Page 246 of The Romance Adventure
We kiss again and again. There is no beginning and no end. I float into the clouds. Flying higher and higher until all the stars in the sky rain down like glitter. New galaxies flash into being. The universe, at least my own, will never be the same.
This time, when we part, he says, “You sure about that whole not liking me or the kiss thing?”
“I’m not sure about anything.”
Eventually, he walks me to my aunt and uncle’s house, where I’ll stay for one more night until my sisters and their families descend tomorrow. Then I’ll have to tell Ryan about Luke. My stomach knots. I’m not sure why.
We stand on the porch, safely shrouded in the darkness.
Ryan laces his fingers through mine and in a low voice says, “Forget treasure maps. If X marks any spot, it’s where you are.”
“Your pickup lines don’t work on me.”
“That wasn’t a pickup line.”
I recall what he’ll tell his coaches about gems and treasure.
“Then what was it?”
“The truth.”
“Stop. You don’t have to pretend right now. The world isn’t watching. It’s dark. Only someone with night vision could see us right now.”
“Brando might be on the other side of the door.”
“His name is Brando, not Rambo.”
Ryan steps back slightly. “And he’ll kill me if he—I have to talk to him.”
“We can explain. He’ll understand.”
“Not likely,” Ryan mutters.
“Well, you don’t have to keep up the charade if it’s just the two of us.” I shift from foot to foot.
“I’m not playing.”
“But I thought this was—”
“Practice? No, Harley. It’s the real deal.”
It feels real, but I’m afraid of what that might mean.
Ryan doesn’t let me argue anymore and leans in, planting a big ‘ole whopper of a kiss on my lips. He plants a flag, marking me as his, and I don’t mind a bit.
When I go inside, I lean on the back of the door, whisper screaming like a high schooler who just went on the most perfect date with her crush.
I suppose I did.
Then I go silent, motionless except for my heaving chest, realizing he’s still on the porch.
“Me too, Nugget. Me too,” he says before his footsteps fade into the night.
Much like in high school, I go up to my room and flop onto my bed, then stare at the ceiling and my thoughts start colliding.
I truly didn’t realize Ryan had asked me out on that day before the start of freshman year. It’s a blurry memory and a blurry Romance Game we’re playing.
Replaying our conversation on the bench, then shifting to the Driftwood and finding out about Chip’s will, wandering to the beach, and then back here was like binge-watching an entire season of a sitcom. Or a drama. Or an adventure and mystery. All of it. Maybe the Romance Game isn’t so much that as it’s our story.
