Kiss King - Mickey Miller Page 0,22
no plans,” he says.
“Well, it’s a nice night out. What do you think about going for a run?”
He shrugs. “Little jog? Why not? I’ll throw on my running shorts and shoes.”
“Perfect.”
A little later, we’re heading out the door for our run. Me in short running shorts and a tank top and a ponytail. Grant in athletic shorts and no shirt.
I won’t lie. I steal a few glances at his abs as he locks the door.
Grant has a loop he runs that he likes to call “the cornfield loop.” Galesburg is surrounded by cornfields once you get a mile or so south of campus, and it’s a gorgeous route to run.
A fresh breeze rolls over our faces as we settle into a nice jog. It’s a warm, cloudy day, but the sun peeks through a cloud bank in the west to give us a breathtaking sunset. We even stop and walk a bit to enjoy ourselves a little more.
“Crazy to think you almost didn’t stay enrolled this term, Maya.”
“I know,” I respond. “I grew so much this term. I’m officially booked for Italy next fall!”
“That’s amazing! You excited?”
“Are you kidding? I’ve dreamed about Italy since I was a little girl, so yes. Very. What about you, where are you living next fall?”
“We put a group together and we’ll be living in the quads in a suite. It’s going to be me, Nelson, Chris, Donnie, DJ, April, Alex, Charlotte, and a few other friends. We’ll miss having you.”
“I’ll miss you guys, but I’ll be back in the winter term. What are you up to this summer?”
“I’ll be doing a baseball league down in Texas.”
In the distance, we can see pink, yellow, and blue lightning in the cloud bank.
“Do you think Coach Johnson is going to start you next year?”
Grant grins. “He better.”
“Yeah, he better,” I nudge Grant. “Or I’m going to start a student revolution.”
We start jogging again, heading west, straight into the wind.
“Grant, I have a question, something I’ve been thinking about.”
“Okay.”
“Sorry in advance if it’s awkward.”
“Now I’m excited.”
“You might not remember this, but that day after your game, you told me there was a way to tell if you were just friends with someone and nothing more.”
His Adam’s apple bobs. “Of course, I remember that.”
“Is that true? And if so, what was the way? You never told me.”
He laughs slightly, turning toward me. “You really don’t know?”
I shake my head. “No.”
Only the sound of our footsteps and our breath can be heard. “I bet you can figure it out,” he says. “Race ya back?”
Before I can protest, he takes off, and I have to pick up my pace to keep up with him. I’m really chugging, and can barely talk I’m so out of breath.
When we get back to his apartment, I’m half smiling because he gave me such a good workout, and half angry for that same reason. “Where did you learn to run like that?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Pitchers gotta stay in shape.”
We head into his apartment, and I head back to his bathroom to shower.
Unfortunately, I’m already wet when I realize I forgot my towel in a bag still in Grant’s truck.
I glance at the towel rack and there is just the hand towel, so I loudly say Grant’s name.
“Hey, Grant!”
He pokes his head in. “You okay?”
I crack the shower curtain. “Can I borrow a towel?”
“Of course,” he says.
“You’re the absolute best.”
I turn off the shower, and go to push the curtain aside, and realize I obviously don’t want to be naked. Startled, I pull the shower curtain towards me. In the midst of pulling it forward, the entire shower curtain rod flies off the wall, somehow.
Panicking and wide eyed, it’s all I can do to hold one hand over my nipples and part of the shower curtain over my waist. While the rod fell half into the shower. Just my luck.
Grant comes back in, and he’s dumbstruck. “Uh…okay, then,” he says. “I’m not even going to ask.”
I stick my hands out of the shower and grab the towel. “Sorry for the show.”
“I forgot to mention the spring in the rod is broken. So be careful opening the curtain.” He chuckles.
Grant fixes the curtain and the rod, and he showers while I get dressed in his bedroom. I’m assessing the situation in his refrigerator when he comes into the kitchen, wearing jeans, no shirt, and toweling his hair.
“Just got a text from Finn. We’re going to help him move his stuff into the Alpha Z house. I’ll