“Jenna’s a sport’s freak. Watching humans defy logic really gets her going,” I joked.
“You never fail to disgust me,” Josephine replied, but a smile played upon her lips.
“It was Logan’s idea. He kept telling me you were some track superstar. He woke up early and everything. I’m glad he woke me up too. It was definitely worth it to see you run,” Jenna said.
“No way did I wake you up, Jenna,” I said, shaking my frapp cup in her face. I picked her up thirty minutes after calling her, and she was already ready and waiting with coffee when I arrived. She was one of those morning people.
“Is something wrong with that?” Jenna asked, motioning to the coffee I held in my hands. How could I tell her it tasted of dust and rot? I couldn’t. Not without telling her everything. Things I would never tell her. Things I needed to protect her from.
The ringing of Jenna’s cell phone saved me from trying to explain. She pulled it from her jacket pocket and glanced down at the screen. “It’s my mom. Excuse me.” Jenna began walking towards the car. We both knew the phone call would take awhile. Jenna’s mom could talk about her grocery list for thirty minutes, and Jenna was too nice to let her know she was rambling.
“Give it here,” Josephine said once Jenna was out of eyesight.
“Give what here?”
“The coffee.”
I raised an eyebrow and handed her the cup. “Football players usually drink Gatorade. If I knew that drinking overpriced coffee was the usual replenishing regime for runners, I might have joined the team.”
“Clever, Logan.” I followed Josephine as she walked behind the small set of bleachers set up by the track field and poured half the contents out. “When she asks you how you drank it so fast, tell her I dared you to do it. I challenged your manhood or something. You’re stupid enough to take up a dare like that in fifty degree weather.”
I laughed, scratching the back of my head. “You’re right. I would take that dare.”
“Why you here, Logan?”
“What? Not happy to see me?”
“Thrilled,” she replied dryly.
“You were amazing.”
“I did all right. I slowed down there at the end.”
I felt my eyes go wide. “That was slowing down? Hot damn, Josephine. Ever thought about joining the football team? You’d make a hell of a running back.”
“Let’s break one social barrier at a time, buddy.”
We casually strolled over to the parking lot. I waved to Jenna who was leaning against my car still talking to her mom.
“What did you tell her?” Josephine asked, stopping and looking up at me.
I fiddled with the ends of the sleeves of my jacket. Great. Josephine’s fidgeting must be catching. “The truth. Part of it at least.”
Josephine nodded. “Good.”
“Thanks for helping me with the coffee,” I replied, shaking the half empty cup.
Josephine’s mouth curved into a rueful smile. “Damn that apocalypse for ruining your Starbucks.”
“Tell me about it,” I replied in mock outrage.
A beep from Josephine’s pocket broke our easy and enjoyable conversation, maybe the first one we’ve ever had. Josephine pulled out her cellphone. “I’m really starting to hate these things,” I said, snatching her phone from her hand.
It was as I expected. Bentham,
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said, pushing ignore.
“What the hell, Middleton?”
“Was it before or after you held a gun on him that you two had a moment to exchange phone numbers?” I asked, pushing her phone into my pocket.
“It was when you were sleeping,” she hissed.
“You told me to rest. If you’re trying to imply something just say it. Since when do you hold back on the snark?” I could feel my face going red. I wasn’t sure if I was more pissed at her veiled implications that I was a pussy, or the fact she was talking to him behind my back.
Josephine took a deep breath. “I thought it might be a good idea to stay connected to the other shifters. We are in the middle of some life-changing, save the world thing that we don’t quite understand.”
“So, we’re teaming up with them now? Don’t you think you should have asked me before you let them into this world?”
“Not this again. Look, I know you want to keep everything separate in your life. Segmented in these neat little boxes you hope to control. But it would be stupid not to build allies.”
I pulled her cell phone out of my pocket and tossed it at her. “That’s the only reason?”
I don’t know why I was so nervous to hear her response.