by Anne Hansen
She’s staring at the frog and lilypad game, blushing, twirling the sparkling ring nervously.
“Engaged?” Vin repeats, blinking hard. “Now? Really?”
I notice Josh’s narrowed eyes and jump in before they go back to their childhood routines and Vin gets the piss beaten out of him. “Congratulations, you two!” I cry, trying to smile politely. So David and Lily were right. It sounded like total nonsense when they whispered it to me in the cafeteria. Sunny is such a sweet, level-headed girl, and engagement at our age seems so young. “When are you planning on getting married?”
“A few weeks before graduation,” Josh says, his smile a little too flat to really be happy.
Sunny stands a little straighter. “Just after my eighteenth birthday,” she explains.
Vin manages to pick his jaw off the grass and nods. “Hey, Josh, you got it backward. You’re supposed to get the beautiful girl a present on her birthday, not get her as the present yourself.” He opens his arms and pulls Sunny into a tight hug. “Congratulations, Sunny. I think you’re getting the raw end of the deal here.” He lets her go and shakes Josh’s hand. “Congratulations, Weston. You’re going to hell for whatever you did to convince someone as amazing as Sunny to marry your scurvy ass.”
She lets out a shaky laugh and glances up at Josh with the kind of fierce love in her eyes I know can’t be faked.
“I don’t know about that,” she says, and he kisses her forehead tenderly.
Dom is headed over and waving to Sunny and Josh, so Vin and I say our goodbyes and continue on to the Ferris wheel. When we’re in our car, gliding high over the twinkling lights of Eastside, I sigh. This town has been gorgeous and ugly, welcoming and scary, tough and so damn wonderful, but it just looks like a peaceful little play village from way up here.
“What are you thinking?” Vin asks, leaning across the car to take my hand.
It sways back and forth in the warm night air. “Just how much I love this place. This year. You.”
“Did Sunny’s engagement ring make you think?” he asks quietly. He runs his thumbs over my knuckles, stopping over the ring finger.
“Think about what?” I ask, pressing my lips to his.
He puts his hand behind my neck and kisses me quick and hard.
“Think about you and me. Making things official.” There’s a catch in his throat.
I let out a long, sweet sigh. “I think every couple has to do what’s right for them. I guess I don’t worry about it so much because I know you and I have been through the wringer. We’re strong. We’re going to last.”
“You don’t want a ring?” he asks, but I can see the teasing light in his eyes.
“Oh, I want a ring. A house, a couple of babies, a whole life with you. I just know in my heart it’s going to happen. Our whole future is ahead of us, Vin. And, as much as I can’t wait for it to begin, I just want to enjoy every single second of our now. Because I waited a long time for you to be finally mine.”
For a long, sweet while there were no more words; just Vin’s arms wrapped around me, our never ending kisses, and the big, silver moon granting every wish I’d ever hoped for and so many more.
***
“Vincenzo Paolo Morretti,” Principal Miller intones. I clap as Vin, dressed in his navy blue gown and cap, walks across the stage, takes his diploma, shakes Principal Miller’s hand, and gives an awkward wave as his family goes nuts, blowing air horns, clanking cowbells, and yelling ecstatically. “Please hold all applause until the end,” Principal Miller reminds everyone in attendance.
But I see him smile at Vin and nod proudly.
Eastside’s resident badass just proved everyone wrong by graduating.
Well, not everyone.
I always knew he’d walk across that stage and get his diploma.
After the endless rounds of speeches and awards, Principal Miller comes back to the podium. “Eastside High graduates, you may move your tassels to the left. Congratulations!”
We move our tassels and then the entire student body jumps up and tosses their caps in the air, yelling and cheering the way we’re only going to do this one time, on our last day of high school ever.
David and Lily shove by everyone else to squeeze me tight. I wrap my arms around my friends and can’t let go for a few long seconds. “Guys, what will I do next year without you?”
“Why did we all wind up in different cities?” David laments.
