Page 64 of Betting on You

Did I just squeal?

Holy shit, I couldn’t believe we were going to do this.

“Atta girl.”

“Shut it.” I felt mildly relieved that I’d made the decision, but immediately my brain switched into planning mode.

“Wait—what about your mom? Do we need to ask her if it’s cool for you to run off for a few days?”

“Nah.” He cleared his throat and said, “She trusts me.”

“Formultiple days?Out of town?” I asked, shocked. “That’s a whole lot of trust for a kid in high school.”

“One of those divorce things,” he said, sounding tired on the other end of the phone. “She’s so busy with the boyfriend and my younger sister that anytime I’m not in her hair, I think she breathes a sigh of relief.”

“Bullshit,” I said, feeling a bit of a gut punch for him in that moment. Whether it was true or not, it made me sad that he felt like his mom didn’t want him around. “I’m sure that’s not true.”

His voice was quieter than usual, a tinge more serious, when he said, “You’d be surprised.”

I didn’t know Charlie’s mom, so I tried to assume this was just what she was like and not a sweeping generalization of single parents.

But I’d be lying if I said that a tiny part of me heard his words and didn’t think,What if that eventually happens with my mom and me?

“It doesn’t matter, though,” he said, his voice louder and more stereotypically Charlie. “Know why?”

I rolled onto my side and asked, “Why?”

“Cuz I’m going to the mountains tomorrow.”

“Have you been before?” I liked the excitement in his voice. He sounded like he was genuinely looking forward to the road trip, and it sparked something in me.

I felt a little excited.

“Not in Colorado, but in Alaska,” he said.

“Duh,” I replied, picturing the White Mountains. “I forgot your cousins live there.”

“Duh, indeed,” he agreed. “I miss the mountains. Don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do,” I said, but I didn’t let myself think about home anymore. I’d spent so many hours closing my eyes and picturing my old house, and the only thing it ever did was make me sad.

It was better to forget. I asked him, “Do you ski?”

“No.”

“Do you want to try?” I asked.

“No.”

“I’m so happy to hear that!” Nekesa had been all about the skiing, but I just wanted to walk around the mountains and drink coffee at charming little shops. There might’ve been a time when I wanted to learn, but not while Scott was offering to teach me. “I don’t want to either.”

“Because of your clumsiness?”

“I’m not clumsy.” I laughed, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV. “Why would you say that?”

“You just have thatI could fall over anythinglook about you.”

“Lovely,” I said, shaking my head. “Thank you.”

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