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“No. I’m leaving in a couple of weeks for Grand Prix training and competitions, so I need to steer clear of distractions.”
He winks, and his chocolate eyes sparkle. “A distraction might be good to take the pressure off.”
“No distractions.”
“Not even Dane?”
“Why would you say that? He’s my best friend.”
He darts his eyes between Dane and me, as Dane sets Hannah’s feet back on the ground.
“It sure seems like Dane might be a distraction.” He whispers in my ear, “You might want to ask yourself if you’re willing to see him with another girl… permanently.”
I answer, “No one can take my place. We’ve done everything together since we were six.”
“Everything?”
I roll my eyes. “No, not everything.” Inside my stomach is doing back flips.
Instead, I turn to the rest of the group. “Where to now? You know I can’t stand still.” Especially now that I’m hyper aware that at least one person senses I want to be more than Dane’s trusty sidekick.
Dane says, “Let’s ride the Turbine Twister. It’s Lettie’s favorite.” He comes behind me, squeezing my shoulders.
“You aren’t scared of me throwing up on you?”
Dane’s hands slide over the column of my neck, and Devon’s lips tug at the corners, in a knowing smile.
“What are best friends for? Vomiting on each other means we are the best of the best friends,” Dane says, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Devon, our mutual friend, smirks in amusement, fully aware of the tension between us.
“Last one to the Turbine Twister has to buy glow necklaces!” I shout as I take off running.
“Lettie Bug, you’re going the wrong way!” Dane’s voice booms.
I can almost feel the electricity between us. I try to focus on our friendly competition of who will be the last one to the ride.
And guess who’s last in line? No, not me—Dane. He knows I’m flat broke because I haven’t been able to work this summer, due to training. He deliberately lets me pass as he brings up the rear.
He’s my best friend, and I’d like him to pin me against a wall and show me how great Dane Greathouse is. I need to scream these confusing thoughts out of my body and what a better place to do it than on a rollercoaster.
Sliding into the bench seat, the bars come down over our shoulders. Locking in place. As we ride the heart-pumping rollercoaster, my hands are in the air, hoping I can keep the contents of my stomach inside.
With the wind whipping through my hair, it flies in all directions. I squeeze my eyes shut as we corkscrew several times, and the smell of adrenaline pumps through me. Even with the g-force pinning us against the seat, Dane calms me with a simple touch, pressing his leg against mine intentionally. This is the part of the ride where I got sick in high school.
He remembers everything.
The ride ends, and he drapes his arm around me, pulling me in playfully. “You did good, Bug.” He looks at me with such warmth, and I think he must feel that something has shifted between us, but before I have time to smile, he darts his eyes to Hannah. “And you might have left marks on my arm.”
What? Why would she not be holding onto the bars? For safety?
“I knew you would protect me,” she says with princess eyes.
How can I compete with her? Especially since Dane knows how my vomit smells and how my breath smells after no toothbrush on a weekend campout.
“Dane protects everyone,” I burst out. Dane’s eyebrows dip a tad either in confusion or annoyance.
Hannah says, “Does anyone need to go to the bathroom?”