“So we can see amazing places all over the country. I mean, I’ll never get enough New York City, but when NYU has a break, you guys can come to Boston,” Lily says, squealing a little over the word.
“And I already have a part-time job lined up at Colonial Williamsburg. You guys will have to come see me decked out in a petticoat talking about how to make homemade soap.” We laugh as our parents descend, demanding a million pictures.
Dad tells every single person in earshot that I’ll be leaving for The College of William & Mary in a few weeks. We may have had a bumpy year, but he learned to give me my space, and I learned that I have to keep my future clear in my sights.
Even if I love my present so much, it makes my heart feel like it might burst.
And just when I’m sure it can’t get any fuller, I feel Vin grab my hand and tug me to a corner under one of the big oaks that border Eastside’s long chain-link fence.
“Hey, beautiful.” He leans in and kisses me. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him back, soft and full on the mouth. “Congratulations,” he says when he pulls back.
I rub my fingers along his strong neck. “Congratulations to you. I didn’t think it was possible, but you look even sexier now. Must be the diploma.”
He links his arms around my waist. “I think you’re just crazy in love.”
“Maybe.” He pulls me closer. “Probably.” He kisses me again, and this time he doesn’t hold back at all. “Definitely,” I whisper against his lips.
“What am I gonna do when you leave for college?” he asks, nuzzling my neck.
“Find a garage in Williamsburg you can work at,” I suggest immediately.
He groans a little. “You know I want to, Keira. But I have to stick around and help Dad and Dom get on their feet. Being out from under Gio’s thumb is a good thing, no doubt, but my dad still needs to learn how to manage all the things my uncle used to take care of. And with the expansion Mr. Lombardi did for him, they need my help more than ever.”
“I know,” I say, and I try not to let my heart sink. I ball my hands into the thin polyester of his gown and lean my forehead on his chest. “It’s just…last time we said good-bye, things fell apart.”
“Last time we said good-bye, I had no idea what I had. Now I know. I’ll never let you go, Keira. Nothing can change the way I feel about you. You have to know that.”
I nod, pressing my ear to the spot just over his heart. I listen to the reassuring rhythm and trust that Vin and I are past all the insecurities and upsets of the past. We’ve gotten stronger together every day since the night of the race, and our love has only intensified. We’re ready to face anything now, as long as we’re together.
“So, I need you to come by my house later, and bring your dad. My mother made enough food to feed a small country, and she wants her favorite too-skinny girl there to eat a dozen plates.” He grins when I groan.
“Vin, you have to help me with her. Last time I was over, I swear I ate half that entire tray of tiramisu. I thought she’d be impressed, but your mom just kept saying, ‘Too skinny. More! Too skinny!’” I shudder. “Death by tiramisu isn’t the worst way to go, but I’m still young.”
“I promise, I’ll make sure I keep the cannolis out of her sight.”
“Mmm, cannolis,” I sigh.
He kisses me hard. “Babe, I can’t help you if you’re gonna get weak over dessert like that.”
“Right.” I snuggle close to him. “Oh, Dad wanted to know if you’re still okay with driving the U-Haul? He says I drive too fast.” I roll
my eyes.
“I’ll be glad to. I know how scary your driving can be. Did he get that new place closer to the train?” Vin asks, brushing my hair back off my shoulders.
“Yep. The company that bought them out is centered in Manhattan, so he’ll only have a twenty minute commute once he’s in the new place.”
“He didn’t want to move back to Stony Brook?” Vin asks, furrowing his brow.
For all Vin’s and my father’s differences, Vin was always in total agreement that we should make the move back to Stony Brook, even when it was obvious that it made no sense. The commute was too far, and it was silly for Dad to think about buying a bigger place just as I was about to pack up for college. The apartment complex Dad is moving to is much nicer than the one we live in, but it’s also a good size for him and close to his job.
“Stony Brook is our past, Vin,” I say, kissing his neck, just at the point where it meets his shoulder. “This is our present, and the city is Dad’s future.”
