One Moment, Academy Kids 4

Arguing

 Sasha

For a moment, just the merest second, I thought Miles might kiss me. Then he'd stepped away and opened the car door and I had to act like everything was fine. But it wasn't because I couldn't understand why I felt disappointed. I knew Miles well by now. he would never make the first move. Still, I kept waiting. Part of me felt like he needed that. Boys were kind of stupid sometimes but Miles was different. 

I loved how he wasn't afraid to himself, no matter what anyone thought. Today though, he seemed off, up one minute and down the next. Well, time to figure out what the heck was up. I reached over and tangled our fingers together, something I'd done a million times, and tugged to get his attention. 

"Sorry," He tried to smile, but it was a tame imitation of the one that usually lit his face up. "I guess I'm not very good company today. Weren't we here to find you a suit?" 

Okay, so distraction looked like the need for today. I'd get what was bothering him out of him eventually. I didn't actually need a new swimsuit but maybe trying a few on might give Miles a little push. Okay, probably not but a girl can hope. I yanked him toward one of my favorite stores and right into the swimwear. This was another thing I loved, he liked shopping nearly as much as I did. Picking a few two-piece suits, I found a dressing room. Watching Miles eyes bug out of his face with each suit made me giddy but I noticed it took him a second to register. He still looked lost in his head every time I stepped out of the dressing room. 

Three stores later, I admitted defeat. Whatever was going on with him apparently trumped even the string bikini I would never have made it out of the bedroom in, had I dared to try. I sighed as I hung it back up.  As I stepped back out empty handed, Miles looked up from his phone. 

"Scott's ready to go. Didn't find one you liked, huh?" His eyes still held the faraway look he'd carried all day. 

"You haven't paid any attention, have you?" I strode forward and grabbed his hand before tugging out of the store and towards the food court where we'd agreed to meet Scott.  "Something's bugging you and you're gonna tell me, but tell me when we get back to your place. Your folks won't mind if I stick around, right?" 

"Pretty sure they expect it at this point," Miles muttered. I let his comment go since it didn't really need a reply. The trip back to Miles place gave me just enough time to ponder how to get him to open up about what on earth was bugging him so much. I waited until we were behind closed doors to get him to spill. 

"Alright, spill." I flopped down on his bed and grabbed my favorite pillow to curl around. "You love shopping. You love helping me shop, even if your advice sometimes sucks. Today you didn't even notice when I was basically naked in front of you!" 

Miles' cheeks reddened as he sank to the bed and scooted until he was leaning against the wall. "What?" 

"The little green string bikini?" 

Miles shook his head, cheeks flaming brighter.  He picked at a loose thread on his comforter, eyes fixed on his fingers. I didn't say anything, giving him the time he needed to gather his thoughts. I knew he'd tell me, he always did, eventually. After several minutes, he rose and dug around in his trash can, pulling a crumpled piece of paper out. He tossed it at me and crawled back onto the bed, curling in on himself. 

Quickly but carefully, I straightened the paper out. I quit breathing with the first word. He'd gotten in. I knew he would but to hold the evidence was incredible. He deserved this. His talent blew me away and now he would get to show the world. 

"It's horrible, Sash." I barely heard him with his face buried against his knees. 

"Horrible?" Okay, I didn't get it. Why did he think it was horrible? Sure he said he didn't think he was very good a few times, but he had to know how exclusive that camp was, right? They didn't let just anybody in, I remembered that much. A knock had us both looking as his door swung open, his dad Gabriel stepping in holding a large envelope.