From the Jump by Lacie Waldon

Author:Lacie Waldon [Waldon, Lacie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2022-07-19T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

Five for me,” our neighbor Chris calls out a few days later, passing us on the sidewalk as Deiss and I head toward Sounds. We saw him earlier on our run, so he’s likely referring to the number of miles he did this morning. “Did I win?”

“Deiss insisted we run six,” I say, pretending to complain.

Truthfully, I appreciated the challenge almost as much as I do this casual conversation. Despite all the years I lived in Santa Monica, I never felt like a part of a community. There seemed to be unspoken rules for high-rise living. Neighbors could hold spare keys. They could leave politely worded notes on your door if they disapproved of your noise levels, or even issue complaints through the board. They did not, however, involve themselves in your life.

The casual way I’ve been folded into the Los Feliz landscape is a marked change. Every morning on my runs with Deiss, someone calls out a greeting or stops us with a cheerful shout. I seem to have been granted genuine neighbor status. And I love it.

“He gets ambitious like that when he feels guilty about his food choices,” I add conspiratorially. “I told him spaghetti was too many carbs.”

“If anyone should be feeling guilty, it’s you,” Deiss says, shoving me with his shoulder. “You know that last meatball was mine.”

I laugh, despite the fact that I probably should feel guilty. I had every intention of cooking for him last night after so many nights in a row of delivery, but then we’d stayed late at Sounds and ended up grabbing takeout on the way home.

“Don’t you dare apologize to him, Liv,” Chris says, turning to walk backward so he can holler after us. “I haven’t seen Deiss run this many days in a row since I moved in. You’re like his fitness muse.”

I grin at Deiss smugly, but he just shakes his head and squints against the sun like a vampire caught out after dawn. It’s a ridiculously beautiful day. Even the birds seem to be celebrating it with their eager chirps. One lands on the sidewalk and waddles for a couple of steps before lifting back into the air. The air sweeps softly against my skin.

“I’m your muse,” I say sweetly.

“Because you inspire me to run?” Deiss’s mouth twitches with a smile as he pushes open the door to Sounds. “The same could be said about fire.”

“Aww, are you trying to tell me you think I’m hot?”

Mia, who usually works the opposite shifts from Booker, groans from behind the counter. “Keep your flirting outside, please. This is a place of business.”

I flush, but Deiss just lifts an eyebrow.

“A place of business, you say?” He runs an eye from her inky-black mohawk to the piercing in her lip and down to her Alien Sex Fiend t-shirt. “Maybe I should consider uniforms then.”

She glowers and points a bitten-down fingernail at him. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Something pink, maybe,” Deiss says, pretending to think it over as he heads into his office.

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