“You’re freezing,” Dylan says a few minutes later. Between having his warm arm around me and enjoying the beautiful night, I haven’t noticed. I’m wearing a t-shirt, and goosebumps pepper my arms. Paul told me it would be cold here, and it is. I stand up straight and rub my arms with my hands.
“I guess we’d better go in and find out what everyone else is up to,” I say.
We walk into Dylan’s room and he rummages through a dresser drawer while I wait by the edge of the bed. “Here.” He tosses me a large sweatshirt. “Put this on.”
I hold Dylan’s sweatshirt out in front of me. It says, “Roseville Knights Swimming.” I laugh and throw it over my head, getting lost in the yards of material. Dylan helps to pull it over me, and I grin up at him. “I feel like a traitor wearing this.”
“The knights always slay the dragons.”
I snort. “I know that’s not always true.” My school’s mascot is a dragon, and we beat the knights many times.
“You’re just full of a bunch of smoke,” Dylan says. He grins back at me and I swat him with the long ends of the sweatshirt sleeves which hang over my hands.
“Says the guy who’s full of it.” I roll up the sleeves of the sweatshirt and hold out the belly of the shirt with my fingers. “I’m pretty sure I could fit another of me in here.”
“Or three of you.” Dylan brushes past me, heading to the door.
I wiggle my fingers at the bed and follow him. “So…” I roll my eyes because I sound like my brother. “Are you staying in here? What about Nick?”
Dylan glances over his shoulder at me and does the thing where he raises only one eyebrow. “He’s staying in Beckett’s room.”
“Oh.” That’s all I’ve got, other than wondering what Nora is or isn’t telling me.
TWENTY-SIX
The smell of pizza hits me when we walk into the large open kitchen, dining, and living area. Someone must have put the frozen pizzas we picked up at the grocery store in the oven. Nora’s at a counter unloading a bag of nonrefrigerated items and I join her to help.
Her eyes graze over the sweatshirt I wear, and she raises her eyebrows at me. I repeat her facial expression and let my eyes go over to Nick and back to her. She only pinches her lips together and keeps stacking the items for smores.
“So…” I say softly.
“What’s the plan?” Nora asks loud, her question directed at me. She’s using an avoidance tactic, but I’ll get her later.
I shrug. “I’m not in charge of the plans. I’m only along for the ride this time.”
Dylan pops his head out of a large pantry. “Dinner, smores in the firepit, and movie tonight. Tomorrow we’ll stick around here, maybe do a polar bear swim. Wednesday we’ll go into town.”
“Hold on.” Sabrina hands Dylan a couple more bags of chips and he disappears into the pantry. “A polar bear swim isn’t what I think it is, is it?”
“If you mean running into the freezing cold Lake Superior, then that’s it.” Dylan appears again and grabs more bags of junk food Sabrina hands him. “Suits are optional.” He waggles his eyebrows at Sabrina.
“I dare you.” She narrows her eyes back at him.
Dylan disappears into the pantry. “Wouldn’t be my first time.” His deep voice echoes followed by a laugh.
“Hello?” I wave my hands over my head. “That’s why I’m here. No skinny dipping.”
Sabrina swishes a hand at me and makes a dismissive noise. “We’ll just lock you in the house.”
“Fine by me,” I say, while everyone laughs. Are they really going to go skinny dipping or are they joking? I think they’re joking, but I’m not quite sure.
Nora kicks my sock with hers. “What were you two doing?” Her chin juts out at the large sweatshirt I wear.
“Talking,” I say. “What about you and Nick? Were you checking out Bennett’s room?”
Nora averts her eyes from me in a flash, and a bashful smile covers her face. I return her sock kick and she smiles again. It makes me happy to see how happy Nick makes her. Nora’s always been a bubbly person, but Nick makes her effervescence even more catching.
“You know,” Nora says. “I think this is good for you. Not to have plans and go along for the ride. This is the most relaxed I’ve seen you in a long time.”
I think of the wish I made and what I’ve left behind, and it feels good. I’ve made the right choice. My phone pings with a text notification and I pull it out of my back pocket.
