Dear Augustus | I Never Let Go ✓

02 | A Taste Of Familiarity

One Year Ago

I watched Adrian from the bleachers as he did laps around the field. He was running when I arrived there, and I knew it wasn't for the upcoming soccer game. It was way too aggressive running to be counted as a warmup. I could tell he was pissed and blowing off steam.

When he texted me in the afternoon about an impromptu lunch with his father, I knew where to find him after the epic reunion. It was late in the evening, and from where I sat, it was just the two of us around. So, he had no reason to ignore my presence and behave closed off. He hated talking about his father's new married life, but no one knew better than me how toxic concealing your feelings is.

I unzipped my sweatshirt and peeled it off my body to leave myself in my running shorts, sports bra, and tank top. I tied the shoelaces of my Nikes, giving another look at the angry bull chasing after the red blaring inside his head. He knew why I had decided to join him for the run that evening, and it wasn't just to make sure he didn't fall back to his old addiction. He had grown out of doing that teenage stuff. It was to be there for him even when he wouldn't allow anyone.

His father was always a sour spot for him, and the more he tried to dodge his advances to make things better between them, the more it hurt him. That explained his crazy marathon around the soccer field.

I grabbed my phone, stuck the earbuds in my ears, and put on my running playlist, all the upbeat Indie pop numbers that I could rely on if he continued his silent treatment. I took a deep breath inhaling the cool evening breeze, stretching briefly, and then tightened my ponytail before taking off, joining alongside the sweaty athlete.

I started in the opposite direction and almost bumped into Adrian. He halted just before the impact and huffed out. I cursed myself mentally for blocking the path of an angry bull. He was breathing heavily, waiting for me to either step aside from his way or say something, but I couldn't process the view in front of me.

He was sweating heavily, his shoulders tensed, shirtless, in gym shorts that hugged his toned thighs perfectly. I'd seen him practicing like that since we were kids, but it felt like I'd been seeing someone else all this time. His sculpted abs rippling down his toned torso, a dark line of hair running down his stomach that disappeared beneath his shorts, had me fanning for all the fire he set around me as I gulped down a butterfly stuck in my throat. He ran a hand through his messy brown hair and flexed his broad shoulders while placing his hands on his hips. Directing a scowl at me, he wiped away a line of sweat from his forehead and raised his brow in question.

No way I was getting hots by looking at Adrian. Sure, I had a crush on him since I was fourteen, but that changed when I met you. Yes, you, Augustus, I should be thinking about you, not my best friend. I clenched my fists tightly on my sides, nails digging on my palms to snap out of whatever fuzzy feelings his sea-green eyes instilled in me. He cracked his neck with a quick motion making me swallow hard, and resumed running. The way he stepped away from my path showed he could look right through my emotions and knew I was thinking about you.

I pushed away all the tension that surrounded us at that moment and fell into step next to him. He let our footsteps sync for a few seconds before, pushing the pace, which I matched, then we increased our speed, and we were running around the field, syncing our steps, breathing hard and sweating. We didn't speak or even looked at each other until his pace became too much to match, and I somehow lost my footing, twisting my ankle in the process. I landed too hard, jarring my ankle to the point that a cry of pain escaped my mouth as I fell forward.

"V!" Adrian's panicked voice reached my ear as the earbuds came flying off along with me. But before I could hit the ground, Adrian caught me. His arms came around me and his green eyes filled with worry never left my face as he hooked one of his arms beneath my knee, the other one around my shoulder, and then, he was carrying me.