The Easy Part of Impossible - Sarah Tomp Page 0,20

look too closely at how she spent her school day. If Sean knew her classes were ridiculously basic it was only because Maggie had told him.

She didn’t even have to lie or be vague about where she’d gone after school. There was no reason to try to describe the nitty-gritty details or the looser, more elusive feeling of caving. Now, in the ordinary world of fluorescent lights and crowds, it almost felt as if she’d dreamed about exploring underground. Except, she felt echoes of all the climbing and maneuvering around the rocks in her muscles. It had been a full-body workout, leaving her with the best kind of ache. So reassuringly familiar.

At the end of third period and all of her assigned classes, Sean latched onto her. Literally. He tucked his hand into her back pocket and said, “Walk me to class. I don’t want to say goodbye yet.”

On the way, he suddenly ducked around a corner, into a spot behind a display case.

He moved in for a kiss. She shifted, so she wouldn’t have her back against the wall. His hands felt good against her sore muscles, but his kisses felt too frantic. Especially for school. His tongue was way too acrobatic, for anywhere. Or maybe he was doing it right. She could only compare Sean to Sean. He was the only boy she’d ever kissed.

She pulled away and pressed her fingers against his chest, searching for his heartbeat beneath the soft of his shirt. In her mind she named his muscles: pecs, abs, obliques, delts, biceps, triceps.

“Aren’t you going to be late?” she asked.

“Are you trying to get rid of me?”

She was treading unsteady ground. She’d never seen him get mad before so she had no idea how to defuse him if he did. “I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

“I wish you would get me in trouble.” He grinned mischievously and took her hands in his. “But you’re never here.”

“I have a minimum schedule.”

“I know, I know. But it’s not like you have anywhere to go.” He squeezed her hands. “Stop. Don’t look like that. Don’t be sad.”

“I’m fine.”

“How can you still miss diving?” He frowned, staring too intensely, too close. “It’s been two months.”

Fifty-six days. But it wasn’t the time. It was her. Who would she be if she didn’t miss it?

“Yesterday Benny made them do yoga poses on the board. Anytime anyone fell off they had to do a dirty thirty on the deck. It was horrendous!”

She knew he was trying to make her laugh, but hearing him use Benny-lingo only made her queasy.

“But, hey, there’s a football game on Friday. All the seniors sit together and go crazy. Okay?”

“Okay,” said Ria. Because “okay” was a vanilla nothing kind of word. It didn’t mean anything. Nothing worth caring about was ever simply okay.

Sean suddenly looked nervous, shifting his weight from foot to foot. “The guys are planning to go to Grover’s after the game.”

Grover didn’t exist. He was a code name among Sean and his friends for when they needed a cover for partying. He was the scapegoat if anything ever went wrong.

“Which means I can stay out . . . all night? Okay?”

“Okay,” she said again, unsure what either of them meant.

“You’re the best!” He kissed her quickly, then said, “Crap. I’m late. Gotta go.”

When she finally left school, she slowed by the bus stop, but Cotton wasn’t there. She was so late leaving she’d missed him and he probably was already on the bus. Or, he was somewhere else entirely. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t show up at his house. It’s not like he’d be expecting her. No way could she knock on the door and bother his mother. There was no chance of caving today. She’d even brought an extra pair of old clothes, in case. A pebble of disappointment formed in her throat.

Eleven

It felt like Cotton had disappeared.

For the last two days she’d run along the trail behind his house, and all the way to the cave entrance, but there was no sign that he’d been there. He had seemed certain that he only went in the cave on weekends. She didn’t have to follow his guidelines. But, even though she’d brought a flashlight, she couldn’t bring herself to go in the cave alone. Instead she sat by the entrance, breathing in the cool, damp air and listening for proof that he was inside. The proof hadn’t surfaced, not any more than he had. All week she