Paul: Have fun at the lake. I’m sorry about the other day. I miss you and will take being your friend for now
We eat dinner, have smores around the fire pit, and then settle in to watch a movie, just like Dylan planned. Nora sits next to me on the cozy, plush couch and drapes a blanket over us. She looks at me, my eyes already heavy with exhaustion.
“You’re going to fall asleep, aren’t you?” Nora asks.
“Guaranteed,” I say, and lean my head against her shoulder as Dylan turns down the lights and starts the movie.
I’m not sure if I even see five minutes of the movie. I’m even less sure of where I am and what’s going on when I wake up in the dark. When I fell asleep, I was covered in a blanket and leaning my cheek against Nora’s shoulder. Now, I’m still covered in a blanket and feel cozy and warm, but I’m not leaning against Nora. I lie still, trying to gauge where I’m at. My head is on a chest moving slowly up and down with shallow breaths. My left hand is smashed between the side of my body and someone else’s. And my right hand…where exactly is my right hand? I jerk my hand back to my side, not sure where it may have been on the person I’m reclining on.
“You awake?” Dylan’s lips brush the hair at the top of my head.
“Mmhmm,” I mumble while I sit up, stretch my arms over my head, and yawn. “What time is it?”
“Just after two,” Dylan replies. The light of his phone screen is bright in the dark room. I blink and rub my eyes.
“Sorry I fell asleep.” I pull up the blanket falling off me and wrap it around my body.
“I’m used to it.” Dylan’s laugh is small and deep. “And I don’t mind.”
“At least this time I won’t miss practice.” I remember the time Dylan came over to my house and we fell asleep on the couch. I missed my alarm and woke up late. Coach had threatened to remove anyone from the team who missed a practice, and I was frantic. I arrived at practice late only to learn Coach thought I was pregnant, thanks to a rumor Andrea started.
“I didn’t mean for you to be late for practice,” Dylan says.
I take a deep breath, thinking of that morning. “I know.”
“Remember when I asked you not to go to Taylor’s party?” Dylan asks. I nod, not sure if he can see me in the dark. “Andrea wanted to frame you there. She wanted to get you to drink or something. I was sure she wouldn’t succeed, but I didn’t even want her trying.”
I bite my lip. It’s strange hearing this side of the story. Tara tried the same thing on me when I went to a swim party at Andrea’s house.
“I invited you over instead of going to the party,” I say. “We fell asleep, and I woke up late for practice.”
“I didn’t mean for that to happen,” Dylan says. “I was going to leave, and face Andrea’s wrath at home, but then you asked me to stay.”
“And we fell asleep,” I say again. The large house is quiet. Everyone else must be in bed.
“I thought it was a good accident,” Dylan explains. “I kept you from the party and then Andrea thought I stayed with you to make you late for swimming. You ended up not getting kicked off the team, which made me happy, but…” Dylan pauses, taking a deep breath.
“But…” I wait for him to finish.
“Andrea was furious you weren’t kicked off and took it out on me. I mean, I had it coming, because I made the bad choices. She was the one who got m
e busted. I was suspended from the team for three weeks and my parents were furious. They trusted me and didn’t know I was having parties.” I close my eyes and listen to Dylan. It seems he needs to talk and get it off his chest. “They were gone so much and never paid attention to the bills. They just paid them. It wasn’t hard to throw a party, have the housekeepers clean on Sunday, and have more alcohol delivered. Everyone expected me to have these big parties, to have this bigger than life personality, and I gave in. If my parents asked about parties, I said I had some friends over. Or maybe my dad knew and overlooked it as long as I didn’t get in trouble and kept swimming fast.”
Dylan takes a deep breath and I wait. I know my side of this story, but not all of his. He hasn’t told me the truth behind this one. I clench the blanket in my fist and pull it up to my neck. I still have Dylan’s sweatshirt on, and I’m wrapped in a cocoon of layers.
“You remember when you had the swim team over to your house before sections and I stopped by early to get Andrea?” Dylan asks.
“Mmhmm,” I mumble again. I remember. Dylan wanted to tell me something and I assumed it was the rumor I heard about him getting busted and suspended from swimming.
