From Me to You [Complete]

29

As we emerge onto the road, the asphalt sandy from years of beachgoers and wind pushing it around, Michael turns to me suddenly. He has a curious look on his face.

"Yes?" I ask, stopping to slip on my flip flops before we go on any further.

"After what happened earlier, I never got to ask you... Why did you go for that walk with Robert on the beach?" He watches me brush the sand off of my foot before slipping on my second shoe.

Straightening, I go over my discussion with Robert earlier in my head. How unlikely is it that Michael missed the way his brother looked at us prior to that walk? And the way he looks at us now. No more narrowed eyes, thankfully. "We walked pretty far, I think," I say, trying to change the subject. I turn to continue on our way.

"Did you?" Michael asks casually. He does not fall into step beside me. I turn back to him, resigned to the fact that he will not give up wanting to know what happened so easily. He stands with his hands at his sides, tall and sure in the dark. The trees around the path cast a shadow over his face. "You guys seem closer after that talk," he remarks.

"Ah, you do observe everything, don't you?" I reply. I have no idea if I am supposed to talk about what Robert said to me. I feel a little awkward thinking about telling Michael about it. Would Robert want Michael to know how much he cares about him?

The little amount of moonlight allows me to see his brows crinkle even further. "Yes I do. I notice a lot of things. Like, for instance, how you just casually changed the subject."

"Dang, I thought that trick worked pretty well. My best friends don't even notice," I say innocently.

Suddenly his hand wraps around my waist and finds a ticklish spot. I squirm in his grasp. He laughs and the vibration runs down his arm and along my back. "Well, Amanda dear," he says pointedly, eyeing me like I might suddenly jump away. "I think I've figured out how to tell you are hiding something. Which you are, I might add."

I glance sideways at him, frowning slightly, not sure how to get out of this without disappointing Michael. Especially since I have no smooth-talking poker face like he does. "I feel like... I'm not really supposed to tell you."

His brow furrows. "Why not?"

"I don't think Robert wanted me to tell you." I pause. Take a deep breath. "Honestly, it's nothing to worry about in the slightest. Robert was worried about something, but he isn't worried about it anymore. He never really needed to worry about it in the first place." I hope that he can tell how sincere I am.

He eyes me, biting his lip in decision. I look back at him, feeling a little hesitant. "Well, I suppose that'll do," he says, and I can hear the light tone of his voice, which means he isn't upset about this in the slightest. I breathe a sigh of relief, and, while I'm momentarily distracted, he finds that ticklish spot again and I shriek in that weird delighted/horrified way that happens when people tickle me. I jump free of his grasp and take off up the path to the road with his laughter following.

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