The Art of Taking Chances Read online

  “It’s pretty bad,” I say, holding in a laugh. “Might need to be amputated.”

  This time his shoulder bumps mine, and I wish I could freeze this moment to replay over and over later. The sun shining on us, the feel of his arm against mine like this is the only place in the world he wants to be. His fingers brush my knee and I hold my breath.

  “That’ll make it hard to ride.” His hand drops to his side and his eyes meet mine. “I’m really sorry.”

  My voice comes out a whisper. “You should be.”

  Something in his eyes makes everything inside me go haywire. My heart races, I can’t catch my breath, and a fresh layer of sweat breaks out all over me. I catch my lower lip between my teeth and his gaze dips to my mouth, just for a moment.

  His mouth opens, then closes, like he changed his mind about whatever he was about to say. Every ounce of me wants him to feel what I’m feeling. Is he aware of this pull between us? Is that why he’s looking at me like he’s trying to figure me out? Or is this all in my head and we’re just Kurt and Alex, part of the Fabulous Foursome who never think of each other like that?

  Friend Rule #2: Friends before crushes. Even if your friend is the one crushing you.

  It takes all my strength, but I stand, putting space between us. He clears his throat and runs a hand through his hair, and even that makes him look good.

  Man, I am totally screwed.

  “I should probably get going,” I say.

  He stands. “Yeah.”

  There’s another beat where we’re just watching each other, and I’m dying to know what he’s thinking. But neither of us says anything. We grab our bikes and strap them to our separate vehicles. I take my time securing the frame, not ready to leave but not sure what else to do or say. He seems to be moving slower, too, or maybe it’s all in my head.

  When there’s nothing left to do but say goodbye, I lift my hand to wave. “See you Monday.”

  He frowns. “You’re not riding tomorrow?”

  I point at my knee. “Amputation, remember?” He smiles, and my stomach flutters. Okay, no more jokes. “I’m working.”

  He nods, and then he’s moving toward me. A thousand thoughts bounce through my head, all of them ending with us kissing, but he grabs my braid and flicks the end against my nose. “See you Monday.”

  Two

  The next day at work, Kurt is all I can think about. Mica and I work Sundays together at the Bike and Hike Shop, and since the weekends are our busiest time, we’ve barely had a chance to talk. Not that I’m sure if I want to talk to him about this. The minute I say the words out loud, that I like Kurt as more than a friend, I risk ruining our perfect little group.

  Customers come and go in a blur, and I go through the motions, my distraction obvious to the regulars.

  It’s late afternoon when the crowds finally die down. Mica grabs an apple from his backpack and holds it out to me, offering a bite. I shake my head and let out a long sigh.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Mica asks.

  “It’s nothing.”

  “You’ve locked yourself out of the register three times, you forgot Butch Cleary’s name, and you’ve been dropping things all day.” He takes a bite of the apple and raises his brows at me, daring me to contradict him. “Something’s up.”

  Blanking on Butch’s name was the low point of my day. He runs a riding clinic not far from here and comes in every weekend. I’ve known him for years, yet today I had to rely on calling him Buddy—something Butch frowned at and Mica clearly didn’t miss. I grab my water bottle from beneath the counter and take a long drink, stalling.

  “Alex.” Mica’s voice is firm yet soft. “You know you can’t hide things from me.”

  The corner of my mouth lifts in a smile, then fades. “I can’t do anything about it, so there’s no point telling you.”

  “Is this about a guy?”

  My head snaps up.

  He smiles. “Ah, now we’re getting somewhere.” He takes another bite and chews slowly. “Anyone I know?” The look he gives me says he already knows it’s Kurt, but how can he? I’ve been so careful.

  “Why would you think that?”

  “Does this have anything to do with the little creek-side wrestling match yesterday?”

  And like that, my cheeks flush. I press my hands to them but that just draws more attention to the sudden spike in my body temperature.

  Mica watches me as he finishes his apple. “You don’t deny it. Interesting.”

  I drop my hands and shove them in the pockets of my cargo pants. “Not interesting. Ridiculous.” Impossible, I add to myself.

