Page 20 of The Space Between Heartbeats
“Hey.” He looks at me with those concerned puppy dog eyes that always get me. “You okay? If you really don’t want to ride it?—”
“No.” I straighten up, and force confidence into my tone. “No, I want to. I told you I would.”
“You sure? Because we can just do something else. I don’t care about the stupid ride.”
“I’m sure.” I am. I think I am. I don’t know anymore, but I can’t back down now. Not after Knox’s challenge earlier. Not after everything.
“Okay, then.” He grins, standing and pulling me up with him. “Let’s go face your fears, Sunny.”
We start walking hand in hand across the park toward Velocity. I try to keep my gaze focused directly in front of me and not at the giant metal monstrosity that makes my palms sweat and knees weak.
Owen’s phone buzzes again.
“Jesus, what now?” He stops to read the message, then scrubs a hand over his face, blowing out a breath. “Actually,Ella needs help with something real quick. I guess her bag strap broke? She’s freaking out about losing her stuff.”
“Oh. Okay.”
I want to ask why her boyfriend isn’t helping her, but Owen already dropped my hand to text her back.
“Can you meet us over there? I’ll be like five minutes, I swear.”
I blink at him, at a loss for words. “Okay. Yeah. Go help her. Meet you there.”
That gives me five minutes alone to digest our last conversation. I’m afraid the longer he’s out of my sight, my drowning pessimism will suffocate what lingers of his optimism and I’ll spiral into an existential crisis.
“You’re the best.” He kisses me quickly, his lips warm against mine. “Fifteen minutes max. And don’t let Knox talk you out of riding before I get there, okay? I know how he gets in your head.”
If only he knew the extent.
“I won’t,” I promise.
“That’s my girl.” He squeezes my hand once more before jogging off in the direction of the exit, his backwards cap bouncing with each step.
He weaves through the crowd, apologizing when he bumps into people, polite as always. And the longer I watch, the more this feeling crawls up my spine. This urge to call him back, to take his hand and not let go.
But I don’t.
I watch until he disappears.
Chapter 7
Sawyer
Five minutes alone feels like forever. I pull out my phone to text Owen something…anything, when Knox’s voice makes me jump.
“He ditch you?”
I spin around to find him standing right behind me, his hands in his pockets and those stupid aviators on even though we’re under an awning. Ella’s nowhere in sight, which I guess I expected.
“He went to help your girlfriend,” I try to hide the hurt in my tone, probably unsuccessfully. “Where is she, anyway?”
“Bathroom. She said her stomach was still bothering her.” He tilts his head toward Velocity looming in the distance. “You still doing this, or was that just talk?”
“Bathroom? But why…” I notice the way he’s looking at me, that cocky uptick of his chin, the slouch in his shoulders, and finally register the challenge he just dropped on me again. “I said I was riding it.”
“Yeah, you say a lot of things. Doesn’t mean you follow through.”
He steps closer and I catch another hint of that ocean breeze scent.
