Page 45 of Every Broken Thing

“I didn’t know he was that good,” I confessed as I clapped.

Esther shot me a surprised look. “You haven’t seen him dive before?”

I shook my head, not understanding the confusion painting her face.

Every time Ben completed a dive, we cheered and chanted his name obnoxiously. And he’d ignore us, even as his flushed face split with embarrassed smiles.

“Give me aB!” I shouted, and Caroline and Kim echoed me. “Give me anE!”

Ben waved at us in a futile attempt to make us stop. We did not stop.

In the end, Ben lost first place by only two and a half points, but he took the loss with grace. He shook the first place winner’s hand, laughing at something she said, and he accepted congratulations from his team and the crowd as the diving results were officially announced.

Even though he didn’t win the diving portion, Ben’s second-place points pulled the team ahead, and a half-hour later, when the final relay finished, they tallied the scores and announced our team the victors.

We jumped to our feet and cheered as the team celebrated down below. Caroline, Kim, and I started another chant, spellingBen’s name again, and I caught the middle finger he sent our way.

Since he was still smiling, I didn’t feel bad. So I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled at the top of my lungs, “What’s that spell?”

My friends, and even Esther, answered my call.

“Ben!”

14

Celebratory Milkshake Run

As we filed outof the pool room, the crowd jostled us through the doors, and Esther grabbed my elbow to keep from losing me. Without really thinking about it, I reached back and took her hand, ensuring we made it into the gym hallway in one piece.

Kim and Caroline converged on Esther, complimenting her makeup and her hair, and she shot me a semi-worried glance, like she wasn’t sure what to do with their friendliness.

It was another twenty minutes before Ben exited the pool room with Ronnie and the other diver from our team who Esther had called Julian. The two divers pounded fists before Julian was attacked by a girl prattling excitedly in Spanish. Ronnie and Ben made their way toward us, leaving the kid to whom I guessed was his girlfriend from the way she attempted to meld their mouths into one.

“Well, that’s just uncalled for,” I said to no one in particular.

The moment Ben spotted me, he tossed his bag at Ronnie and pointed his finger menacingly. “You are so embarrassing!”

“Give me aB!” I bellowed, egging him on as he ran at me.

I squealed and tried to run away, but I didn’t even finish spelling his name before he caught me. His arms circled my waist, and I screeched in genuine shock as he threw me over his shoulder.

I struggled in his hold, laughing as he carried me like a sack of potatoes. “Oh my God, put me down!”

“That was mortifying,” he said, ignoring my command.

I pouted, beating his lower back lightly with my fists.“Don’t lie. You loved it.”

“You’re never allowed to come to my meets again, you hear me?”

“Oh yeah? Try and stop me.” With an evil cackle, I smacked his ass as hard as I could.

At the hit, he yelped and nearly dropped me. I grappled at his waist to keep from tumbling to the ground, but I froze when my fingers met skin. His shirt had slipped up, and my fingers were now digging into his bare hip above the band of his jeans. He had soft skin. It was very nice.

“Stop trying to cop a feel.” His own hand slid up my pant leg and ripped out a few strands of my leg hair.

Soft skin forgotten, I wailed at the sharp sting. “Ow! You dick.”

Chuckling deep in his chest, Ben bent over and set me back on my feet. I made a show of limping away as I rubbed at my abused leg.

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