a dance with cancer

ten

Asher Mendez

Sawyer picked me up for the gym at the crack of dawn so both of us are exhausted and sore, but it's a good kind of exhausted. When I'm there, whether I'm alone, with a few friends, or my team, everything goes away, you know? Understandably, it's the perfect distraction from whatever the hell I found last week.

Seeing Valentina so upset hurt my heart. At least once a week, a girl at my school is sobbing her eyes out for a douchebag who cheated on her. I find it in me to feel a little bit bad for those girls, but seeing Valentina in the same state made me wish I could wave a magic wand and take away whatever's distressing her.

I can pity her all day so I shut off my thoughts and try to relax. Sawyer and I are in my hot tub, the ideal place for rejuvenation after a hard workout. He's mentioned asking Katelyn to be his girlfriend a few times in the past month, but he's gotten real serious about that plan.

As the warm water embraces us, I can feel the tension in my muscles start to ease. It's a welcome relief after the intense workout we just did. I lean my head back against the edge of the tub, closing my eyes and letting out a contented sigh.

"Should I take her to Amerigo? We went there for our first date." When he's not trying to prove himself to everyone, Sawyer is pretty loquacious when it comes to his girl. He'll talk about Katelyn for hours if you let him.

I nod at his suggestion, but know how popular his place of choice gets. "Yeah, that sounds like a solid choice for a date. It'll be a pretty full circle moment for you two."

"I should make reservations when I get home," he says, the sound of his voice mingling with the bubbling water and soft breeze. He's come a long way from a playboy who caught chlamydia and didn't know which hookup he got it from to a great boyfriend to Katelyn. When his worried mom made him take an STD test when he started having weird symptoms, the shame made him swear to never touch a woman again. He changed his mind when he met her and this time, he's in it for the long run.

Country music gently plays in the background, all Sawyer's idea. Knox and I like to rip on him for consistently having the radio in his Hellcat turned to a country station while he sings along. Sing is a bit of a stretch; he sounds more like a cat giving birth.

"Knox and I had our basketball team dinner there and everyone barfed because we ate like kids from Africa seeing Italian food for the first time. Then we had the nerve to get dessert too."

Sawyer wrinkles his nose. "Fuck you, Asher. Now I'm gonna barf."

"You get the point, man." I roll my eyes. "I'm excited for you."

"Me too." Sawyer's expression softens. "Do you think Katelyn Long has a good ring to it?"

I put a finger down my throat just to tease him. "That's too far, but ok."

"My mom keeps teasing me about that shit and now I can't stop thinking about Katelyn taking my last name." Sawyer does his best to sound nonchalant, but I can tell he's not opposed to the idea of putting a ring on her. 

"Do you think your mom's back from the hospital yet?" He asks. Even though his mom and my mom work at the same hospital, their jobs are different. Mom is basically Alison's boss, meaning she works on some weekends while Alison usually has hers off unless there's an emergency. They've never let their different positions affect their friendship.

"That's a good question, Sawyer." I look through the French doors to find her. "Doesn't look like it."

The hot tub relaxes our muscles and feels like the most comfortable bed on earth. As we relax, so does our conversation. We start talking about baseball, homework, and the mountain of tests our teachers always give.