Dragging my hand down my mouth, I walked over to the metal stool a few feet away and took a seat.
I wanted to hang out and thought we could talk. If you’re busy then we can do it another time.
I shouldn’t feel guilty or obligated to make myself free for her. I didn’t owe Nakyra anything. Curiosity did fill me, wondering what she wanted to talk about.
What time were you thinking?
I thought it would take her a little to respond but she must have been waiting for me because she texted right back.
If you’re busy then it’s fine.
We make time for things that matter. What time, Nakyra?
Four o clock.
She responded again with an address. After agreeing to meet up, I locked my phone and slid it back into my hoodie pocket. I played different things over in my head, trying to figure out what Nakyra could want. In the end, I came up blank. Part of me wondered if she wanted me to leave her house because I’d overstepped when I asked her out. Quickly, I ruled that out. If she wanted me to leave, I believed she would speak up and just tell me.
Eventually Dylan came back, he still looked stressed but his body was less tense. We began talking about the next race coming up. This one was hosted by another crew who raced, and by the way Dylan spoke about it, it was going to be one of the biggest races yet.
____
I pulled up to where Nakyra had told me to meet her, noticing it was a park. Cutting my car off, I grabbed my phone and looked around. The smell of leaves filled my nose. A small breeze brushed across my skin and the sound of children playing on the jungle gym across the parking lot filled my ears.
Nakyra had told me to go to the opposite side of the park from the small pond. Following the gravel walkway, I noticed a couple of people walking the nearby trails. It didn’t take me long to locate Nakyra. She was sitting near the water. The closer I gotI noticed her sitting on a blanket with a basket alongside Bella next to her.
Bella heard me first. Her head popped up and she released a bark, which gained Nakyra’s attention. When we made eye contact she gave me a nervous smile then waved.
“Hey!” She laid her phone down and stood.
“Hey.” I stepped closer, stopping in front of her.
“Thanks for coming.” Nodding, I looked around. “This is one of my favorite places to come and clear my mind. Watching the water is usually peaceful for me.”
Giving her my attention again, I looked her over. She was dressed in jeans that fit like they were made for her and ripped at the knees, a white tank top that showed off her stomach, and a brown cardigan; I enjoyed what I saw.
“You look good.” I licked my lips, causing her to blush and lower her chin.
“I’m not even dressed up.”
Grabbing her chin, I lifted her head. “You don’t need to be.” I smirked then released her chin. “What’s up, Bella girl?” I leaned down to pet her. “Tell me what we got going on here.”
“Right.” Nakyra turned to face the picnic. “Well… you suggested a date, so I created one for us.” She faced me again with a smile on her face.
I raised a brow and slid my thumbs into my jeans. “I thought you didn’t want to try us out?” It wasn’t that I wasn’t happy about her changing her mind, but it was sudden. Just a week ago she was telling me we couldn’t pursue anything, but now she was surprising me with a date.
The smile on her face fell slowly. “Oh. Yeah, well…” Her hand lifted and she brushed it over her right ear. “I guess I did. If you changed your mind then I get it. We don’t have to call this a date we can?—”
Stepping forward I grabbed her, causing her mouth to snap shut. “That’s not what I’m saying. I just don’t want you to feel pressured into anything.”
“That’s not what this is,” she said confidently, snatching away from me.
“Then tell me what it is.” Patiently, I waited for her to gather her thoughts.
Her eyes traveled to the water. She didn’t speak right away, just watched the small sway the wind created. Eventually she looked back at me and stepped forward so there was barely room between us. “I realized that you were right. There is something forming between us. Neither of us planned for it, but we both feel it. I can’t, with good conscience, move forward without knowing if it’s real or not. I miss you when I don’t see you. And this week, it feels like both of us were purposely avoiding each other and I don’t like that. You made me realize that maybe there’s some things I’ve been missing out on in my relationship. Ineedto know if I’m imagining things with us or if the chemistry is genuine.”
Her confidence mixed with a bit of nervousness was obvious. It took a lot for her to get out of her head and take this step. Now it was my turn to make sure she wasn’t let down.
One corner of my mouth lifted. “A’right then, let’s get this date going.”
