Because I need it too.

I need her more than I ever want to admit.

“You nervous?” I ask with more bravado than I feel.

She just shrugs and brushes that hair from her cheeks and grins. “Are you?”

“Yes.” I swallow slowly. “I’ve never spent twenty-four hours with an enemy.”

“Funny, I’ve never spent twenty-four hours with someone I would call a friend.”

I soften, I shouldn’t, but I freaking do. “Are we though?”

“Were we not?”

I have so many things I can say; instead, I just swim off and say, “Race you.”

“What do I get if I win?” She laughs after me, so free, more free than I’ve ever felt in my life. “Pizza? Ice cream?”

“You only ever think about food?”

She sighs loudly, she’s not splashing anymore. “When you haven’t had a lot of food in a while, you tend to fixate on it. I mean, don’t get me wrong.” She swims toward me. “Not all of my foster parents were horrible, but food… food feels like gold to me, so yeah… I sometimes fixate too much… on food.”

My chest hurts so much it hurts to breathe. “I promise, right now, if you beat me in this race, you’ll always have food.”

She laughs, her head goes back, and her laugh is pure and beautiful and everything I’ve always wanted to experience but never had the chance to.

It’s just pure, and I love it.

“Okay.” She swims toward me, both of us are at the edge. “So we race from one end to the next, and if I beat you, I get unlimited chicken nuggets… I mean, at the very least?”

“For sure.” I nod. “At the very least.”

“Deal.”

I hold out my hand. “Deal.”

She shakes it, and I want to pull her toward me; instead, I let her go, and she goes to her side of the pool. I stay at mine.

“Ready.” She grins at me. Is it weird I want to keep that smile?

“Yeah.”

“Set.” I nod again.

“Go.” She laughs.

I follow her. Both of us are fighting to get to the other end, and then I just stop and watch her go. And go. And go.

“Yes!” she shouts. “Triumphant!”

“Totally.” I tread water. “Chicken nuggets for life, dude.”

“We’re so fancy.”

I laugh. “So fancy.”

“Should we eat?” She winks and swims over to me.

I want to eat.

I want to eat so bad.

I want something other than chicken nuggets. I also don’t want to scare her.

I want though.

Damn, I want.

“Yeah,” I nod again. “Let’s eat some food, but also, don’t ever, ever fucking worry about not having food. I’m your food. I’m your friend. I’m your person, even if you hate me in the morning and love me in the evening. Even if for the rest of your life you want to murder me. You will always, always have someone or something. And that’s me.”

Her eyes well with tears.