Page 43 of 10 Ways to Accidentally Fall in Love

“See you soon?” Cas asks the both of us.

I let go of the fanny pack to hold up my hand. “Yeah, man. You know it.”

Cas slaps my palm before heading off.

I sigh, eyeing the fruit. “I suppose we should get some sustenance?”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Joey says, sounding distracted. Dude’s probably just hungry. I get it.

Once we reach the snack table, Joey picks an apple, and I grab a banana.

“You’re still buying me donuts,” I remind him, peeling my fruit.

“Yep.”

“I deserve some sugary carbs.”

“Bananas are sugary ca—”

Joey cuts off into a round of choking, and I look at him in alarm, quickly finishing my bite.

“Dude, you all right?” I ask, stepping forward to slap his back.

“You just…you went for it, didn’t you?” he says, voice hoarse.

It takes me a second to understand he’s talking about my banana, half of which is now gone. “If they’re really small, I can usually get them in one go,” I tell him proudly. “But this one’s a beast. Two-biter for sure.”

He wheezes a little.

“You okay, man?” I ask in concern, rubbing his shoulder. “You look rough.”

Joey nods tightly. “I’m good. Promise. This was, uh…a really nice morning.”

“It was, wasn’t it?” I agree. “Thanks for helping me finish my first 5k, Joey-roo.”

His chuckle is soft. “My pleasure. But I’m pretty sure you did it all yourself.”

“Maybe so. But you were there with me. And I’ll always remember that.”

Joey’s expression is hard to make out behind his sunglasses, but the small smile that graces his face makes me feel like I did something right. “Ready to get those donuts?”

“Soready,” I tell him, tossing my banana peel in the trash.

Maybe it was my feet that carried me across the finish line, but you can never discount the encouragement people give you along the way. And Joey? He’s one of the most encouraging people I know. He makes me feel powerful, like I could do anything I set my mind to.

In fact…

Step four in Brad’s Guide to Finding Himself and Falling in Love:

Accomplish a goal.

Done.

I ran my first 5k.

I wonder what else I could accomplish with Joey by my side.

Chapter 12

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