Page 89 of Falling Backwards
I got agiggleout of her?How?I wasn’t trying to be funny.I was trying to…I don’t know, apologize in another way and assure her that, despite how I acted when I got here, it’s not a big deal that she’s running behind.
Maggie’s laughter used to do something so good to me.To my soul, even, it seemed sometimes.
In fact, now I’ve glimpsed it again, I’m not really sure of the last time I gave a shit that a girl found me funny.It’s always a compliment, you know, but….
I hear her bedroom door close, and I blink out of thought.
Then I blink harder, shake my head, and continue to the couch.
“You’re a fucking mess, dude,” I inform myself.
Well, what’s new about that?
Sighing, I dig my phone out of my pocket and sit down.
In good ways and bad ways alike, I’ve always been a mess when it comes to her.
M A G G I E
“All right,” Luke says once we’re parked at the sporting goods store.“What kind of workout clothes do we need?”
I get ready to recite the short list I’ve come up with for myself, but then I send him a questioning look.
“‘We’?”I repeat.“Are you getting some too?”
He tugs his cool sunglasses off his face, then slips a look over me.“Yeah, I decided I want some.”
“What kind?”
Chuckles rumble out of him, sending a pleasant chill whispering over me.
“I don’t know.”He folds his shades into the cupholder.“That’s what I just asked.”
Oh.
I nod.“Oh.Right.”
We get out of his car.While we walk to the store entrance, I tell him I’d like at least one new pair of leggings and a couple shirts.Then I try to figure out what type of exercise he’s interested in.
“You said you were having a hard time with running,” I recall.
He groans.“Yeah, it sucked.”
“Are you hoping to get better at it?”As it occurs to me, I look down to his gray slip-on Vans.“I think you need specific shoes for running.”
He follows my gaze.“Well, I wasn’t wearingtheseon my runs, if that’s what you’re thinking.I have some Pumas.”
“Believe it or not, I don’t think you’re quite goofy enough to try to exercise in flat-ass Vans.I was just saying.”
Another chuckle comes.
I give in to a smile and add, “Still, your Pumas might not be a style you should wear.”
“They’re not as flat-ass as these, though.”
“Maybe, but I’m not the decider of what makes a proper running shoe.”I gesture at the store.“We’ll look around in here and see if you find anything appropriate that you like.”
