‘So, we’re doing this?’ Alanna asked.
Keira took a deep, shuddery breath. ‘We’re doing this. I mean, if you want to?’
‘I think you know I do.’
‘I guess it’s taking a minute to accept that it’s a two-way street.’
‘Tell me about it,’ Alanna said. ‘We should have just talked. You’d thinkI’dhave realised that.’ She frowned. ‘Wait, am Italking too muchabout it now, though?’
Keira sighed and smiled. ‘You can talk as much as you want. It never gets old to me.’
‘Give me time.’
‘That’s what I’m hoping to do,’ Keira said.
The doors slid open, and they walked down the hall together hand in hand, like a couple of kids. None of this was new, but somehow, it was. Keira had never been in a real relationship, and Alanna had never fallen for anyone this hard. Such a cynical start and somehow, they’d come out as innocents.
Alanna spent her days trying to help people deal with their issues, and sometimes that could make you feel like the adult in the room. But a few kisses and she was right back where she started. A kid again.
In the flat, as they headed for the bathroom, she felt herself go shy again. Because Alanna had done some living and she knew enough to know by now that feelings like this were not common. You didn’t get many Keiras. You didn’t get to fall in love like this all the time. Alanna thought there might never be another day like this ever again. Keira, who never loved anyone, loved Alanna. That was a hell of a thing to have happened. Alanna didn’t know what made her so special. Was this real? Was Keira really letting her in?
Keira turned to Alanna in the bathroom. Apparently, Alanna’s poker face was not great because the second Keira looked at her, she was worried. ‘Hey, what’s going on,’ Keira asked with deep concern.
‘I’m nervous,’ Alanna said. ‘About us getting… You know…’
‘Me too,’ Keira admitted.
‘You are? But you’re…’
‘I know, I know. But you have to understand...’ Keira thought about it for a moment and then said very seriously, ‘Say I wanted to run a marathon…’
‘What?’
‘Bear with me. So I enter a marathon and I start training on a treadmill, pushing myself a bit farther every time. I get my distance right up there over several months; I can run twenty-six miles on the treadmill. I’m ready, right? Wrong. Because when it comes time to run the marathon, I’m running on aroad. There are peaks and troughs and uneven, hard ground that I never knew from the comfort of my rubber-lined treadmill. I’ve only half trained. I have noideawhat’s gonna happen. Might not have the stamina for real running at all and cop-out two miles in. Might fall over and crack my ankle on the first step because it’s different terrain.’ She took a breath. ‘And that’s you. The London Marathon.’
Alanna smiled. Keira sure did have a way with words. But Alanna couldn’t seem to shake her fear. ‘That’s sweet, but…’
‘You’re not convinced,’ Keira said, and she put her hands on her hips, thinking. A slow smile appeared. ‘Look, what if I gave you something that I never gave to anyone else?’
Alanna’s fear went into overdrive. ‘If it’s an advanced sexual position, you need to know that my balance isn’t great, and I don’t like being upside down—’
Keira smiled and shook her head. She turned around to the toilet and leant down by its side, saying, ‘Did younevercheck down here for reading material?’
Alanna had noticed a couple of dusty paperbacks down there, tucked underneath a stack of magazines, wedged between the toilet and the bath. But she hadn’t disturbed them because she usually just looked at her phone if she was there for a while. But as Keira turned around, holding the books, Alanna realised that she should have looked closer. ‘Your books?’
Keira nodded anxiously.
Alanna took the books and looked at the one on top. It was calledDevil’s Creek. ‘Wait a sec. You’re Alice Baker?’
Keira shrugged nervously. ‘I am she. Feel free to take a look at those when you get some time.’
‘I don’t have to. I’ve read all your books,’ Alanna explained, shocked.
‘Stop it,’ Keira said. But she looked scared.
‘I’m serious. Every single one,’ Alanna said, almost delirious.
Keira’s terror faded, but only slightly. ‘No.’
