Through to You

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Authors: Lauren Barnholdt
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shoe.
    â€œYeah,” I say. “If you’d just let me clean you off without freaking out, you wouldn’t have lost your shoe.”
    She glares at me and then takes a few hops. And that’s when she loses her balance and her bare foot steps right into a puddle.
    â€œOh God,” I say, mostly because I can’t resist. “Now you’re definitely going to get flesh-eating bacteria. It probably lives in that stagnant water.”
    â€œNo, it doesn’t!” She pulls her foot out of the water like it’s radioactive, and starts to sort of hobble toward the car.
    â€œOh, no way,” I say, rushing to catch up with her. “You are not getting into my car with a dirty foot.”
    â€œYou’ve got to be kidding,” she says. “With all those straw wrappers you have on the floor? Now you’re worried about a little bit of dirt?”
    I’m insulted that she’s insinuating I’m a slob. Yeah, maybe there are a few random straw wrappers on the floor of my car. But a few straw wrappers do not a slob make.
    â€œRelax,” Harper says. “I’m not going to mess up your precious car.”
    She’s still hopping on one leg, a little faster now, and I have a flash of her slipping and falling and cracking her head on the pavement. I run to catch up with her.
    â€œLet me help you,” I say, putting my arm around her waist.
    She tries to push me away. “I’m okay.”
    â€œPlease,” I say, and tighten my grip. “The last time you tried to push me away, your shoe ended up in a puddle.”
    â€œGood point,” she grumbles. Her one sandaled foot slips on the pavement and she leans into me to keep from falling. As she does, her hair brushes against my cheek, and I’m surprised at how soft it is. She smells like flowers and coconut.
    I lead her over to my car and open the door for her, then sit her down and finish wiping her foot off with the towel. Then I clean off her wet shoe and hand it back to her, before tossing the towel into the backseat.
    â€œThanks,” she says as she slips her sandal back on. She sounds shy, and her hair is falling over her face, making her look pretty adorable.
    â€œYou’re welcome.”
    She scrunches up her lips and pushes them over to the side, like she’s thinking about something. The light is shiningthrough the windshield, illuminating her face, and I think that maybe I’m going to have to kiss her. Which is weird. Because she’s way too nice for me to kiss.
    Then why did you bring her here with you? Why were you thinking about her all day?
    â€œSo what’s the deal with you and Jackson?” she asks. She bends her legs and sort of pulls them against her chest, folding herself into my car sideways.
    I’m still thinking about what it would be like to kiss her, so I move away and lean against the car, making it harder for me to see her.
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œI mean, why was there all that tension?”
    â€œThere wasn’t tension.”
    â€œFine.” She shrugs. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
    â€œI don’t not want to tell you. It’s just that there’s nothing to tell.”
    She sighs. “You’re secretive, I get it. Obviously something very painful happened and you don’t want to get into it. It’s not a big deal, Penn. I’m not, like, offended or anything.”
    I glance down at her, wondering if she’s joking. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
    â€œNo.”
    I shake my head. “Look, Jackson and I used to be friends. And now we’re not anymore. There’s nothing to tell.” There’s a lot more to tell. But I’m not going to talk about it withHarper. I don’t talk about it with anyone. Not Jackson. Not even myself. And so there’s no way I’m going to talk about it with some girl I just met. Even if she is hot

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