Bring Down the Stars

Strike one.

Autumn retreated, and she said to no one in particular, “Look at Ruby.”

Ruby was over by the Wesleyan team, chatting up Hayes Jones. Both of them laughing with familiarity, as if they’d met in kindergarten.

“She’s really good at that,” Autumn said. “Meeting new people? I get butterflies at the thought of walking up to a stranger and starting a conversation.”

“But walking up to strangers in libraries and trashing their capitalist propaganda is no problem,” I said.

“I did not— shut up.” Laughing, she started to give me a shove. I was soaked with sweat and stepped back again, out of range. Her laughter died off, leaving that same hurt in its wake.

Strike two, idiot.

Autumn glanced at her watch, then looked up at Connor. “So…I had a great time. I’m glad I came. Thanks for the lemonade.”

“That was nothing,” he said. “How about dinner?”

I flinched. Christ, not like that, dummy. You can’t ask her on a first date like she’s any old nail and you’re the sledgehammer.

Autumn adjusted her bag. “Oh, thank you, but I—”

“There’s a great Thai place down the road,” Connor said. “Ever been to Boko 6?”

Of course she had. There were only ten restaurants in town. I walked away, hands on my hips as if I were still winded, but really, I needed to get away from Connor’s ham-fisted invitation. Autumn needed a light touch and romance. A few seconds ago I couldn’t manage a “thank you,” but I suddenly knew exactly how I’d ask her to go out with me.

Have you been to the Emily Dickinson Museum? Maybe we could check it out, then try to cheer ourselves up over coffee after.

Would you like to have dinner with me at the Rostand? Or just drinks. Even if it’s only for a glass of water, I need you to see the sunset from the top deck.

Have you been to the Orchard Hill Observatory? We could bring a picnic up there at dusk and watch the stars come out…

But it looked as if Connor was doing just fine after all. He had his phone out and appeared to be plugging in Autumn’s number.

Strike three. I’m out.

I must not have been recovered from the race, because the urge to puke came over me again.

Ruby joined them, stuffing her own phone in her back pocket. A few more words exchanged, and then the girls headed off across the field. But after a few steps, Autumn turned back and waved at me.

“Bye, Weston. Congratulations on your wins.”

“Yep,” I said, and Connor joined me to watch them go. In the falling twilight, Autumn’s hair was gold and fire, falling down her back in long curls. I stared until Connor elbowed my side.

“Digits secured,” he said. “But man, that girl makes you work for it. I’m not even guaranteed a date.”

I glanced at him as we walked to where my duffel lay on the grass in my team’s huddle. “No?”

“She keeps telling me how busy she is, and has a double-major, and who knows what else,” Connor said. “She gave me her number but then said, ‘We’ll see.’ What does that mean?”

“It means, dumbass, she’s going to wait to see what you do with it. What you say when you ask her out. How you ask.”

Connor frowned. “I already asked her out.”

“And she didn’t say yes.” I pulled on my track pants and sweatshirt. “She’s not a Netflix-and-chill. She wants romance.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “How do you know?”

“She told me. But I think she likes you,” I added.