Read Online Something More Than This by Barbie Bohrman - Free Book Online

detail of his features and committing them to memory.
    “Never mind,” he said and started to leave.
    I couldn’t let him get away, so I ran up behind him until we both settled for walking side by side at the same pace. To his credit, he didn’t tell me to go away, nor did he walk any faster to lose me. Instead, he looked over at me and smiled shyly before quickly looking ahead again.
    When we reached the entrance to the park, he said, “Listen, I’m sorry that I was mean to you before.” He jerked a thumb behind him toward where the other boys were playing again. “Thanks for sticking up for me back there.”
    “That’s okay,” I said.
    “You know, you’re pretty fast . . . for a girl.”
    I beamed with a smile from ear to ear from his praise. “Thanks.”
    The unforgiving summer sun was beating down on us as we awkwardly stood in silence. I dared to sneak a peek at him once more when he removed the baseball cap and ran a hand through his hair.
    Conner pressed the button on the crosswalk, and then he pulled the cap back on tightly. “So, I was just going to go across the street and get a Gatorade or something.”
    My stomach lurched in disappointment. That was my cue to get lost. Even at a young age, I knew when a boy wasn’t interested in me. “Oh, okay, I’ll just walk back by myself.”
    He grinned and said, “You’re not gonna come with me?”
    I didn’t answer because I wasn’t used to anyone wanting me around. I mean, my brothers obviously cared a great deal for me, but I was sure it got to be more of chore for them to be my babysitters.
    “Come on, Shadow,” he said.
    “Shadow?”
    “Yeah,” he said and bumped my shoulder with his. “You’re following me like you’re my shadow.”
    I gnawed at my bottom lip as the butterflies in my stomach swirled and swirled. Turning around, I glanced back to where my brothers were still playing football and made my decision.
    “Okay, I’ll come with you,” I said, then hesitated before stepping off the curb.
    Conner smiled and asked, “What’s wrong? You look like somebody stole your favorite toy or something.”
    Shifting from foot to foot, I said, “Nothing’s wrong. It’s just that I don’t really know you. Like really know you, and my brothers might get mad at me for leaving, and—”
    “My name is Conner Roberts. I’m thirteen years old. I just moved here from Pennsylvania a few weeks ago since my parents just got divorced, and this is where my mom’s from originally. I have an older sister, Maggie, who is in high school. I like Batman . . . a lot. I don’t have many friends yet and probably won’t have many now thanks to your brothers.”
    He looked up to the vibrant blue sky as he thought about what he was going to say next.
    “Oh,” he said with a spark in his eyes when he looked my way again. “I met my shadow today, and I’m hoping that she’ll be my friend and go with me to the store across the street.”
    I couldn’t hide the smile that crept up on my face when he finished talking. I could only nod in agreement and follow him to the ends of the earth if he asked me. Instead, I settled on trailing behind him to the store, where he bought us each a Gatorade. Afterward, Conner walked me back to the park just in case my brothers were looking for me.
    They were. And they weren’t happy.
    But Jonathan, always the mediator, stepped in and tried to defuse the tension by asking for a drink of my orange Gatorade. It worked. Simon walked away before attempting to embarrass me again.
    “Don’t worry about it, Katy,” Jonathan said and handed me back the bottle. “Just don’t wander off without telling at least one of us where you’re going, okay?”
    “They’re just looking out for you,” Conner said as we watched him walk away. “My sister can be a little overprotective too.”
    He smiled and asked, “So, same time tomorrow?”
    “Sure.”
    I didn’t think Conner would want to deal with Simon, so my hopes weren’t