“Let’s go to the movies,” he says.
“That’s silly. You’ll fall asleep just like you always do.”
“I won’t this time,” he replies, and I don’t believe him one bit. Colton has always been a big fan of dozing during class. The boy could sleep through a rock concert.
“Seriously,” Kelsey goes on, “only you could fall asleep during The Fast and the Furious. I mean, what boy does that?”
He scowls and she points a finger at him. They look like an old married couple.
“What’s going on there?” I ask Vanessa.
She smirks. “Delaying the inevitable, as usual.”
“Are they really not into each other?”
“I’m pretty sure they are, but she doesn’t want to lose him as a friend, so she isn’t willing to try anything. I think that’s it, anyway.”
I use my T-shirt to wipe sweat from my neck. “So what’s up? I still got ten miles to ride before I’m done with my workout.”
“It’s amazing you’re doing this,” Savannah says. “I can’t wait to see you run in the race.”
“I’m coming to watch too,” Vanessa says excitedly.
I swallow hard and dab my forehead with the back of my hand. “You are?”
“Of course,” Vanessa says.
“Jack and I will drive down from Kentucky,” Savannah says. She and her boyfriend are so in love, he decided to go to the University of Kentucky with her instead of Vanderbilt, so they could be closer. She got this incredible opportunity to teach younger kids how to become horse jockeys in exchange for college credit. She followed her dreams and her boyfriend supports her. I glance over at Jack Goodwin. Even though he’s in a conversation, he keeps looking over his shoulder to check on her. Watching them kind of makes my chest hurt, and I sigh.
“You okay, Annie?” she asks.
“I’m good,” I say with a wobbly voice. “I’m glad you’re coming to the race.” Honestly, I’ve been so focused on training and wondering if I can actually do this—run a full twenty-six miles—that I haven’t even thought about who might show up on the day of. I figured Mom and Nick would be there, Kyle’s friend Seth, and Matt of course. Hearing that Vanessa, Savannah, and Jack will be there stirs a new kind of nervousness inside me.
“By the way, did you get Kelsey’s PowerPoint presentation?” Vanessa asks.
“Yeah, that was something else,” I reply.
“What PowerPoint?” Savannah asks, and by the time Vanessa gets done telling her about the no-fish rule and the color-coding of supplies, Savannah is cracking up.
“Kelsey, you need to get laid and get out of this drought already!” she shouts, dissolving into giggles with Vanessa. Kelsey crinkles her nose in reply and starts complaining to Colton about having to live with Iggy.
Vanessa said the same thing about getting laid to Kelsey when we met at the Roadhouse. Their inside jokes make me jealous. And Vanessa finishes nailing the coffin shut when she picks one of Savannah’s long red hairs off her shoulder. Kelsey and I used to do that for each other. We joked that we groomed each other like monkeys.
“I need to finish my ride,” I say quietly, placing one foot on a pedal.
“I’ll text you about college stuff,” Vanessa says.
I peek over at Kelsey. She sees me looking but pretends to focus on her cell phone. College sure will be fun if this is what I have to look forward to.
I suck it up and give her a wave, to show I want to put everything behind us. A small smile appears on her face and she waves back, but then she turns to Colton to say, “Can we pul-eese do Miller’s?”
“I swear, woman, you could start a fight in an empty house!” he replies. But as I start to ride away, I hear him calling out to the group, “Who wants to hit up Miller’s Hollow?”
I’m glad I have a bike ride to finish.
When I get home, I fill a plastic baggie with ice for my knee, grab my cell and book, and head to the living room. Before I dig into the mystery I’m reading—think Charlie’s Angels meets The Da Vinci Code, I swipe the screen on my cell to check my messages. I smile at Jeremiah’s text asking me to call him.
“What are you doing tonight?” he asks once I have him on the phone.
“Nothing really,” I say, settling onto the couch beside my brother, who shushes me, which is ridiculous because he’s watching Die Hard for the thousandth time and knows every line by heart. I reach over into Nick’s bowl and steal a potato chip.