Page 74 of Fireworks

His tone suggestive of what they had been doing, as if I didn’t already know. Bridget turned, shooting him a nasty look.

“Ugh you two have no filter.”

“We never have. You knew that when you met me.”

He crossed the room, grabbing her around the waist kissing her neck softly. We all laughed in unison. After so many summers together, it shouldn’t have surprised her he would have no shame in front of me about what he did in the bedroom.

Sitting up, I realized sleep would not come easily.

“I’m going to go for a run.”

Pushing my phone into my pocket, I rose, stretching my arms above my head.

“It’s two in the morning. You’re kidding, right?”

Bridget looked back and forth between Asher and me, waiting for him to tell me to stay in. Throwing his arms up, he knew better than to tell me to stay in. This wasn’t the first time I hadn’t been able to sleep and would use the fresh air to clear my mind.

“It’s his thing. Don’t question it. It gets you nowhere, trust me.”

He waved as he turned around to go back to his bed. Bridget’s eyes scanned me, sizing up if she thought I’d spill the beans to her.

“It’s fine, Bridget, go back to bed. You only have a few hours until you have to leave.”

Reluctantly, she turned, heading back to Asher’s bedroom.

For as long as I could remember, I used running as my outlet. One day, I’d outrun my problems. I was sure of it. When I was home, I started using flying as a stand-in, but that clearly wasn’t an option right now. I needed to clear my head. Grabbing my ankle, I pulled it back toward my ass until I could feel my hamstring stretch. Repeating the process on the other side, I rolled my shoulders and neck before popping my earbuds in.

My feet hit the pavement as the music slowly streamed into my ears. My mind forced me to run faster. The thoughts racing through my mind, one after another, pushing my mind to the brink of insanity. This time with Katie was amazing. No, that didn’t even fully encompass the level of happiness and satisfaction it gave me. It was like a piece of me had been missing and it finally found its way back. When we got home, everything was going to change. Our newly created bubble would be burst.

She had to get back to school and so did I. With school and work, I barely had time to go fly, never mind spend time with anyone. She deserved someone who was going to have time to take her out on dates and treat her with love and admiration every day.

How do I tell her that without hurting her? I wasn’t any good at relationships. Even if she was more than a fun week away, being a couple just was impossible for us. The faster my feet hit the ground, the faster the thoughts crept through my mind. Things would never be the same once we got back. There was only another month of school, but after that, where did that leave us?

I knew deep down if I talked to her about this, she would come up with a solution for everything. That’s how she was. She was a problem solver and would know exactly what plan would need to be put into place in order for us to work out.

If I was being honest with myself, I didn’t think I was ready to be an us. Even for her. My mind was too screwed up to give her what she deserved.

*****

Katie

The entire drive home, we sat in an eerie silence. I had read enough books and seen enough chick flicks to know where this was going. Yet, instead of saying something and trying to fix the problem, I sat, unable to figure out what the right thing to say would be.

The weather was much more favorable for our ride back, and Nate wound up driving the entire time without stopping off. It would be a lie to say it did not disappoint me. He was attempting to not be stuck in a hotel room with me again. As the truck slowed in front of my house, my chest rose and fell slowly.

“You aren’t planning on diving all the way back to your place right now, are you?”

Clearing his throat, his hand rose to wipe his eyes. I could tell he was tired.

“Yeah. I just need to get back.”

Cautiously, I reached over, placing my hand on his knee.

“Just come to sleep for a little, at least. You can stay in Asher’s old room. You’ve been driving for too long.”

Taking off his cap, his hand ran through his hair. He looked like he was searching for an excuse to just go but was drawing a blank.

“My parents won’t be back until tomorrow night. I won’t bother you; I promise.”