  The bell on the front door rings as a customer enters. He heads straight for the water bottles, and Mica returns his gaze to me. “Maybe not.”

  My heart pounds.

  I take a deep breath and pick at a scratch on the counter.

  Count to three in my head.

  Take another breath and try to sound casual. “Why do you say that?”

  A smile softens his face and I know my cover’s blown. But he doesn’t rub it in. Mica’s too sweet for that. “Nothing he’s said. Just me paying attention.”

  A dozen questions leap to the tip of my tongue, none of which I’ll ask. My friendship with Kurt is sacred, and a couple fluttery butterflies aren’t worth risking what we have for what would surely end in disaster.

  “So do you like him?” he asks.

  I bite my lip, unsure how to answer, when the customer approaches the counter. I let Mica handle him and am lost in thoughts of Kurt when a giggly voice interrupts my daydream.

  “Hey!” My friend Kaylee’s standing on the other side of the counter.

  “You’re way too dolled up for a Sunday afternoon,” I say.

  She smiles, taking my remark as a compliment. Her brown hair reaches halfway down her back—like mine—but unlike mine, it’s curled and tousled and looks like she stepped off the set of a photo shoot. Makeup highlights her already flawless skin and her fitted t-shirt shows off her curves in ways I never dare to.

  In the two years I’ve worked here, this is the first time she’s come to visit. Kaylee’s not afraid to sweat, but her preferred method of exercise involves yoga mats and stretchy bands. Not bikes and dirt and nature.

  I twist a braid around my finger. “What’s up?”

  She leans against the counter so her cleavage is on display and glances at Mica, who’s still helping the customer. “Not much. I was wondering…” she trails off, and I groan inwardly, not wanting to play her game.

  We’ve been friends since elementary school, and we’re so different now that sometimes I wonder if we’d still be friends without our history. Where I’m straightforward and to the point, she likes to draw things out and make the other person guess what she’s trying to say.

  The customer grabs his bag and heads for the door.

  From the corner of my eye, I see Mica smirk at me. “I’m gonna check the display.” That’s our code for “good luck with this one.” We typically use it for obnoxious customers, but in this case, it works.

  “You do that,” I mumble.

  Kaylee leans back so her cleavage isn’t lunging for my throat. Her eyes follow Mica as he moves around the store, checking the non-existent display. “You riding next weekend?”

  I raise an eyebrow, the expression on my face saying, “When do I not ride on the weekends?”

  “Maybe I can join you?”

  Mica stretches to grab a bike rack off a high shelf, his insane calves flexing with the effort. Kaylee licks her bottom lip and I roll my eyes. She’s less subtle than most girls, and not really Mica’s type, but it could be fun.

  “Sure. Meet us at Crestpoint Saturday at ten.”

  Her finger trails back and forth over the glass counter. Mica’s totally cleaning that later. “Can you… I mean, is it cool if I ride with you? I don’t have a rack for my car.”

  I smile. She actually seems nervous, and match-making is my thing. “My house at
nine-thirty.”

  Her face lights up as Mica returns to the counter. He glances between us like he doesn’t want to know what we’re talking about, and Kaylee lets out a breath. “Well, I better get going. You two have fun.” She waves goodbye, and her hand trails over Mica’s shoulder. “See you Saturday.”

  His eyebrows practically shoot off his head, and I hold in a laugh. When she’s gone, he whirls on me. “What did you do?”

  I shrug, but can’t help the grin that’s plastered to my face. “You’ll see.”

  Three

  Kaylee surprises me by being a few minutes early, and we pull into the Crestpoint parking lot before the guys. She’s been fidgety since we got in the car, and now she can barely stand still. Once I have our bikes on the ground, I put my hand on my hips and tilt my head at her. “What’s going on?”

  Her gaze flicks from me to the head of the trail. “I… do you…” She shifts from one foot to the other. “How hard is this trail?”

  I give her a soft smile. It’s been years since I’ve seen this side of her. The human, maybe-I’m-not-perfect-at-everything side. “There’s a mix of levels here. I’ll make sure we stay off the blacks.”

