me:Gonna go Leon’s and grab a coffee before heading home. Does anyone want anything?
Baldie:Ooo.
Baldie:Cherry lemonade cooler!!
Baldie:Extra ice??
Hunt:Iced coffee would be nice.
Hunt:Maybe a cookie too? ??
Me:Okay, Chase?
Big Daddy:Iced coffee with two pumps of honey.
Big Daddy:Also, a chocolate muffin.
Big Daddy:You know the one with the gooey chocolate on the inside?
Baldie:Someone’s got a sweet tooth…
Big Daddy:And I’ll give you $50 if you don’t get Jenkins his drink.
Baldie:WHAT THE FUCK?!
Hunt:Hahahahah.
Laughing at the string of texts that continue to come in, I lock my phone and as I slide it back into my pocket, something—or someone—crashes into me. On instinct, my hands reach out to grab their arms, making sure they don’t fall and crash to the ground.
“Shit, I’m so sorry.” The sweetest voice rambles.
Looking down, Lilly blinks up at me. My hands tighten around her arm before I retract them and slide them into the pocket of my jeans.
“We’ve got to stop meeting like this.” I resort with a chuckle.
She smiles at me, tucking a piece of blonde hair behind her ear, and I can’t help but feel captivated by the sudden movement.
Her big, bright blue eyes, that are like two sapphires sparkle with a light that seemed to come from within drew me in, making it impossible to look away. And then there was her blonde hair that cascaded down her back in soft waves, catching the light and shimmering like spun gold. Each strand seems to have a life of its own, moving gracefully as the wind picked up.
But her smile, that was the first initial thing I noticed about her. It’s a genuine smile I’ve witnessed a number of times—never directed at me, hazard a guess as to why—but that smile lit up her entire face and made it seem like she didn’t have a single ounce of care in the world.
And I wonder what my life would be like if I didn’t have a single ounce of care, what would it be like if I had loving parents, and a stable childhood? Would I smile as bright as her, or maybe even brighter?
“Yeah,” she nods, glancing around, knocking me from my inner turmoil. “Yeah, we do.”
I clench my jaw as I watch her face become irritated. Is that aimed at me? I’ve apologized for the way I spoke to her the other day at the rink, and she accepted that apology…I think? Fuck. Maybe she didn’t.
“Are you okay?” I tilt my head to the side slightly, trying to guage her reaction.
“What, me?” She points to herself, and I nod. “Yeah,” she nods almost too eagerly. “I’m good, better than good.Greateven.”
Interesting.
“Where you headed to in such a rush?”
“Oh, nowhere, and everywhere.” She flails her hands around awkwardly in front of her as she glances around again.
Am I that much of an inconvenience that she doesn’t even want to stand here talking to me? She keeps looking around, and I take that small window of opportunity where her eyes aren’t on me and do the same. Looking, searching…trying to find an answer.
