The Racquet Accident

Chapter Seventeen: The Awkward Police.

Chapter Seventeen: "The Awkward Police."

WHEN I SAW Nikko the following Sunday, he wasn't dressed to go for a run.

He wasn't even wearing running shoes. He had on snow boots, a black scarf, and a hat that covered his thick hair. He was bundled up in a heavy jacket that reminded me how broad his shoulders were as if we were going to stay outside for longer than expected.

In his hand was a large bag that seemed to contain blankets. When I approached him, my eyebrows rose when I noticed something else peeking out of them. "Did you—"

"I couldn't find plain pistachio ice cream," His lips went up in that way of his which made me linger on the action longer than normal. "But the store had pistachio and almond. Is that okay?"

More than okay, but I couldn't help my eyebrows from furrowing. This looked like a date.

"What's going on?"

That rare seriousness I had seen a week before came through the light once again. "We need to talk. About everything that we said we were going to talk about. Are you going to run?"

That was a loaded question.

But I didn't feel my toes shift within my sneakers. I didn't want to push my way past him onto the trail, sprinting with the hopes that he wouldn't catch up to me. I'd trained with Nikko for a while now. I knew him.

He'd always manage to catch up to me.

So, no. I was not going to run. There was no point.

"I'm going to go change."

"You don't have to," He assured me. "I'd suggest getting a warmer jacket though."

Don't have to change my ass. I practically ran back inside the house. Speeding past Jaime who was sitting in the living room on the way in, my friend, who had a blanket wrapped around her body followed me. She stared at me from the threshold of my bedroom as I went through the clothes in my closet. As the pile on the ground got bigger and bigger before I settled throwing jeans over my leggings, Jay asked the question: "What the hell are you doing?"

"I think I have a date with Nikko."

"A what?"

"A date." I rushed out, wiggling out of my clothes. I shrugged a shirt on as I went through my options in my head. Sweater. Cute sweater. Sifting for it within the pile of clothes on the ground, I said. "I think. He's down the street right now."

"No warning? Nothing?"

I glanced up at her. "Nope."

"He's either impulsive or spontaneous."

"I think he's both," I admitted, turning to face her as I wiggled into jeans. "He has my favourite ice cream and blankets. Does that sound datey?"

"Kind of. Just play it out in case it isn't," I hummed in agreement. "Besides, you found out about the pink hair band and he's not seeing anybody."

"Three different people had to tell me that," I muttered. 

Liya, who kept apologizing for blurting it out to Victor throughout the night until I assured her that it was okay, knew. Victor knew. Cori knew. Rhett knew and even yesterday at practice in the afternoon he made a sly comment mentioning that my partner wasn't there.

Victor knowing likely confirmed that Nikko was fully aware of how I felt but honestly, it didn't even matter. Liya and Rhett were right. It was painfully obvious. I looked at him longer than I should have. I probably laughed at his jokes harder than one should have. Now it was out there. It'd been out there since that one summer, maybe even before that.