Page 37 of Jump on Three
We spent the rest of our night looking up festival wear and watching YouTube videos of past years. By the time I went to bed, I was genuinely excited and kind of believed I might actually be able to bring myself to jump.
Tucked against the window, my hoodie over my head, headphones over my ears, I expected a quiet ride to our first away meet since no one ever sat with me and I liked it that way.
While my teammates streamed past my periphery, I focused on my knitting. I’d knit when I was bored, nervous, antsy…any mood, really. This was why I didn’t notice Ivan until he was sitting beside me.
I jumped in my seat, my hands freezing midstitch. His mouth curved into a slow, easy smile as he slouched, his legs stretched out in the aisle.
“Hi,” he mouthed.
“Hey,” I mouthed back.
He tapped his ear. My brow furrowed, not understanding, until he pointed to my ear…or headphones. I paused what I was listening to and pushed them down to my neck.
“You’re sitting beside me?”
His chuckle was a quiet rumble. “I am. Is that all right?”
“I…guess. I’m not the most interesting company.”
“I don’t agree. Every interaction I’ve had with you has been fascinating.” He nodded toward my yarn. “What is this?”
“It’s going to be a scarf.”
He rubbed the end of it between his fingers. “It feels nice. Too bad it’s so warm here. Otherwise, I would ask if you could make me one.”
“I would.” I chanced another look at him, finding him watching my busy hands. “I’m meant to live in a cold climate so I can knit and give all my scarves and blankets to my chilly friends. For now, I donate them.”
“Chilly friends. That’s cute, Evelyn.”
“Thank you.” I glanced at him again. This time, his eyes were on my face. “Would you really wear one of my scarves?”
“Of course. If you make me one, I will wear it when I go back to visit Russia.”
“Okay. What’s your favorite color?”
He leaned close, studying me. “What color are your eyes?”
I sputtered a laugh. “They’re brown. Are you saying you want a brown scarf in memory of my eyes?”
“They’re more than brown, though, aren’t they? They’re like rich soil with gold running through it. It’s a beautiful color. If you found yarn to match it, I would be fucking honored to wear it.”
I mentally filed through my yarn collection, recalling the Noro Delilah gave me on my seventeenth birthday. I hadn’t reached for it yet, and it would be perfect for this.
“I could do that if you really mean it.”
“I mean it. I do not know how to make anything. I am very impressed by your skill.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’re being very flattering this morning. You must have had a good night. Are you still drunk?”
His hand flew to his mouth to cover his burst of laughter. “What? What the hell…where did that come from?”
I shrugged. “I saw you going out again last night. I thought you went partying. Isn’t that what people our age do?”
“I—” His mouth opened then closed. “I am not drunk now, and I wasn’t last night. I’m just in a good mood and happy to be sitting beside you.”
“Oh.” I looked down at the needles in my hands, my cheeks flooding with heat from his honesty. “I’m glad you’re not drunk. I would hate to have to fish you out of the pool today.”
“But you would, right?”