Vin looks like he wants to say more, but he doesn’t. Talking about my present is safe, but my near future is still hard for either one of us to swallow.
“So, I see my parents are talking your father’s ear off,” Vin says, his voice low and inviting. “How about we head back to my place a little early?”
I bite my lip and smile. “I like that idea very much.”
We get into the Mustang and head back to his apartment, giddy at the prospect of some peace and quiet…not that we have any plans to actually do anything peaceful or quiet with our privacy.
“Hey, hey, hold up a minute.” Vin grabs my hand and pulls me back down the stairs that lead to his apartment. “I, uh…” He rubs a hand on the back of his neck. “Damn. I didn’t think this would be so, uh…I have something to show you,” he finally blurts, laughing nervously.
My heart leaps, wondering what could have him so antsy.
“Okay,” I say, following him to the garage underneath his apartment. He stops in front of the huge metal door.
“First of all, I want to tell you how much I love you.” He pulls me close and looks down at me, his green eyes searching my face with a tender expression that makes my skin prickle with heat. “From the second I saw you, I knew you were too good for me, but that didn’t stop me from wanting you, Keira. Every day, every hour, every damn minute.
Even when I had myself convinced you were out of my league, something in me just wouldn’t stop fighting for a chance with you. You challenged me to do better, to be a better man. I hope I’ve started to live up to being the kind of man you deserve.”
“Of course you have,” I whisper, my voice cracking around the tears already welling up in my eyes. “Vin, you know I wanted this as much as you did. I feel so blessed to have you in my life. You’re my best friend, and I never thought I’d be lucky enough to share the kind of love we do.”
He lifts me up, swings me around, and kisses me, slowly, sweetly. “Sometimes I think you’re crazy, and that’s the only reason why you agreed to any of this. How the hell did I get so lucky?” He cradles me close and shakes his head.
“I ask myself the same thing constantly,” I whisper, kissing him again, this time with less caution and all the passion that drives us both wild.
I’m fairly sure we’re about to head back to his room when he pulls away. “Wait. Not yet. I have a gift for you.”
I touch the gold beautiful gold bracelet he gave me last night, and he shakes his head. “Not that. Something you’ll love.”
“I do love my bracelet,” I protest, but he rolls his eyes, leans down, and lifts the door of the garage.
“Not like you’re gonna love this.” He holds his arms out.
I blink.
I blink again, but it’s not a dream or a figment of my overactive imagination. I’m looking at a sky blue 1968 Dodge Dart, shiny and gorgeous.
It’s absolutely perfect.
“Vin?” I walk to the car slowly, look through the window, and glance back up to see my incredibly sexy, sweet, amazing boyfriend holding a key out to me.
“Mine?” I manage to croak.
“All yours, Keira.” His grin is contagious.
“How?”
“I wanted to get the dream car your mother wanted you to have. I wanted to be able to make that trip to the Pacific with you the way she planned for you. I know it’s not the same as having her there, but I think she’d like the idea of you doing it in her honor. Red got me a 68 in pretty bad shape.” He scrolls through his phone and holds it out to me.
I take it and flip through pictures of a beat-looking car that, image by image, slowly, painstakingly, begins to turn into the shining beauty before me.
“You did this?” I ask, shaking my head.
“Yeah.” Pride glows on his face. “Dad, Dom, Louie all taught me, you know. Don’t worry—you know I never would have attempted something like this without guidance. But I did all the actual work, sometimes even redoing things they did first so I could learn. Plus every bit of detailing. I’ve been working on this since just before Christmas. I screwed up a lot, so it was slow going. But I wanted it perfect in time for graduation.”
I turn away from this incredible gift and run across the garage so I can throw myself in his arms, crying and laughing all at once.
“I love it. I love it so much. I love you. I got you a tie, Vin! A tie!”
“I love my tie,” he says, wiping my tears away with his thumb. “And I totally expect you to take me out in it. I hear you’re fast as hell, especially when you’re driving a 68 Dart.”
