Just in case

Justin cocks his head as he listens to Beth, a little surprised that she talked as much as she did. Was the swimming factor really the reason or just another good excuse? He wasn't sure. Nor was he sure why she almost seemed more nervous today than she had before. He remembered the first day they'd met... she'd been bold enough to speak first, give him a bad time about the baseballs, and seemed pretty confident. But the longer Justin saw her and spoke with her, the more timid she grew. Was it him? Had he done something wrong again?

Studying her eyes as she turns back to him, a new possibility enters the equation. Could it be that she was growing more nervous because she was getting closer to opening up? Perhaps in the beginning, he was not a threat to her. But now... if somewhere down deep she really did want to be friends, perhaps that's what was so scary to her and what made her nervous. That would explain why the position in which she sat was one of calm confidence... yet her voice and eyes portrayed fear.

And yet... why was Justin even still trying to figure it out? Had he not decided to let the whole thing go? He had all the facts now and had opted to just let Beth go whatever way she chose and not push or pull in any direction. But for some reason, sitting with her here again, he just couldn't ignore what he was seeing.

Another smile emerges. "Well, I'm not exactly a dolphin myself when it comes to swimming. Fortunately, the pond I go to has a shelf that goes out at least ten feet from the edge and it's only about a foot or two deep... not a whole lot deeper than a bathtub."

He shrugs and lets his hand fall down beside the bench to scratch Zora's head, giving her a subtle nudge. She gets up and looks at him, nuzzling his hand a little before ambling over to Beth and setting her head in her lap.

"Besides... that's what I'm there for. Just in case a foot slips off the edge."


Destiny's words make Chance smile, though his chuckle that comes out isn't quite as hearty as it had been before. "Wouldn't Toby be mad to actually see someone appreciates my work?"

Suddenly, his face falls. "Oh, crumb. I was supposed to call him today. He's going to have my skull."

Biting into his cone, he rolls his eyes. "I guess he'll just have to wait, unless you want to endure listening to me call him from here."