“I was going to tell you then about Andrea blackmailing me, but I lost the nerve. I couldn’t do it. You were so good to me and I couldn’t tell you and destroy you. I didn’t want to lose…” Dylan stops talking and I think he’s finished, but maybe he isn’t. “My dad was so pissed,” Dylan continues. “I got suspended, then you broke up with me, I got grounded, and I just reacted by quitting swimming.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. I was so stuck on myself and blaming Dylan and Andrea for my misery, I didn’t even think or understand what he was going through. When Sabrina had us do mediation, I was given a clue into what Dylan did and why, but he’s never revealed everything.
“You don’t have to be,” Dylan says. “I made my choices, paid for them, and it’s working out. I remembered what you said about doing something I love. I don’t love swimming, not like you do, but water polo was perfect timing and I love it.”
I smile into the neck of the sweatshirt. I hear it in his voice, and I saw it when he played, he does love water polo.
“It redeemed me in my parents’ eyes, to work for something else. And frankly, my mom thinks you can do no wrong,” Dylan says.
I huff. “I don’t know about that. I’ve done plenty wrong on my own.”
“Did you ever tell Turner about our bet?” I shake my head, my chin rubbing against the sweatshirt. “You should tell him,” Dylan says.
I shrug. “What good would it do?”
“I made Andrea tell our mom about blackmailing me, and what she wanted to do to you.”
It’s like Dylan’s dropped a bomb, a truth bomb. I could not be more surprised.
“No.” The word leaves me in one long exhale. “She did?” I slam my palms into Dylan’s chest. “Why didn’t you tell me? When?”
“I’m telling you now. It was after our friendly date.”
“I don’t even know what to say, and I have so many questions. I don’t know where to start.” My hands are still on Dylan’s chest and I shove him again. “Did she get grounded?”
Dylan wraps his hands around my wrists, keeping me next to him. “Yes, and she’s having the worst spring break ever while I get to be with friends,” Dylan replies. “You can ask me all you want tomorrow when we go for a run. You’re still in training for the triathlon.”
“Yes, coach.” I laugh and pull my hands back. “And thanks, for telling me. You really are a best friend.”
“You should get to bed.” Dylan stands and holds his hands out to me. I shove the blanket to the side and place my hands in his. Dylan tugs me off the couch with such force, I bump into him and he holds me tight against his body. “Sorry.” Dylan’s chest rumbles with laughter. “I always forget how tiny you are.”
I wrap my arms around Dylan in a hug. “You just like catching me.”
“I do,” Dylan says. He leads me in the dark and drops me off at the bunk room. I get ready in the adjoining bathroom and try not to wake anyone as I crawl into my bed. I squint in the dark to see if Nora is sleeping, but she’s not here.
TWENTY-SEVEN
When I wake up in the morning, Nora is asleep in the bed next to me. Sabrina and Taylor seem to still be sleeping in beds opposite us. The bunk room we’re in is on the third floor. It’s a long room with three twin beds on either side. It reminds me of a sleep away cabin. At the far end of the room a bench seat with a large window overlooks the lake.
I grab my phone and decide to text Paul back.
Me: Thanks. I think being friends is a good start
I lie back and look up at the windows while I wait for Paul to text. The sun peeks in above our beds and at the far end of the room. Branches of pine trees sway outside the glass panes, and it seems like we’re in a treehouse. It doesn’t take long, and Paul replies.
Paul: When can you come over again?
Me: Am I allowed to come over?
Paul: We do have a project to work on
I smile to myself. I can hear Paul’s voice in my head.
Me: How about Saturday? Same time again?
Paul: Be dressed to bike, we’ll start testing
“Why are you smiling?”
I look over and Nora reclines on her side, her arm bent, and her head in her hand. I close my phone down. “I was texting Paul.”
“And how’s that going?” Nora asks in a low voice. I’ve already told her about my visit to his house.
“I’m trying to figure out how to be his friend,” I reply.
“Wow.” Nora gazes at me with admiration. “You sure have grown up this year. First kiss, talking to boys, dating boys, and now friends with boys. Pretty soon, you’ll be off to college.”
