Catch by Michelle D. Argyle Page B

to
stop for a second as she relished his touch on her arm. Then he
pulled away and she returned to reality.
    “What about freedom and risks and mistakes?”
she asked. “What about finding someone you want to be with?” She
almost gulped down that last part, but let it come out.
    “I don’t know,” he grumbled. “I don’t know
what I want, where I want to go. And I don’t have anyone in my life
who understands. When you grow up with a lot of money, you’d be
surprised how hard it is to make real friends. You know, people who
aren’t just there to use you. Even ones who start out meaning well
… something always happens and it turns sour over one thing or
another.” He studied Miranda’s face so intently his eyes were like
lasers trying to pierce through her. “Which probably means this
whole thing with us—whatever it is—isn’t going to end well.”
    She laughed and his gaze broke. “You’re
penniless, Ollie. I can guarantee I’m not using you. Besides, how
many friendships have you begun by stealing? This isn’t exactly
typical.”
    His face broke into a smile. “Well, I’m not
completely penniless. I’ve managed to hold on to a little
money.”
    “ Stolen money,” she retorted in a
teasing voice.
    “Not all of it’s stolen. Besides, I’m
returning your stuff, aren’t I? Wait, so are you … are you saying
we’re friends?” He spoke the last word as if it was a sacred thing.
To him, it probably was.
    She returned his smile and leaned back in her
chair. Taking a sip of coffee, she nodded. “I’d like to be.”
    “Well, that’s …” He shook his head and took
another bite of his pastry. “That’s really great,” he said softly
through his chewing.
    He was still holding the pastry close to his
mouth, and she noticed his scars once again. That would be her next
question, but she’d have to wait because Ollie won the next round.
Her heart pounded as he tapped his front teeth with a fingernail.
“What’s your greatest fear?”
    “My greatest fear? That seems like a vague
sort of question.”
    He shrugged. “I’m curious. A person’s
greatest fear can say a lot about them.”
    “Well, um …” A hundred things raced through
her mind. She could say it was being trapped in one place forever
like her parents, but that would be a lie because she feared deadly
viruses and plane crashes more than that. In all reality, she
wanted safety. Staying in one place could guarantee that. But she
also craved excitement and adventure and had always dreamed of
breaking out of her shell. To her, safety and excitement were akin
to oil and water. Was it possible to have both?
    “Wow, lots of thinking for this one,” Ollie
interrupted her thoughts. “Is it a complicated question?”
    “It’s a complicated answer,” she replied as
she looked into the bottom of her coffee cup. Was she really going
to spill her darkest fear to a guy she barely knew? For some
reason, she wanted to do just that. “I think it’s ending up alone,”
she said, looking across the table into his eyes. She let them act
as an anchor. “But it’s not that I’m afraid of being alone …
because I’m not. I like to be by myself. It’s more like I’m afraid
that I’m going to die alone, that I’m going to look back and see
that nobody ever wanted me enough to stay with me, or that I was
too afraid to want someone enough to stay with them … that I’ll end
up valuing safety more than the rewards of risk.”
    Ollie blinked. His expression was serious,
almost shocked. “My father once told me everyone dies alone,” he
said with a crack in his voice. “But I don’t want to believe
him.”
    She tried to swallow and realized how dry her
mouth had become. “Should we keep going?” she asked.
    He nodded. “Yeah.”
    They kept playing. Ollie’s stack grew
thicker, and Miranda laughed when he commented that he’d finally
eased back into his groove. When they hit another pair, Miranda
squeezed her eyes shut as she