The Run In

Chapter 4

"Wait what?" Aiden asked in complete confusion. He turned towards me.

"I want to hold a hedgehog."

Aiden burst out laughing.

I was sitting next to him on the bench now and we were discussing my long, long list of bucket list goals. Something told me that he would definitely make fun of me about them forever.

"And I want to go parachuting and try dragonfruits and see the Northern Lights-"

"Wait, slow down. You want to hold a hedgehog. Can I ask why?" Aiden said, trying to stop the laughter from breaking through his lips.

"Because I want to."

"There has to be a better reason Madison."

I looked up at his cerulean eyes encased in those long eyelashes of his. "I believe that if I am going to live once," I let my words pour out of my mouth, "I want to try as many things as I can. I want to be able to say 'Well I've touched a hedgehog' or 'I dined on the top floor of the Eiffel Tower'- you know just to say that I did it."

"Wow." He said. He looked out at the river. "You have quite the list of hopes and dreams."

"They're goals, Aiden." I corrected him.

"True." He nodded, taking my words. "Was bumping into a complete hottie on a trail and sharing the rest of the day with them on that list too?"

I looked up to see his eyebrow quirked up mischievously.

I grinned. "Nooo." My shoulder bumped with his.

"So this list," He plucked a long blade of grass from the earth and began running it between his fingers. "Tell me more."

I was staring at that blade of grass in between his digits. He wove it in and out, in and out and around his pinkie.

"I want to find a petoskey stone."

"Okay."

I thought for a second. "See a show on Broadway. Visit the Lower Antelope Canyon. Buy something online. Run in a National Park. Do a successful backflip. Have a sunrise kiss. Be apart of breaking a wo-"

"Wait what's a sunrise kiss?"

My face instantly grew hot. "Well it's not a sunset kiss." I gulped. "It's in the morning and it's as soon as the sun rises. It was in this book I read in like ninth grade."

"Oh. That's cool. Okay so have you had your first kiss yet?" Aiden asks me.

"Nope." I pop the 'p' and look down at my feet, kicking them back and forth.

"Really?"

I look at his face, brushing a tangled strand off my cheek. "Yes really! Why? Have you had your first kiss?"

"No." He stared at the blade of grass between his fingers while he said it. "My ex and I were watching a movie with our friends one time, back in Illinois, and she tried to kiss me. She said like four times 'Baby just kiss me please. Oh please, c'mon sweetheart.' She kept saying it over and over." He made a funny impression of this girl and then started plucking the piece of grass apart.

"I don't get it. So you haven't kissed a girl because...?"

He let the chopped up grass remains fall from his fingers like green snow. He shook his hand, getting the last few pieces off.

"I didn't want my first kiss to be like that. I'd rather kiss the girl when I'm ready. Ally wanted to kiss me just because her friends said she should. She was a real bitch about it after."