I'll Be Here

loose-fitting gym shorts.  He’s not wearing a shirt.
    “Nice ducks.”  Dustin pants as he leans forward with his hands braced on his knees.  I forgot that he runs this route sometimes.  A single dark blonde curl falls forward on his forehead.
    I pull myself straight and try not to stare at the small bead of sweat that’s making its way down his neck to a secret place beneath his collarbone.  “Thanks.”
    Two girls, who look to be in middle school, pass by us brazenly staring at Dustin in all his shirtless and sweaty glory.  They giggle. 
    Dustin and I stare at each other with our mouths held in tight lines to suppress our smiles. 
    When the girls are out of hearing distance I let go of the chuckle I’ve been holding in.  “It seems you have some new admirers.”
    Dustin cocks his head and grins mischievously.  “Hmmm.”
    His response is a challenge I can’t pass up.  “What?”
    Dustin’s dimple is showing itself.  “I’d prefer to know if you’re still one of my admirers.”
    I don’t want to admit this but I stagger a little.  Is Dustin Rant flirting with me? 
    I swallow in an attempt to normalize my voice.  “Well, I guess that’s up for debate.”
     He turns on his mega-watt smile.  “Fair enough,” he says.  “So Willow Josephina, what are you and your ducks doing downtown?  Getting coffee?”  He nods to the shop window just beyond my shoulder. 
    “Yeah, and actually I’m going to see… uh—” At the last moment I remember Dustin’s face last night when he saw me with Alex and decide that a little jealousy never hurt anyone.  “I’m meeting up with a friend.” 
    A friend.  I’ll let him think what he wants to think about that.  Hopefully it will fester beneath his skin.  That’s what I wanted, right?
    Dustin’s forehead creases.  He links his thumbs together and glances down the road still puzzling through what I’d said.  “I better keep going before my heart rate gets too low.”
    “Sure,” I say taking a step to the side.
    As Dustin passes me he spins and jogs backward for a few feet.  “Willow?”
    “Yah?”
    “I’ll see you at school, okay?”   
    I smile.  “Of course you will.”
    Dustin tips  his chin in a confirmation.  As I walk down the block to the record store I wonder if Dustin is watching.  I imagine that I can feel his eyes on me but I don’t look to make sure.
    ***
    Taylor stops texting and looks up.  She’s waiting in front of my locker.  The first bell just sounded so that means we have five minutes before we have to be in class.  It’s Monday morning.
    Hi,” she says slipping her cell phone into the front pocket of her green leather bag. 
    I nod because I feel uncomfortable and I don’t know how to talk to her now that we’re not friends.  Not anymore.  Maybe we never were.
    “I saw you at the Hooch Saturday,” she starts out casually like it’s up for debate whether we saw each other or not. 
    She’s leaning into the locker, her thin shoulders popped forward and her honey-colored head cocked to the side as she looks at me.  “You’re boyfriend is cute.”
    I know that she’s digging.  I can tell that she’s dying to know the who, what, where, and why of Alex and me.  There’s no way I’m going to grant her the satisfaction so I simply nod again because it’s the simplest thing to do.  Under the best circumstances I’m not a great liar and these are not the best circumstances.
    Taylor’s body weight shifts to her other foot.  Strangely enough she seems almost as uncomfortable as me.  “I want to apologize about the way I was to you after the…”  She takes a visible breath.  “ You know .”
    Well, that’s one way to phrase it. 
    “Okay,” I mutter, continuing to shuffle my things around my locker.  “Apology accepted.”
    She twists a strand of long hair around her index finger.  “So, was that guy someone you’re seeing?”
    I pause and give her a look that I hope chills her.  “That’s really none of your business Taylor.”
    Taylor half-smiles—impish and girly.  I’m not sure what she means by it but somehow that is the end of our conversation.  She moves towards her first class, her blonde hair waltzing around her shoulders as she walks away. 
    I chide myself because I didn’t have the guts to ask her the right questions in the beginning and I don’t have the guts now.  There are still things I want to know—to work out. 
    Momentous things. 
    My