I roll my eyes at her. The last part was veering into teasing territory. Okay, the whole thing was teasing, even if it’s all true. “And what about you?” I ask. “Where were you last night, young lady?” I emphasize the last part, teasing her too.
Nora glances over at Sabrina and Taylor. They’re still sound asleep. “Just with Nick.”
I inch closer to the edge of my bed and Nora does the same. “Are you?” I ask and open my eyes wide.
Nora shakes her head. “No. You’ll be happy to know you influence me some. I thought about it and want to wait a bit. So does Nick. It’s nice savoring the slow things. Although, I can’t say I’ll wait as long as you.” Nora grins at me.
I grin back at her. “Good for you,” I say.
“Coffee,” someone mumbles.
We look across the room. Sabrina has a pillow over her head and mumbles into it. “Coffee.” Then she sits up faster than a jack in the box popping and throws her pillow at me.
It’s unexpected and I shriek when the pillow thumps into me. Without aiming, I throw it and the pillow lands in front of Taylor.
Taylor sits up and stretches. “What’d I ever do to you, Ash?” She tosses the pillow back at Sabrina.
We’re all awake, with smiles on our faces. I haven’t been this happy since before Paul broke up with me. It’s a comfort to be surrounded by such good friends. These girls are the only ones who know the truth about Dylan and me. I’m sure Nick knows too, even though I haven’t told him. Dylan or Nora must have. Dylan and I are the reason the six of us in this friend group are together, we’re the unifying factor.
There’s a rapid knock on the door. “Everything okay in there?” Dylan asks. He must’ve heard me shriek. His room is below the stairs leading up to the bunk room.
“We’re fine,” Nora says.
Sabrina glances around. “Everyone seems to be decent, you can come in.”
Dylan opens the door and sticks his head in. “You didn’t see a bat, did you?”
“No,” Taylor says and jerks
her head in Dylan’s direction. “Wait. Has there been a bat in here before?”
Dylan pushes the door open further and steps in. “It was just one time.”
Taylor shudders, either at the thought of a bat or at how Dylan looks. He’s wearing flannel pajama pants and no shirt. He looks mighty fine for early in the morning. His curls are crazier than normal and stick out in different directions. Dylan uses his right hand to push some away from his eyes.
I point at Dylan and move my finger up and down. “Tell me. What’s the point of wearing pants and no shirt? Cold on bottom, but hot on top?”
“Obviously hot on top,” Dylan says in his teasing voice and flexes his chest muscles. I take my pillow and whip it at him. My aim is better this time, but he catches it. “And maybe I just threw on the pants when I heard you shriek like a girl.” I stick my tongue out at him.
“You didn’t have to put pants on for me,” Sabrina says. ““If you’ve got it, flaunt it, babe.”
“Only for my fake girlfriend.” Dylan’s face starts to blush, and he throws the pillow in his hands at Sabrina. “I’m gonna go put some clothes on. I’ll see you ladies at breakfast.”
Dylan closes the door and leaves us in a fit of giggles.
TWENTY-EIGHT
We have a lazy morning in the house, making brunch together and talking. Later, when Nick and Nora have disappeared, and Taylor and Sabrina are dueling in foosball again, Dylan takes me for a run. Time goes by faster running in nature than it does around a track or on a treadmill. It’s cool out, but it’s just right for the warmth I create while running. Dylan leads me on trails through the property his family owns, and I enjoy the softness of the dirt under my feet. After four miles, we end up by the beach. It’s secluded, and a far distance from other houses. There’s a swath of sand that looks like a proper beach area, but most of the shoreline is covered in scattered rocks of various sizes. Trees hug the edge of the water past the beach area.
A large log, on its side, makes the perfect bench for Dylan and me to sit on. Small waves roll in on the beach, and the sound mesmerizes me. I love the sound of water, and I’m sure it matches the rhythm of my soul. Being around water centers me and makes me feel relaxed.
Cycling Downhill: A Sweet Young Adult Romance (Love is a Triathlon Book 3) Page 13
