Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher Read Free Book Online Page A

what’s going on with you two?”
    “I told you, nothing. Just friends.”
    Tim hauled himself to a semiupright position. “How convenient.”
    “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”
    “I think you’re afraid. It just occurred to me, you haven’t asked a girl out since you were fifteen.”
    I glanced over at Sage, who was still waiting in line to store the frog. She saw me looking and gave me a wave and a smile.
    I turned back to Tim. “Big talk, coming from you. You’ve never had a date.”
    I instantly regretted bringing that up. It was pretty obvious why Tim never went out. But he didn’t look offended.
    “I may just surprise you one of these days, Logan.”
    Sage sat down in her chair. Then, without warning, she swung her long legs around and flopped them onto my lap. She grinned at me defiantly. Tim, who was now clutching his stomach and sweating, still managed to look at me smugly.
    Sage’s pants had scrunched up a bit, leaving her pale shins uncovered on my lap. Without thinking, I laid my hand on her bare skin. She didn’t object. She also didn’t seem to mind when I rubbed my palm down her bladelike shin and tickled her ankle. In fact, she closed her eyes and wrinkled her nose in what I hoped was an expression of pleasure. As Mr. Elmer reviewed what we’d covered in the lab, Sage kicked her shoes off. I began to massage her toes.
    I felt strangely guilty, like I was giving a foot rub to a friend’s girlfriend. Sage had told me she wanted me as afriend. Her sister had warned me off. If I was ready to start dating again, I shouldn’t waste time hitting on a girl with all these issues.
    And yet, here I was, kneading her feet and probably enjoying it more than she was. Maybe later, she’d like a shoulder rub. Or a back rub. Or a front rub.
    I knew I needed to stop. In spite of his dysentery attack, Tim was watching us. After the cookies the other day, Tim was convinced that Sage wanted me for a boyfriend. He’d think I was lying if I tried to tell him otherwise.
    Was it really time to stop pursuing Sage? What had Mom said the other night about missed opportunities? Something told me that if I gave up on Sage, I’d end up regretting it.
    When Mr. Elmer finished his review, I removed my hands from Sage’s foot. She shot me a fake scowl.
    “Uh, Sage,” I began. “We’re all going to the basketball game Friday. Want to join us?”
    There. Friends go to sports events together. There’s nothing wrong with my asking
.
    She tilted her head and scratched her chin as if she was contemplating the mysteries of the universe. “Sure!” she said after a minute. “I think I can get out. I’ll meet you there.”
    The bell rang. Sage carelessly retracted her feet across my crotch, momentarily causing me a flash of blinding pain. She was out the door in seconds.
    I turned to Tim, ready to gloat that I wasn’t afraid of Sage. Before I could say anything, he let out a loud fart so stinky that it covered the odor of the frog preservative.
    He leapt to his feet with a grin on his face. “I feel like a new man!”
    I hoped Sage really would show up at the game. I needed a change of company.
    Time seemed to stand still as our center threw a desperate, longer-than-half-court shot with no time left in the half. For an agonizing second the basketball seemed to hover directly over the rim. Then gravity took effect and the shot went wide.
    No big deal; we were down by twenty-four points.
    Half the town had turned out for Friday night basketball. The tiny gym was stuffed to the gills as the Moberly Spartans wiped the floor with the Boyer Bears. Moberly was large enough that people actually had to try out for their team. At Boyer, anyone interested was pretty much guaranteed court time.
    The cheerleading squad assembled at half-court and proceeded to perform the same three cheers they did at every game. I could see Tanya at the bottom of the pyramid.
    For the third or fourth time, I scanned the seats for Sage’s