Winner Take All by Laurie Devore

Author:Laurie Devore
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Imprint

25

Do you want to go run after you get done with volleyball?

“What are you grinning at?” Mom asks. It’s the next Monday. Five days later. We won our tournament yesterday—it was a smaller tournament in Newberry, a town right outside of Columbia—but still, it felt so good. I’d been the consensus tournament MVP. It was a start.

I look at Mom on the other side of the kitchen. She’s turned back toward the sink washing dishes just like she was a minute ago. I guess she had to take a peek, see what I was doing. But I hadn’t realized I was smiling so I immediately stop. “Lia,” I tell her, my new perpetual lie.

Sounds good, I type back.

I haven’t seen you all weekend. Please give me something more than that.

I set my phone down.

“What are you two up to?” Mom asks me about two decibels from her reasonable Mrs. Becker voice. “You’re acting strange.”

I hate that she’s noticed.

“Volleyball.” I shake out my hands. There’s so much nervous energy running through my veins. So often, my nerves act like an impetus, driving me, forcing me to test my boundaries, but I can’t let them in too much or they swallow me whole.

And God knows I can’t let Mom know that.

“I have book club tonight,” she tells me, letting it go. She dries the wineglass she was washing. I hadn’t seen her drinking when I came home last night. I chance a glance toward the recycling bag but there’s no telltale sign there, either.

“Again?” I ask. “Didn’t you just have it?”

“It’s a bunch of teachers,” she tells me. “More frequent in the summer.”

“Oh.” I nod. “Well, have fun,” I tell her.

“You’ll be able to find something to eat?” she asks.

I almost let myself smile again. Dad left a note earlier that he had a late showing. It’s just another hour I can be out of the house without anyone noticing. “I’m sure I’ll think of something,” I say.

* * *

One of the best parts about this new thing between Jackson and me is that it’s okay to watch his body now when we run side by side, to see the way his calf muscles flex and release, carrying us both over the dirt paths of Cedar Woods.

“You’re doing it again,” he says, pulling my eyes back to his face.

I stare ahead then, caught. “What?”

“Watching me like you wish I didn’t have clothes on.”

One side of my mouth quirks. I pick up the pace because I know he can’t hold it as long as I can. It only takes him a couple minutes more to feel it.

“Okay, okay, okay,” he tells me, falling back and putting his arms over his head. I slow to a walk next to him, keeping my breathing as steady as possible. In through the nose, out through the mouth.

As we walk, our breath catching up with us, he falls behind me, tugging on my sweaty white tank top. He licks my shoulder because he’s disgusting. I push him away.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.