When You Know

8 - We're all waiting for you to just kiss and make it official.

I always used to love the rain because Mum and I would cuddle up on the couch and watch movies together. But now I was allowed to go skateboarding, it's all I wanted to do if I wasn't kicking the footy instead, and Mum wouldn't let me out if it was raining because she said it was too dangerous.

So, now I no longer like the rain. I would almost go so far as to say it was my mortal enemy.

When Mum suggested we leave to make it down to the skate park before it started raining, I quickly ran upstairs to get my backpack and skateboard, which I had left in Jet's room; and was back downstairs with everyone in under ten seconds.

"Ready. Now we just need to get yours, Mum, and we can go," I said, pulling both arms through the holes in my backpack and fixing the straps over my shoulders.

Jet and Ruben looked back at Mum in shock and disbelief. I forgot they wouldn't know that she skated yet. "You skate, too?" asked Ruben.

"Yeah, she does. She's pretty good, too," I said proudly.

"Damn, that's so sick!" said Jet, really impressed with her. "We need to take them surfing, Ruben, so we seem as cool as they are."

"I have no issue with getting Sadie back on a board again," he grinned at her, and grabbed her hand again, squeezing it tightly. He must have been thinking about that time they first kissed, right after he had helped her stand up for the first time. I think she must have been thinking the same thing, because their smiles were matching . . . again. And they were both blushing . . . again.

I managed to pry her away from Ruben for long enough that she could get to her car and grab her skateboard. She started carrying it under her arm as we walked to the park, which was strange because she was usually riding on hers before I was considering I wasn't allowed on without my pads and helmet. I think she must still be embarrassed and worried that she would fall. But I really wanted them to see how good she was, so I ran ahead of everyone to give myself enough time to put my pads and helmet on, and was ready by the time they caught up to me.

I thought that if I tried to do something and failed, that she might jump on and show me how to do it properly in front of the others. So, I tried to do an ollie on the sidewalk, but made sure I didn't land it.

"Damnit," I cursed, stepping back on, trying again and deliberately missing the landing again. "Can you show me how to do it again, Mum?"

"You know perfectly well how to ollie, Madden," she said smirking at me through narrow eyes. "You don't need me to show you."

I think she may be on to me.

"No, I've really forgotten. You have to show me," I persisted, unaffected.

She sighed, probably knowing she wasn't going to win and that it's much easier to just give in and do it than have me pester her the rest of the way. She handed her keys, phone and sunglasses to Ruben, who took them willingly and stopped in his tracks, determined to watch her fully. She threw her deck down, pushed a couple times, got her feet ready and ollied a lot higher than I knew I was able to, and did a 180 pivot around to face us all again, popping the board and resuming her boring stance of carrying it under her arm.

When she looked up at us, she probably would have seen me smiling smugly, Ruben with his eyes popping out of his head, and Jet with his jaw hitting the floor, so far open that I could see that gross, dangly bit that hangs at the back.

Once Jet regained control of his arms after the shock of watching Mum's trick, he started clapping and she took back her things from Ruben and walked on, definitely embarrassed about the amount of attention on her. I had received the reaction I wanted from them, so continued to skate on and ollie properly, landing it every time.