The Weight of the World by Amy Leigh Strickland Page A

brief
conversation in his mind with Midas as he approached and when he
stopped in front of Amanda, the horse held up its end of the
sugar-cube and carrot bargain.
    Midas
put his nose against Amanda's back and pushed. The slender girl
stumbled forward and Nick caught her in his arms. “Alright there?”
he asked. She stopped, knees still bent trying to catch herself, and
nodded. Nick pulled her to her feet but stayed close.
    “Good,”
he said. He brushed a piece of hair away from her face and leaned
forward like he might kiss her before pulling away. He was pleased to
see disappointment on her face. She might have made a pledge to
Valerie's club, but he could tell she was a romantic at heart. Nick's
philosophy on girls was this: girls like to lie to themselves, so
help them.
    He
set up a modest picnic by the pond. Amanda sat down with him and ate.
She talked about a leather-working class she was taking and he
bragged about his swimming trophies.
    “You're
different than I thought,” she said as they finished off the last
of the grapes.
    “How's
that?”
    “Well,
I mean, the way people talk about you at school with girls-- you're
kind of a heart breaker.”
    Nick
sighed. He shook his head. “I've learned that rumor is rarely the
truth,” Nick said. “I mean... do I date a lot of girls? Yes. I
know what I'm looking for and I'm not the type to waste anyone's time
if it's not working.” Nick knew that most of the girls he dated had
enough of a self-preservation instinct not to admit to their peers
that they'd slept with him. Most of the rumors only hinted at the
reality of his sordid dating history. “And I'm sure I've hurt some
feelings, but I think that's the nature of it, you know? We all get
hurt. Do I like breaking up with girls? No. Have I been hurt? Sure.”
    He
took a deep breath through his nose and let the air go behind his
eardrums. He was overcome by the urge to yawn, but instead breathed
steadily through this. It was his surefire trick to cry and a little
glisten came to his eyes before he coughed and looked back at the
horses. What was simply a breathing trick came off to Amanda as a
hint of vulnerability. Nick was pulling out all the stops on this
one.
    “People
like to talk,” Amanda said, giving Nick an excuse to stop talking.
She might have actually pitied him. Success. “But I've learned to
take everything with a grain of salt.”
    Nick
nodded. “You can't believe everything, right?” He put the empty
paper plates away in his cooler and zipped it up. They stood up and
gathered up the blanket together. When they stepped close to fold it,
Nick grabbed her hand.
    “I
know what I'm looking for,” he said. “Right now that's another
date with you. Will you let me take you to dinner?”
    Amanda
took a deep breath and nodded. “The fact that Shadow didn't throw
you off has me curious,” she said. “I'm off this weekend.”
    Nick
smiled. “Good,” he said. Nick kept hold of her hand. His other
hand rested on her lower back and pulled her close. The picnic
blanket fell into a pile between their feet. He tipped his head down
and kissed her. Nick had a few first kisses that he picked from,
depending on the girl. He had to choose carefully. Even though he had
already earned a great amount of Amanda's trust, he didn't want to
appear too driven by passion alone. The kiss he chose was a
passionate but safe one. He parted his lips only slightly, dropped
her hand, and placed his palm against her jaw.
    Amanda
hesitated at first, then she, too, parted her lips and darted her
tongue forward, becoming the one responsible for deepening the kiss.
After a minute Nick pulled back, keeping Amanda in his arms.
    “So,”
he said, watching her try to recover from flushed cheeks and swollen
lips. “If I'm going to take you out this weekend, I still need your
number.”

    Sunday
morning Nick woke up to a text message alert. Amanda. He smiled as he
sat up in bed and typed a flirty reply. He would continue to see