Page 78 of More To Us

Chapter Fifteen

Austin

I don't know what's going on, but right after Amber got home, she and Kira started fighting. They went in Amber's room and I could hear them yelling at each other. Matt said they fight all the time, but if they're best friends, why are they fighting so much? I hardly ever fight with my friends. Maybe it's a girl thing, although Callie, Ivy, and Jen are all friends and they never fight.

"You already have the bracket up?" I hear Kira ask.

I turn around and see her smiling, like everything is fine. "Yeah. It didn't take long." I nod toward Amber's room. "Everything okay in there?"

"Yeah. We were just having girl talk. We can get a little loud."

"It sounded like you were fighting."

"We weren't fighting. We were just talking loud."

She's not being truthful again. I know what I heard, and they were fighting, so why doesn't she just admit it? What is she trying to cover up?

"I'm going to finish the shake you made me," she says. "You want anything?"

"No, I'm good."

She goes in the kitchen as I attach the TV to the bracket. When it's secured in place, I turn the TV on. "What do you think?"

"Looks great!" I hear Amber say. I turn and see her walking into the living room. "Thanks for doing that for us."

"Yeah, thanks," Kira says, standing next to Amber. "It's so much better than having it on the floor."

"You guys heading out now?" Amber asks. She doesn't seem mad anymore and neither does Kira.

"Yeah, we just need to get my bike. I'll go grab my keys." Kira goes in her room.

"You're not going to work her too hard today, are you?" Amber asks, glancing down at Kira's room.

"I think she'll be the one working me. You should've seen how fast she was going on those rollerblades yesterday."

"Well, don't be afraid to tell her to take it easy. She tends to push herself too hard."

"Okay, let's go." Kira's back, her keys in her hand.

We go downstairs and get Kira's bike and put it in my truck. By the time we reach the trail, it's almost ten and a lot of people are already out. I picked a trail that winds through the trees to give us some shade. The sun is out and it already feels hot but at least there's a breeze.

"Why don't we slow down a little?" I ask Kira after we've been biking at record speed for at least twenty minutes.

"Don't you want a workout?"

"We had a workout last night with the rollerblades. Today doesn't need to be a workout. We can't talk when we're going this fast."

She slows down, but just slightly. "Is this better?"

I slow down even more, but it's still faster than most people are going. "Let's try this."

"This seems really slow."

"You'll get used to it."

At least now we can have a conversation. We talk about movies and music, and then I tell her how I got started with the band. An hour later, we decide to turn around and head back, but stop first for a water break.

"This is fun," she says, stretching her legs out as we sit on the bench. "I'm glad you suggested it. Are we going again tomorrow?"

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