Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
“Is this okay?” I asked hesitantly.
“Yeah, but you know this is not…”
“I know. But I’ve never held a guy’s hand before.”
“To be honest, neither have I,” he said, and I didn’t know why that surprised me. Along with his admission that he hadn’t been with many guys. Still, more than me.
I tightened my grip on our fingers as my stomach trembled. When Star circled back to us to show us her treasures, he released my hand, and I tried to tame my disappointment. But he was right. We weren’t dating or boyfriends, even if in that moment I wanted to be.
“I’ve never been to a junkyard,” I said in wonder as we stepped onto the property. I didn’t know where to look first.
He smirked. “Lots of firsts for you.”
And most of them involving you.
There were piles everywhere, of everything I could imagine. Some I recognized as car motors and batteries, but other things I had no clue.
“What is that?” I pointed to a pile of what looked like coins.
“You wouldn’t believe what we find in these cars—tons of loose change.”
“Huh, guess that makes sense.”
“Will Pete do the magic thing?” Star asked, clapping her hands, and I chuckled, wondering what in the world she meant.
“I’m actually not sure if Pete—oh, he is here,” Lark said, waving at his friend, who had emerged from inside a wooden structure, which might’ve been the office.
“Hey, what’s up?” Pete asked as he neared us.
“Just taking a walk.” Lark’s cheeks looked a bit pink, so I wondered if he was embarrassed about what Pete might think about me showing up again. But Pete didn’t seem to care as he lifted his hand in a greeting.
“Magic thing,” Star said again, tugging on Pete’s hand.
“What’s the magic thing?” I asked.
“Star, Pete might not be able to—”
“Why not?” Pete said with a shrug, then dug a key ring out of his pocket. He walked over to one of the cranes and hopped into the seat.
“Okay, you know the rules, Star. You have to stand way back and just watch.”
She listened by backing all the way up to a rusted old automobile, and we followed.
By that time, Pete had turned on the machine and worked the controls to swing whatever that attached round thing was toward the nearest pile. My mouth dropped open when I realized it was a gigantic magnet that was picking up whatever was metal in the pile. The pings as the stuff was lifted seemingly into thin air made Star squeal. As Pete swung the long arm to make a pile with the new collectibles, I suddenly understood why she thought it was cool.
“Whoa, I didn’t even know those things existed.”
“They’re useful to separate scrap metal worth something.”
“Will it pick up coins too?”
He shook his head. “There’s not enough metal or copper in them nowadays.”
“Interesting.”
“I’ll take useless trivia for one hundred, Alex,” he said, nudging my shoulder.
I grinned as Pete hopped off the crane and made his way back to us.
“Thanks for entertaining her.”
“Hey, I was entertained too,” I told them.
Pete gave a small bow. “Anyway, I’m headed home soon. You hanging out on the roof tonight?”
Lark glanced at me. “Yeah, maybe.”
“You should join us,” I said, and Lark smiled. I hoped I didn’t overstep—my welcome or the invitation.
“Cool,” Pete said. “See you later.”
We headed back through the woods, and I felt freer than I had in a long while. Nobody knew where I was, and that was liberating in its own way. Not that I was trying to hide my friendship with Lark, but for now it was for the best. Besides, the real world knowing was like an intrusion, and this felt too precious to me.
Lark lifted Star onto a fallen tree log and held her hand while she pretended to be walking a balance beam, and then he demonstrated his graceful balancing skills next. “Pete and I used to do this when we were younger.”
“I’d probably fall flat on my face.”
“No way. You dodge being sacked all the time.”
“True, but you’re probably fitter than me.”
“Let’s test it out.” There was a gleam in his eye as he pointed in the distance. “I’ll race you to that big tree and back. Star will stay right here and tell us who won.”
She grinned, already excited about her role in the game.
“I’m not sure I—hey, no fair,” I called as he took off.
I started at a dead run to try and catch up, but he was fast. On the way back to Star, I gained on him, and when I finally caught up, I swooped him off his feet and swung him around. I felt so happy in that moment.
“Maybe you should try out for a running back position,” I said as Lark squealed, and I set him down in front of Star, who was beaming at us.