15-05-2021-052358It-Ends-with-Us

Ryle presses his palm against the bottom of my foot. “Push against
my hand,” he says.
I push down with my ankle. It hurts, but I’m able to move his hand.
“Is it broken?”
He moves my foot from side to side, and then says, “I don’t think
so. Let’s give it a couple of minutes and I’ll see if you can put any
weight on it.”
I nod and watch as he adjusts himself across from me. He sits cross-
legged and pulls my foot onto his lap. He looks around the room and
then directs his attention back at me. “So what is this place?”
I smile a little too big. “Lily Bloom’s. It’ll be a floral shop in about
two months’ time.”
I swear, his whole face lights up with pride. “No way,” he says. “You
did it? You’re actually opening up your own business?”
I nod. “Yep. I figured I might as well try it while I’m still young
enough to bounce back from failure.”
One of his hands is holding the ice against my ankle, but the other
one is wrapped around my bare foot. He’s brushing his thumb back
and forth, like it’s no big deal that he’s touching me. But his hand on
my foot is way more noticeable than the pain in my ankle.
“I look ridiculous, huh?” he asks, staring down at his solid red
onesie.
I shrug. “At least you went with a non-character choice. It gives it a
bit more maturity than the SpongeBob option.”
He laughs, and then his smile disappears as he leans his head into
the door beside him. He stares at me appreciatively. “You’re even
prettier in the daytime.”
Moments like these are why I absolutely hate having red hair and
fair skin. The embarrassment doesn’t only show up in my cheeks—my
whole face, arms, and neck grow flushed.
I rest my head against the wall behind me and stare at him just like
he’s staring at me. “You want to hear a naked truth?”
He nods.
“I’ve wanted to go back to your roof on more than one occasion
since that night. But I was too scared you’d be there. You make me
kind of nervous.”
His fingers pause their strokes against my foot. “My turn?”