Knock You Off Your Feet

My hair was hanging loose over the back of my jacket, the ends curled just slightly. I was sitting on the edge of my bed, waiting to be summoned. I had called my parents and made dinner plans with them, and now I was going to invite the Spaz. I felt like I had a bit of a mess to fix beforehand, though.

My phone rang in my hand as I was about to start texting him, and I recognized the number. “Hey,” I breathed, unable to hide the happiness in my voice.

“Hey.”

“So…”

“Your run was… wow, Squirrel. That’s just amazing. Congrats on the gold.” He sounded confused about something.

“You okay, Toma- I mean, Spaz?”

“Yeah. I’m fine. Just a little… surprised. That’s all.”

“Listen, about that. I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t be. It was an in-the-moment thing.”

I felt a little part of me plummet. “Yeah. Really, though, if you feel awkward about it or anything…”

“No, no! You’re awesome and I’m not gonna let a little emotional high get in the way of this thing we’ve got here. How many people do you know that bond as quickly as we did?”

“None.”

“Exactly. So we’ll just let that go. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“What’re your plans tonight, after the medal ceremony?”

“I’m going to dinner with my parents. Wanna come?”

“Sure.” I could hear him smile. “Your parents won’t mind?”

“Please, they encourage me to go out with friends. They’ll love that I’m including you.” I chuckled. “Now, dress nice, because the restaurant I think we’re going to is fancy.”

“How nice is nice?” he asked hesitantly. It occurred to me that I had never seen Shaun in anything that could be considered formal, and I was hoping I could see that tonight.

“Tie, but no jacket or anything. Dress pants.”

“Okay, Case. I’ll see you after the ceremony. Talk to you then.”

“Bye.”