Right Place, Wrong Time

23. Heart in Your Hands

Since Lauren had said she might be a bit in love with him, Joey had struggled to think about anything else. He knew she was likely joking, but those words had filled him with such a deep sense of happiness and pride he'd never felt before.

Now they had just days before the end of the semester, and the end of the school year, at which point they would say goodbye for the whole summer. And he couldn't make himself say goodbye without telling her how he felt.

"Brian, I need to borrow your bike again."

"You should have got your own bike," Brian said, hitting pause on the video game he'd been playing, which told Joey he was going to say yes.

"I know, I know," he said. "Next year."

"Is this for another date?"

"Kind of." He scratched the back of his neck.

As he should have expected, the evasion only made Brian more interested. "What do you mean, kind of?"

Joey hesitated. He hadn't wanted to tell him because he didn't want the pity if she said no. But he supposed he had to, as he was asking him a favour. "I'm going to ask her out properly."

"Dude, take it," Brian said excitedly.

"You sound very eager about this."

"So I can stop listening to you pining over her? Absolutely."

Joey gave a humourless laugh, shaking his head. "She might say no. She probably will say no."

"Why would she say no? She likes you."

What Joey had learned was that, as much as he might wish otherwise, liking someone wasn't always enough. He had to try, though.

"We'll see. Thanks, man."

"Good luck," Brian called after him, grinning. Joey was glad his love life could be so entertaining.

He texted Lauren only to make sure she was home and didn't have other plans today, giving her no other details. She'd sounded keen to meet him, which was the first good sign, he supposed. He had a few stops to make before he got to her house, then he knocked on the door, wiping his damp palms on his shorts in apprehension.

She opened it wearing a flower patterned romper and sandals he suddenly felt underdressed compared to, her brunette roots receding into a blonde bun.

"Hi," he said. He swallowed. "I like this." He gestured awkwardly at her outfit.

"Thanks!" she beamed, her response more proportionate to the reaction he wanted to give than the one he actually had. "So what have you got planned?" She spotted the picnic basket balanced on the handlebars and her eyes lit up with excitement. "A picnic?"

"Perfect weather for it. You hungry?"

"You bet."

They cycled as far as the arboretum then walked in, the picnic basket swinging from one of Joey's hands and his other itching to take Lauren's. The sun had passed behind a cloud while they cycled, offering them merciful shade, but now it burst out again, leaving Joey squinting against the brightness, the dazzling blue sky and the lush green grass and the rainbow of flowers all looking like they'd had their contrast turned up. He slipped his sunglasses on, searching for the perfect spot. At a bench a little way down one of the paths, they sat down, the basket between them.

"Let me present," he said grandly, opening up the basket, "our lunch." She giggled. He began pulling out the items as he listed them, handing them to her.

"Chips."

"Very good."

"Strawberries. No chocolate."