Feels like Home (Lake Fisher 2)

“No problem. That’s what friends are for.”

“For telling you when you have a booger?” I sniffed again, still feeling like the gnat was up my nose.

“Yeah, that. And I need to tell you something else, too.”

“What?” I brushed an ant from the top of my foot.

“Eli asked me about you today.”

My heart started to gallop in my chest. “What did he ask?”

“He wanted to know if you like him.”

“He did?” I couldn’t bite back my grin. “What did you say?”

“I told him you’re fickle and you really don’t like anybody.”

I elbowed him in the side, which made him yelp. He rolled across the grass to get away from me. “What did he say then?”

“He asked me what fickle meant.” He chuckled. “So I told him it meant you have the hots for him.”

I kicked at his shin, but he moved too fast and I only kicked the air. “You did not.”

He held up his hands like he was surrendering. “Fine,” he said. “I told him fickle meant you were picky. Which is why you’ve never been kissed.”

“What?” I barked at him. “Please tell me you didn’t tell him that I’ve never been kissed!”

He actually looked like he was a little ashamed. “It came out of my mouth before I thought about it.” He lifted his arms to block my right hand. “He didn’t mind! I swear it!” he rushed to add.

“Now he’s going to think I’m inexperienced,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

Aaron stared at me. “You are inexperienced.”

I picked up a clod of dirt and threw it at his head. “I didn’t want him to know that!”

“Well, when he kisses you, he’s going to find out anyway.”

“I could have faked it,” I muttered, more to myself than to him.

“We can always tell, dummy,” he said, and he laid his hand on top of my head and gave it a good scrub, which he knew I hated.

“Would you stop?” I said loudly, but I was already laughing. Aaron had a way of making me like the head scrubs even though I pretended to hate them. I batted at his hands.

“Anyway,” he said, letting out a heavy breath, “he’s going to come see you in a little bit.” He winked at me. “Uh, you’re welcome,” he said, his eyes going big as a prompt for me to reply.

“If you think I’m thanking you for that, you’re dumber than you look.”

“Speak of the devil,” Aaron said as he looked over my left shoulder. I refused to look. Aaron got up and walked away without saying another single word.

I felt Eli there before I saw him. The hair on my arms stood up, and then he settled onto the ground next to me. “I thought you went fishing,” I said as I plucked a blade of grass and started to thread it through my fingers. My voice didn’t even wobble, and I was pretty proud of that.

“They weren’t biting,” he said. He reached behind him and picked one of the weedy little flowers that grew in everyone’s yards. Then he leaned over and picked another one. And another. And when he had a whole handful, he placed them in front of him and started to separate the stems, making little holes with his fingernails. He took another flower, threaded its stem into the hole of the first one, and continued until he’d made a wreath of flowers. He held it out to me. “Here,” he said.

“It’s for me?”

It wasn’t long enough to be a necklace.

“Lean over,” he said. He smiled at me and my heart started to race. He very gently placed the wreath of flowers on top of my hair like a crown. “There,” he said.