18. Chase
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHASE
“ H ard no.” Ashlie shakes her head as she leans around Hunter to look at me. It’s Wednesday afternoon, and we’re at the diner like we would be on any other Wednesday. Everything’s like it normally is, except Kayla isn’t here. Pattie with an IE is nice and everything, but she’s no Kayla.
“Ashlie, please…” I beg. “I just want to check on her. It’s been days.”
“She’s at home with her mom, who’s a nurse. And I saw her last night. She’s fine.”
“Ashlie—”
“Uh-uh, nope. I’m not hopping over that boundary. If she wanted you to have her number, she would have given it to you.” She turns back to her food, shaking her head again.
I look to Hunter, and he shrugs back before checking the newest notification on his phone. “ Ugh , okay. You’re right.” I give up, blowing out a breath and scrubbing my face in my hands. This is literal torture, going from talking to her every day to radio silence. “Can you tell her I was asking about her, at least?”
“I did, last night. And the night before.”
“And…?”
Ashlie growls in frustration, shooting a glare over at me.
“Bruh, chill,” Hunter finally chimes in before turning to Ashlie. “He wants to know if she’s asking about him, too, but he’s too scared to say it.”
I clench my fist and tap it on my leg, thinking better of slugging him in the arm. What the hell, man!
“Sorry. Girl code,” she says, pushing back from the counter. “And now, I’m taking my lunch to go because you are driving me nuts with your one-man lovesick, puppy dog show over there. She’s fine. She’ll be back to work on Saturday.” Ashlie stops at the counter to pay for her food and rolls her eyes over at us before waving and walking back to the museum across the street.
I kick Hunter’s foot from the stool ledge. “Speaking of, what ever happened to guy code, Hunt?”
“Oh, I’m sorry . With all the whining you were doing, I didn’t realize you were trying to hide your feelings for this girl. My bad. ”
Shaking my head, I let out a breath and focus on lunch. Pattie with an IE asks how we’re doing, and all I can think about is how much better I’d be if I could talk to Kayla.
I tap my knees, trying to focus on the detective show on TV. It’s good, one of my favorites, but I can’t concentrate when my thoughts keep straying to Kayla. How is she doing? What is she doing? Fidgeting is the only way I feel like I’m making something happen, when I know I can’t do anything until she’s ready to see me—talk to me, even. Shifting on the couch, I lean back into the cushion until the energy coursing through my body forces me to sit forward with my elbows on my knees. I finally stand, stretching my back and walking into the kitchen for a bottle of water. Needing something to do with my hands, I tap the bottle lid on the counter a few times. It doesn’t help.
“You’re all over the place,” Hunter says from the couch. “You need to go for a run or something? You’re driving me crazy. ”
I breathe out a long sigh while tipping my head up toward the ceiling. “I know. I can’t sit still. I just need to move.”
“You like this girl that much? What happened up at that camp that has you doing all this?”
“Nothing, really. She’s just—something about her has me—I just like her.”
“She’s under your skin.”
“Bad. It’s like, I felt drawn to her from the beginning, but now that she’s starting to open up, the pull is magnetic. I can’t get her out of my head.”
He scrunches his face, shaking his head like he’s about to do something he’ll regret. “Okay, I’m gonna give you some info, but if you tell Ashlie I said anything, I’m gonna call you a liar.”
“Why did Ashlie give you info?”
“Because we hung out while you two were doing whatever up at camp, and she’s cool. Do you want the info, or do you wanna ask more stupid questions?”
“Info,” I say, rubbing the hair on my face.
He puts his phone down and looks at me while he delivers the news. “Kayla’s been asking about you too.”
“She has?” I breathe a sigh of relief, feeling like my heart’s about to burst right out of my chest. It’s not a detailed revelation, but it’s enough.
“Yeah, but you gotta chill all the way out, man. You gotta move slow or you’re gonna scare her off. She’ll be back to work on Saturday, so take the next few days to calm the fuck down.”
I nod slowly, feeling the first few edges of calm enter my thoughts since seeing Kayla at the hospital last week. She’s been asking Ashlie about me, which isn’t huge, but it’s something. Something that has me a little more hopeful than I have been since meeting her at the beginning of summer.
“I’m gonna go for that run. You coming?” I ask Hunter.
“I’m down.” He stands from the couch and walks upstairs, nodding while he slips his phone in his pocket.
Feeling the cool breeze whip through my hair as I pull fresh air in and out of my lungs is exactly what I need to help get some clarity. My mind still filters through thoughts about Kayla, but I’ve come up with some strategies to hopefully move our fragile friendship into something more. I’ll give her space until Saturday, and I’ll feel her out then. But I can’t carry on pretending like we’re friends when I want to be so much more. I’m determined to shoot my shot at least a few more times before throwing in the towel.
Hunter keeps up beside me, heavy bass thumping from his earbuds, and I’m reminded of all our years on the track team. He needs the noise to run, but I prefer the silence when I need to clear my mind. Something about hearing my breathing and my pulse in my ears helps bring me inward. Give me music for training days, but not when I need to think.
The pounding of our footsteps slows as we return to the bottom of the hill under The Bluffs. I tip my head to the sky, sucking in the fresh air as I prepare to run up this hill. Hunter bends at the waist, holding his side.
“You good?” he asks, turning his head toward me.
“I will be when I beat you up this hill.” I take off, stretching my legs past him to try and get a head start on this impromptu race. Hunter still runs track for the Gradford team, while I stopped after high school, but I wouldn’t say I was ever faster than him, even back then.
“Motherf—” He takes off after me, my long-legged stride no match for his speed. I’m halfway up the hill by the time he’s right on my heels. When we reach the rental, I’m looking at his sweat-stained T-shirt back. He turns around, grinning wide at his victory. “Gettin’ slow there, Chasey boy,” he says, laughing and whacking me in the arm.
Chuckling, I sit on the porch steps, running my hands through my sweat-slicked hair and feeling more relaxed than I have in a while. I needed this, even if only to sort out my thoughts surrounding how I want to move forward. I’ll pump my brakes and follow Kayla’s lead. Slow and steady wins the race, right? I’ve proven that with the progress I’ve already made.
Hunter leans against the porch banister, looking down at me when he asks, “But seriously, you good?”
I nod quietly and look out at the trees swaying in the breeze down the hill. I’m good, and on Saturday, I’ll be even better.