I hug him tight, screw my eyes closed, and just breathe. I’m in his arms and everything is perfect. I want this moment to last forever.
But Vin wants to get me in the car he’s worked so hard to make everything I could have dreamed of.
He puts me down and pushes me forward. “You didn’t even sit in it. Don’t you want to take it for a drive?”
I open the door and inhale the sweet aroma of a brand new leather interior. I flip the front seat back and climb into the back, then stick my hand out and crook my finger.
Vin walks over and peers in. “Me?” he asks.
I recline back on the seat, running my fingers over every gorgeous, perfect inch of buttery leather. “Of course you. Come here.”
Vin climbs in and we tangle together, my lips all over him. “I want you to know how much I love this, Vin. I mean, I really love this.” I slide my sundress over my head. Vin sucks in a quick breath.
“Keira, we don’t have to…I mean if you want to test drive it first we can—”
I press my mouth to his and pull back. “Oh, we’re gonna drive this car. Somewhere private and romantic. But first, we’re gonna christen it.”
Vin groans. “Damn, Keira. What am I gonna do without you when you leave for college?”
“You’ll never be without me,” I say, tugging his shirt over his head and running my hand over that hot skin and firm muscle. I press my palm down over the spot where his heart is pounding hard. “I’m yours.”
“Mine?” he asks, sucking his breath between his teeth as I undo the button on his pants and tug his zipper down.
“Yours,” I promise, kissing him, holding him in my arms, and loving the way it feels when he gathers me in his.
“Forever?” His voice growls out, possessive and hungry.
We strip the last pieces of clothing off and reach for each other like it’s been years, even though he snuck out of my bedroom window this morning. I can’t imagine what it will be like to feel anything but this intense, complete need to be with Vin—in his arms, in his heart, in his life.
“Forever yours,” I insist.
He slows down, flips me so I’m lying underneath him. Vin looks down at me, his gaze full of love, his hands gentle on me.
“Finally mine. Forever mine,” he vows, and I lose myself in his arms, knowing without a single doubt that’s a promise we’ll both fight like crazy to keep.
Anne Hansen is a die-ha
rd romantic who loves fast cars, unsung heroes, and those crazy, funny conversations that make you laugh so hard, you end up in tears with stomach cramps. She likes to travel and has been all kinds of cool places—like Knoebels Theme Park, the biggest Paul Bunyan statue in Minnesota, and Paris. She loves listening to indie music, sitting around the campfire with her awesome family, and obsessively flipping through celebrity Instagram accounts (don't judge). But, most of all, she loves reading books and writing them, and she's excited to share her greatest passion with other book lovers!
My hands shake as I rip open the bag of mini-marshmallows. The sugary smell brings back memories of the night Ms. Frannie took me in and made me a steaming cup of hot cocoa with milk—not water—topped with a sprinkling of mini-marshmallows. The memory of that cup of cocoa has stuck with me for years.
Funny how such a small thing could feel so special—but to a kid who’d spent most of her life neglected and ignored, any little sign of love was huge. And it seemed like every single thing Ms. Frannie did made me feel loved.
I grip the old laminate countertop and try to get my breathing under control before I pick up the phone and dial the complicated set of numbers that will link me—slowly, painfully—to Josh Weston.
I add heavy cream, sugar, pineapple, coconut I broke open with a rusty hammer I found under the sink. It took me an hour to break it all apart and grate it, but this ambrosia has to be perfect.
Why does it have to be perfect?
Ms. Frannie won’t even be here to cluck over my shoulder and tell me not to be stingy with the sugar. I feel a sob well up in my throat, but I keep it down as I talk to each different operator, waiting to be linked to Josh.
I didn’t even bother to check what time it is in Afghanistan, which is where Josh is stationed for one more week. I send him care packages every other Friday like clockwork, and he sends short, funny emails, but we avoid phone conversations at all costs.
It’s too weird, and that fact hurts so much.
It hits me like a cartoon anvil that, in this entire world overflowing with people, Josh Weston is the only family I have left.