Page 43 of Fostering Chemistry
"These were in that lost-and-found box downstairs," he said.
Diego frowned. "I forgot that was down there."
Cody held up his hands, one fuzzy gray knitted object dangling from each one. Were they knee socks?
He shook them, and a little dust came out. "Leg warmers. For your costume. Like that dance movie from the 80s.”
Then it clicked. Ihadseen ballerinas wear leg warmers bunched up around their ankles and calves. Cody was right—it did kind of fit the costume.
“What decade are those from?” Diego muttered. "I need to clean that box out.”
I walked over to take the leg warmers from Cody, but to my surprise, he knelt down. He gathered the length of one leg warmer in his hands, holding the opening wide. Grabbing onto the railing of the stairs, I poked my foot through, and he smoothed it up into place. It felt a little like I was Cinderella, and a prince was holding out a glass shipper for me to try on.
Or maybe that was just the tiara talking.
Cody did the same for the other leg. The feeling of his hands on my calves sent shivers through me. It made me wonder what it would be like to feel his hands on other parts of me.
"Thanks," I said, as he stood up.
"You’re welcome."
I don’t think he realized that Aaron and Diego were staring at him in surprise, but I did.
"Are we ready?" I asked.
"Yeah. I guess if we’re doing this, we should head out," Diego said.
"I’ll walk you to the quad,” Aaron said. “That’s where it starts, but after that, you’re on your own. Got your phones?"
We nodded. He’d told us earlier that the scavenger hunt would involve taking pictures of certain spots on campus and uploading them to the official site.
Aaron’s brow wrinkled for a moment as he stared at me. Then he spoke in a rush. “I think your charger’s in the dining room.”
“My phone’s at 95%, I think I’ll be?—”
“I’ll help you look for it.” To my shock, he grabbed my hand and pulled me into the other room. I caught Diego and Cody’s baffled expressions as we passed by.
“I’m sorry,” Aaron said, as soon as we were in the dining room.
“For what?”
“For not being able to go with you today.”
I frowned, not quite getting it. “That’s not your fault. I think it’s cool that you’re on the student council.” And it wasn’t his fault that I had a very awkward history with the guy who was going to be my new partner. I guess it was at least a relief that Diego had no memory of that history.
“Let me make it up to you,” Aaron said, brimming with a kind of nervous energy. “I mean—I’ve got this family thing in Chattanooga next weekend. I was wondering if you’d go with me.”
“To meet your family?” I wasn’t even entirely sure I remembered his last name, so meeting his family seemed like an odd choice.
“No, I’m saying it wrong. It’s my grandparents’ fiftieth anniversary, and they’ve rented this huge reception hall, and all my siblings will be there with their spouses, and I’m always the only guy who's alone, and I just… I was wondering if you’d go with me.”
There was tension on his face, and I wished I could erase it, but I needed to think it through. To be honest, I’d kind of halfthought—and maybe more than half hoped—that he’d ask me out at some point. But a big family function wasn’t what I had in mind. And I wasn’t entirely sure if this was about him wanting to go with me—or him not wanting to go alone. Those weren’t the same thing at all.
But either way, he was my friend, and he’d been there for me yesterday.
“Okay.”
“You don’t—really?” His smile transformed his face. “That’s great!” Still smiling, he reached out and tucked a strand of my hair back into the ballerina’s bun. “And I’ll take care of everything, the transportation, everything. If you need any advice about getting a gown, I’ll have one of my sisters call you.”