  Her shoulders relax, and she lets out a breath. “Thanks.”

  Kurt arrives moments later, and whatever uncertainty Kaylee was feeling flips off like a switch. Her smile brightens, her boobs push out, and all traces of nerves disappear.

  Just as mine amp up.

  “Hey, Kurt,” she says, practically purring. She moves toward his bike and runs a finger over the crossbar. “Our bikes are the same color.”

  Never mind that black is one of the most common bike colors out there.

  “Hi, Kaylee.” He raises an eyebrow at me as if to say, “Is she serious?” then unstraps his bike and maneuvers around her to set it on the ground.

  Inside I thrill at the private moment, even if it is at her expense.

  “Where are the other guys?” she asks, and I swear she flutters her lashes at him.

  But she’s here for Mica, isn’t she?

  Fortunately Kurt doesn’t seem to notice.

  I glance at my wrist even though I don’t wear a watch. “Topher’s never on time. And Mica usually rides with him.” I expect her to react when I say Mica’s name, but her gaze hasn’t left Kurt.

  Or more specifically, his legs.

  A spark of jealousy flares through me. What is she doing? Not that I have any claim to Kurt, but…but…she made me think she was interested in Mica.

  After several minutes of awkward conversation, Topher parks next to Kurt and hops out of his Jeep. “Hey, newbie!” He waves at Kaylee, oblivious to my current torment. He bows deeply like she’s a queen, then straightens and gives her a genuine smile. “Awesome you came out.”

  Mica eyes me as he gets out of the car. I told him Kaylee invited herself to join us but left out the part about her being interested in him. But based on the way she’s hovering around Kurt and hasn’t even glanced at Mica, I think I was played.

  She rests a hand on Kurt’s bicep so he can’t help but look at her. “Alex promised you’d go easy on me today.”

  I said nothing of the sort, and now I’m tempted to trick her onto a black so he’ll see how ridiculous she is. I’m not typically a spiteful person but a little revenge for lying seems appropriate. Kurt catches my eye over Kaylee’s head and I mouth, “Sorry.” But there’s more than just irritation in his expression. He looks confused.

  “We’ll skip the blacks,” Topher says.

  Kaylee gives him a grateful smile.

  “You ladies ready?” Mica asks, giving me another questioning look.

  “Yeah,” I say while shaking my head. I’ve always said that a bad day riding is better than a day not riding, but something tells me I’m going to have to eat my words.

  We mount our bikes and pedal slowly to the start of the trail, with Topher leading and Kurt in front of Kaylee. She looks like she’s at an all-you-can-eat buffet with her favorite foods on display in front of her.

  The boys quickly get ahead of us, and I use this chance to confront her. “What are you doing?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I thought you liked Mica?”

  Her lips purse like she’s choosing between ice cream flavors, not my best friends. “He’s cute, but Kurt.” She fans herself. “Have mercy.”

  Yeah, no kidding.

  Her eyebrow quirks. “Do you like him or something?”

  Friend Rule #3: Friends don’t fight over the same guy.

  But how good of a friend is she if she lied about who she likes?

  “Me? No!” I answer too quickly, and her eyebrow stays halfway up her forehead. “You seemed into Mica at the store so I was just surprised.”

  She shrugs. “What can I say? I appreciate men of all forms.” She nods ahead at Kurt, who keeps glancing back at us. “Some more than others.”

  A sinking feeling grips my stomach and makes it hard to pedal. If I thought I had a chance with Kurt, it’s over now. Boys don’t resist Kaylee once she sets her sights on them.

  Even though I silently plead with Topher to take us on a black, he stays true to his word and sticks to blues. Kaylee does better than I expected, and when we take a break near the creek, my irritation is starting to fade.

  Until she goes right up to Kurt and says something too low for me to hear.

  I stay with my bike instead of joining the rest of them near the creek and take a long drink of water.

  Kaylee lifts her elbow, and Kurt dips his head the way I’ve imagined him lowering his head to mine. But in my daydreams he doesn’t smile at the perky brunette who can have anyone she wants, like he is now. He touches a scrape on her elbow, she giggles, and my chest tightens.

