Page 162 of Fly's Path

My body freezes at her words. Not because of what they said, but because of the trust she placed in me. Sheri would be comfortable getting drunk with me. “I wouldn’t be opposed to that.”

“You might say that now, but just you wait. I’m a sloppy drunk. And a sappy one. I’ll either laugh the whole time or cry.”

“I don’t mind if you do either, as long as you’re in my arms.”

“Fly.” Her voice gets sharp.

“What?”

“Don’t say stuff like that.”

“Why?”

“Because it makes me want to fall in love with you.”

“You know that only makes me want to say more.”

“What am I going to do with you?”

Everything for the rest of your life…

Intervention

Sheridan

Gasping for air, I slow down, letting my legs relax a little.

“Are you okay over there? You’ve been moving pretty fast.”

Ya’ think? I told you I’m falling in love with you. Why did I just blurt that out?

My body still shakes with the need to run more. But at this point, running any further might lead to a collapse, and I don’t have time for my body to give out.

“Sheri?”

“Fine. I’m fine. I just needed to breathe a little bit. How is your run going?” Hopefully, that distracts him from asking why I was moving so fast.

“Good. I’m planning a new path for us. This one will be about fifteen miles. But I want to make sure the views are perfect. Do you like to hike as well as run?”

Why does he constantly say the perfect thing? “I don’t know. I’ve never been on a hike.”

“What? With the amount you run, you’ve never been on a hike? How is that possible?”

Fly just doesn’t understand my life. That’s because you don’t let him in.

Why?

Why let him in when I’m going to leave in a few days, and all of this is going to go away?

Because I can’t stop…until the world forces us apart, I’m going to cling to the pretense that this is forever. “Because I don’t travel except for writer conferences and now my friends’ weddings.”

“Would you like to travel?”

“Who wouldn’t?” Ever since I got off the back of his bike, I can’t stop picturing the two of us traveling the country. “Impossible dreams are a writer’s specialty.” The lights are on in the house. “Gotta go. Dahlia’s up.”

“Can I see you for dinner?”

“I don’t know. Everything is going to be crazy for the next few days.”