Page 68 of A Thousand Second Chances

“What is it?” Percy asks, noticing my shift in mood.

I read the words aloud to him. “Who do you think wrote it?”

“I don’t know. But whoever it is, I hope they found their peace.”

Peace.That’s what I feel washing over me the longer we stand there together, watching the stars sparkle in their infinite glory. Maybe today will be wiped away like the dozen or so Saturdays before it. Maybe in the grand scheme of things, nothing we do tonight matters.

But this moment—my memory of being here with this boy beside me—thatwill persist. And that memory iseverything.

I’m not sure how long passes before Percy tenses and clutches my arm. “Chris.Look!”

I turn to follow his gesture, and then I see it. A haze of emerald light dances across the horizon, shimmering like an ethereal veil drawn over our mundane reality.

“The Northern Lights,” I breathe. “I totally forgot! I overheard some people talking about them that first Saturday. I guess in all our iterations, we’ve never been outside at the right time to catch them.”

I can’t tear my gaze away from the mesmerizing sight, watching the lights dance as they form scintillating patterns in the night sky. Everything else fades from my awareness except for Percy pressed into my side. The Northern Lights don’t last long—barely a handful of minutes—before fading away.

Neither of us speaks for a long moment. Then, Percy gives a breathless chuckle. “That’s the first time I’ve ever seen them. I’d heard they’re visible here sometimes, especially this time of year, but it’s less common in the summer when I used to visit.”

“That was my first time, too.” Now I understand why those tourists had seemed so excited.

Percy turns, furrowing his brow as he gestures back the way we’d come. “You know, for a moment there, I thought I saw someone else walking toward us along the road.”

I squint into the darkness but can’t make anyone else out. “Maybe we’re not the only ones out for a nighttime stroll.”

“Yeah, I guess.” He studies the empty road. “I wonder if it was another couple heading here until they saw us.”

Couple.My brain almost short-circuits at his application of the word to us, but I don’t call him on it. I’m not even sure he noticed the slip. Instead, my thoughts veer back to that depressing line I’d found on the wall. Maybe Percy’s mysterious stranger had been whoever had carved it.

The sun sets on one more day where I will never be enough.

Suddenly, I yearn more than anything tobeenough. Not for my parents or my former team or anyone else who ever judged me and made me feel small. Enough formyself. And enough for the boy standing beside me.

My thoughts are jumbled, my heart beating too fast. I turn to find Percy watching me, his expression unreadable in the gloom. And, in that moment, bad idea or not, I know exactly what I want.

I reach a trembling hand up, like Percy had during our road trip the previous day, and rest it lightly against his cheek. His body tenses beneath my touch as he hisses in a breath. But he doesn’t move. He doesn’t reach for me…but neither does he pull away.

Good enough.

Hoping I’m not making the worst mistake of my life, I surge forward and crush my lips to his. My body comes alive at the firm press of his lips beneath mine, at the taste of him on mytongue. My hands move to cup him behind the neck, drawing him in closer, and…

And he’s not kissing me back.

The realization strikes me like a blow to the head. He has yet to react, standing there utterly frozen like a statue. Panic and shame spike through me. Oh God, am I that far off base? I thought he’d wanted this as much as I did, but had I been projecting this whole time?

I break the kiss and start to pull back, and that’s when Percy finally, blessedly, moves. Not to shove me away or step back but to surge forward. I close my eyes, losing myself in the soft caress of his mouth. It’s everything I remember yet somehowmoreat the same time. Less inhibited, maybe? Or perhaps it only feels that way now that I’ve admitted to myself how badly I want this.

When the two of us part, we’re both panting. We stare at each other, and his smoldering look alone is enough to make my cock strain against my jeans. From the bulge in his pants, I assume he faces the same dilemma.

I lick my slightly chafed lips. “So. That just happened.”

Percy laughs, still a bit breathless. “Yeah. Yeah, it did.”

Doubt rears its ugly head again, and I shift to put some distance between us. “I’m, um, sorry if that crossed a line. We agreed to go on a date, not reach first base.”

The darkness isn’t enough to hide his furious blush. “It’s all right.”

“Are you sure? I mean, I know everything’s weird right now, and things are all kinds of mixed up between us. I don’t want to take advantage or—”