Free How We Fall by Kate Brauning

the road and into a field that was growing wild.
    “What are we doing?” I’d never been out here. We always went south to Harris or further to St. Joseph for shopping and pretty much anything else. We almost never went north.
    “We’re getting out.” He pulled into the field.
    “Whose place is this?” We didn’t know anyone out this way.
    “No idea. That’s the point.” He reached behind his seat and grabbed a small cooler and a blanket, then opened his door and jumped out.
    I pushed open my door and watched him walk around in the long grass and pick a spot. A soft breeze carrying the smell of drying grass and dust filtered through the cab of the truck.
    I grabbed my book and jumped down.
    Only a few wisps of clouds were scattered through the sky, leaving the day bright and hot. Marcus shook out the blanket 59
    How we Fall
    in the shade. His phone beeped again, so he replied to the text then shoved the phone in his pocket.
    He sat down on the blanket and motioned to me. “Come sit.”
    “Is this some kind of picnic?” We’d already eaten lunch.
    “Well.” He opened the cooler. “I thought we could hang out here. And I brought you something.”
    I sat down and tucked my legs under me. “What is it?”
    He opened the cooler. “Vanilla or chocolate?”
    “Chocolate. What is it?”
    His mouth tilted up and those lines around his eyes came back when he smiled. “Ice cream sundaes.”
    No way. I laughed. “Really?”
    “We have nuts, hot fudge, cherries, marshmallows, and either chocolate or vanilla ice cream.”
    “Definitely chocolate.” This was perfect. No screaming children, he’d brought me ice cream, and we had almost no risk of being caught.
    He handed me the small container of chocolate ice cream.
    “Do you want fudge sauce?”
    I carved a trench in my ice cream. “Um, yes. Where is it?”
    He held up a thermos. “I made it.”
    “You what?”
    “I made it. I put it in a thermos to keep it hot. Mom thought I was making hot chocolate.”
    I grinned and reached for the thermos. “This is awesome.”
    He held the thermos away from me, close to his chest.
    “Come get it.”
    I rolled my eyes. “Give it to me.”
    “No.”
    “Yes. Give it.” I lunged and snagged the bottom of it with my fingers. He let me have it. “You give up too easily,” I said.
    A vague sort of smile crossed his face. “I suppose I’ll have to try harder, then.”
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    I unscrewed the top and tipped the container. A thick ribbon of still-warm fudge drizzled onto my ice cream and filled the trench I’d made.
    We could make this work. We’d be just friends at home, and then find time to get away.
    I handed him the fudge, then sprinkled in nuts and added two maraschino cherries. He put everything on his. I lay down on my stomach and swirled my spoon through my ice cream.
    The sun warmed my bare legs and my back, the thin white shirt a cool barrier to the heat. I knew he could see through it because he kept glancing at me, his eyes flicking from my back to my shoulders and then away.
    “Nice touch, wearing the swimsuit.” He opened the bag of marshmallows.
    I laughed and licked off my spoon. Sweet and cold. “I figured I should make it convincing.”
    “Well, it’s not like I mind.” He popped a marshmallow in his mouth.
    I shook my head. He had his legs stretched out in front of him, and he wore his blue basketball shorts and one of his white t-shirts. His wasn’t sheer like mine, but it did fit him nicely. “Are we really both wearing white shirts?”
    He grinned. “I noticed that. I figured it would be cooler.”
    I kicked off my sandals while I chased the last of the fudge around my container with my spoon. “Thanks for this.”
    He set his ice cream down. “I wanted to do something. I mean, it’s been a year now.”
    I sat up. No, no, no. Don’t ruin this. “Marcus.”
    He rested his hands on the blanket behind him and leaned back. “You know, avoiding saying something doesn’t