Life After Theft
Page 40

“I just wanted to check,” the other girl said. “Let you know I’m still watching out for you.” There was a pause that I could only assume held some kind of hug or girly gesture, but even in the silence I could sense a sincerity there that I weirdly appreciated. For Sera.
“Thanks. Really,” Sera replied.
“Okay. Well, see ya,” she said.
I waited a few seconds, then walked out from the darkened hallway, glad to see Sera’s back was still turned. I had a feeling she wouldn’t be supercomfortable knowing I’d just overheard that conversation. I wasn’t sure how comfortable I was with it. New start? I hated that it made me wonder if any of what Kimberlee was constantly spouting about Sera was true. Trying to push those thoughts away, I stepped up behind her and laid a soft hand on her waist.
And barely managed to catch her hand before it smacked me in the face.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” she said, her hands covering her mouth. “You scared me!”
I grinned down at her. It was kind of fun to see her ruffled. “It’s okay. You didn’t get me. I should make a noise before I sneak up on you.”
“I’m just nervous,” she said with a sigh, starting to walk toward the front doors. “This whole stolen stuff coming back thing is creeping me out. It’s like every time I turn around I expect to see . . . I don’t know. A ghost or something.”
I laughed in a way that I hope didn’t sound too fake. Hoo, boy, if she only knew.
“Stupid, I know.” She shrugged. “I’m totally on edge.”
I slung an arm over her shoulder. “Well, let’s get you off that edge.” I have the lamest pickup lines in the world.
Luckily, Sera didn’t laugh, probably due to having just almost smacked me in the head. “So what are we doing?”
“I know you’ve only got an hour, but are you hungry? Like, not just halfway hungry, but real hungry?”
She cocked her head to one side. “Actually, yeah. You?”
“Starving.”
“Then let’s go.”
I took her hand and led her to my car, remembering at the last second to open her door, and we drove out of the parking lot. When we got to the In-N-Out, I pulled into the drive-thru. I ordered for us both and handed the warm bags to Sera as she looked at me with a curious smile. She seemed to sense that I had something planned, so she didn’t comment as I pulled away from the restaurant.
Then I drove to the park.
Yes, that park. The one where I had the disastrous night that turned out about a zillion times better than any night should have, considering its dubious beginning.
I had hoped to do this on our first date, but I couldn’t find the park. Being semi-sober as she drove me home didn’t change the fact that I had no idea where I was. I’d spent hours driving around looking for it over the past week or so. And I was at least eighty percent sure this was the right one.
That eighty turned into a hundred when Sera smiled and said, “Here?”
I exited the car without answering and came over to her side, taking the bags. “Everybody gets an occasional do-over, right?” I said with a smile. “This one’s mine.”
We ate at the picnic table as if it were the middle of the day instead of nearing ten o’clock at night. “You sure cheer a lot,” I said, reaching for a fry. “Basketball games, wrestling matches. Plus you have practice, too, right?”
“Every day after school. Plus competitions, which are coming up at the end of the month.”
“It seems like a lot of time for someone who says she doesn’t like cheering.”
Her hand hesitated; then she broke a fry in two and studied the ends. “It’s not that I don’t like it. I just like parts of it better than others.”
“Like watching Khail wrestle?”
“Yeah. That’s nice. But it also just gives me an excuse to get out of the house. And my parents like it when I’m busy. They stay off my case. Now that is worth it,” she said, pointing at me with her broken French fry.
“No joke,” I said, thinking of the brief interludes I’d had with her parents.
“They like you, I think.”
“How can you tell?” I asked with a laugh.
“Oh, it’s subtle,” she retorted. “It helps that you always get me home on time.”
“No that I want to,” I said, leaning forward for a quick kiss. “Ever. Come on,” I said, tilting my head toward the swings. “We can both swing tonight.”
Despite her giggling protests, I pulled her down on my lap and we swung together for a while. I liked the feel of her weight on my legs, the wind blowing the curled ends of her hair against my face. After a while she got on her own swing, and we raced, seeing who could go the highest and fastest.
“I bet I can jump farther than you,” I called over to her, her hair streaming behind her as she pumped back and forth.
“Not a chance!” she yelled back.
I focused on the sand in front of me as Sera counted. On three we both let go of our chains, and for just a second, I remembered the feeling of flying that I hadn’t had since I was a kid, and the thrill of the earth rushing toward me. I hit the ground and rolled while Sera landed gracefully on her feet, but I got six inches farther.
“I win!” I said, pointing to the mark my knees had made when I fell.
“No way,” Sera said, giggling. “You have to measure from here, where your feet landed.”