  I can’t watch this.

  Crouching next to my bike, I’m pretending to check my chain when leaves crunch near me.

  “Chain lose?” Mica asks.

  My fingers poke and prod the greasy chain. Mica’s the one person who knows bikes better than I do, so there’s no fooling him. I wipe my hands on my shorts and look up at him. “Something like that.”

  “Can I ask a question?”

  How am I such an idiot? Good question. “Sure.”

  “Why did you let her come if she’s into Kurt?”

  My eyes roll before I can stop them. “I didn’t bring her for Kurt.”

  His head tilts, then his lips part as understanding hits him. He presses a hand to his chest. “Me?”

  I shrug. “She couldn’t stop staring at you at the shop the other day, so I figured…”

  We both turn as Kaylee doubles over laughing, presumably at something Kurt said. But based on the puzzled look he gives us over her head, he’s not in on the joke. Topher’s nearby, also laughing, but he lifts his hands at us like he’s not sure what’s so funny.

  “I’m going to kill her,” I mumble to myself, but Mica hears.

  “If it helps, he doesn’t seem into her.”

  “How can he not be?” I wave a hand in their direction. “Have you seen her?”

  He elbows me in the side. “Have you seen you? Besides, it’s not all about looks. She’s grating, self-centered, and doesn’t actually listen when people talk. Not good qualities in my book.”

  “You, sir, have a way with words.”

  He gives me a serious look. “Maybe you should talk to him.”

  “Maybe you can talk to him for me.”

  “What, are we in middle school?”

  I sigh. “I’d rather take a header into the creek.”

  “It worked last week.” He smirks, and I smack his arm.

  “I’ll think about it.”

  We join the others by the creek. Mica takes one for the team and asks Kaylee to see her elbow.

  I dip my hand in the cool water and run my fingers over the smooth rocks at the bottom. Black grime from my chain sticks to them and I yank my hand back, not wanting to leave any trace of pollution here.

  “Yo
u okay?” Kurt’s voice startles me, and I DO almost take a header into the creek. He’s squatting next to me, his bare leg inches from mine.

  “I’m just feeling a little off today.”

  “Me too,” he says, and I turn to face him. His dark eyes lock onto mine, and my heart beats so loudly he can probably hear it over Kaylee’s giggling. “Can I ask you something?”

  I smile. “What is it with you boys and your questions?” He lifts an eyebrow, and I nod. “Ask away.”

  He plucks a rock from the creek bed and bounces it in his hand, not looking at me. “Did you…” Bounce. Bounce, bounce. “Did you think I’d be into her?” He nods in Kaylee’s direction.

  “No, definitely not.”

  “Then why…”

  “I thought she liked Mica. She made it seem that way when she invited herself.” I pick up my greasy rock and roll it in my hand while I take a deep breath. “So you’re not?”

  “No, definitely not.” His use of my words loosens the tension in my gut.

  “Why not?” Now we’re both bouncing our rocks.

  After what feels like forever, he says, “You really don’t know?”

  My heart screams what I want, but life doesn’t work out that way. My parents are a prime example of that. Which is why I focus on helping my friends find love—not myself. But something about the way Kurt is looking at me says maybe I’ve been wrong to try to hide my feelings.

  He drops his rock with a splash, then reaches for my braid and twists it around his hand. But instead of tugging or hitting me with it like he normally does, he holds on like he’s afraid I’ll slip away. His hand brushes my neck, sending a million butterflies loose in my stomach. My eyes drift shut, and when I open them, his face is exposed, raw. Vulnerable.

  Like we’re seeing each other for the first time.

  “Are you guys about ready?” Kaylee’s voice obliterates the butterflies.

  I toss my rock near a tree and push to my feet, forcing Kurt to let go of my braid. Even though I couldn’t feel his touch, I miss it as soon as it’s gone. Kaylee’s watching us with her hip pushed out, arms crossed, and an expression that’s definitely not flirtatious.