Free Beautiful Souls by Sarah Mullanix Page B

maybe he wasn’t.
                  “Um, sure. I’m supposed to help my mom at the store right now though.”
                       “How about I drive you there, and we can talk on the way,” he proposed.
                       “Yeah, okay,” I agreed.
                       I left my neglected Bug sitting in the same parking space, where it had sat for the past two days, then walked over to Leo’s truck just a few spaces away. He jumped behind the wheel and opened the passenger door for me from the inside of the truck, and I closed it behind me after I climbed up to the passenger seat.
                       We drove in silence most of the way. I knew that I needed to at least make small talk so Leo didn’t think I was still angry with him for voicing his opinion of Zoey.
                       “So, do you have practice tonight?” This was my attempt to spark conversation? It was the first thought that I could conjure up off the top of my head, so I went ahead and threw the question out there.                   “No, we actually have the night off. Coach wants us to be fresh and rested for the game tomorrow night. Why, were you going to invite me over later?” he asked with that impossible grin. The one he knew I couldn’t say ‘no’ to.
                       “Maybe,” I teased. “Since when do you need an invitation?” I asked, slightly flirting with my lips puckered in to a grin so that he knew I was joking. Really, Leo never needed an invitation, but I asked anyway, “So all joking aside, do you wanna come over for diner tonight?”
                       “I don’t think I can make it in time for dinner, but I’ll come over after and we can hang out for a little while. Is that okay?”
                       “Sure. So, do you have something going on that’s more important than having dinner with your best friend, or what?” I joked.                   We were pulling on to Main Street now, and I saw Leo’s mood change when I asked him the last question.
                       “I’m just kidding, you know,” I added, seeing his obvious concern.
                       “Yeah, I know. I do want you to know something though,” he said, then his eyes darkened as he became even more serious.  “You mean a lot to me, Becca. I mean, you’re my best friend, and I want you to know that you are the most important person in my life,” he said sweetly.
                       I was speechless for a moment. Leo and I had never talked this way with each other before. Even though we had known each other all our lives, spent countless together, and talked about almost everything under the sun, we’ve never shared feelings like this --- this significant or this meaningful.
                       “You’re my best friend too,” I replied back, my mind still reeling from his sweet words and focused eyes.
                       When I said it, it just didn’t feel like enough. I so badly wanted to say more, but I didn’t know how or what to say. My brain was still having trouble processing this conversion between the two of us, and the recent switch of the possibility that we could go from best friends to friends that had feelings for one another was --- for lack of better words --- blowing my mind. I wanted there to be more, so much more. My body was on fire and aching for there to be more, but how do you even start something like that with your best friend of seventeen years?
                       “All right, Bec.” Leo let me off the hook, sensing my trepidation. “I’ll see you tonight,” he said, as we pulled in front of my mom’s shop. I hesitated for a moment, searching for more words but they never came. Leo leaned in toward me, brushing his