Page 37 of Places We've Never Been

I squeezed his knee with my free hand, knowing his ticklish spot, and he laughed and released me. His eyes shot to my side, my ticklish spot, and I squealed again before he’d even made a move. He averted his gaze and kept his hands to himself.

The water settled again and we slowed, silence taking over once more.

“You should’ve told a story on me at dinner,” he said after a few minutes. “You have a million.”

I hadn’t wanted to. He’d trusted me not to embarrass him for years. I didn’t want to destroy that trust now, even though he didn’t feel the same. “Yeah, I should’ve.”

We floated by some large rocks sticking up from the middle of the river. Once safely around them, Skyler asked, “What’s Ezra doing these days?”

We were trapped in a tube together, no way out for at least another hour, and that’s the question he wanted to ask me? “You want to make small talk?”

“It was just a question.”

“So your answer to my question is, yes, you want to make small talk.” I folded my arms across my chest.

“I don’t know, Norah, I just want to get through this, I guess.”

“I didn’t realize this vacation was a torture session for you.”

“It’s not.”

“So you meant talking to me? You just want to get through talking to me.”

“Now you’re putting words in my mouth.”

“Well, you sure aren’t putting any there.”

“And you are?” he said, obviously irritated. “You’re avoiding every question I ask.”

“I don’t trust you anymore,” I spit out, not even sure if that was true.

“Same.”

My mouth fell open in shock. “Youdon’t trustme? I’m not the one sharing your secrets with everyone.”

“Everyone? You mean our siblings? Is that everyone now?”

“It felt like it.”

He let out a scoffing huff. I folded my arms tighter against my chest and looked up at the red rock canyons that surrounded us now. Vines dripped down the walls and I let my tight shoulders loosen. I didn’t want to feel this way. I was tired of it. Skyler’s jaw was as hard as the rocks that surrounded us.

“He’s going to school,” I said. “He wants to be an electrician or something.”

“What?” Skyler asked.

“Ezra. That’s what he’s doing these days.”

His lips twitched with a smile. “Nice.”

“What about Austin?”

“He’s going to community college.”

“For what?”

“He doesn’t know yet. That’s why he’s just getting his generals out of the way.”

“Smart.” We passed a family picnicking on the shore, the kids ankle-deep in water, sifting through the rocks just below the surface. My eyes flitted back to Skyler’s. “And you? Whycollege in California? You still have friends there or what?” I had no idea if he kept in touch with anyone from Fresno.