The tips of his ears pinked up. “I figured they didn’t have it in Italy and you’d probably run out while you were away. Here are your PJs and a towel.”
I hadn’t turned on the light and I was happy I hadn’t. Tears prickled in the corners of my eyes and I threw my arms around him.
Sometimes it felt like I could disappear and no one would really care. It felt like I was a temporary fixture in someone’s life until they moved on. But with LJ I felt like I mattered—always.
Dropping my arms, I rubbed my nose with my long sleeves and took the clothes from his hands. “Thanks, LJ.”
“The bathroom’s all yours. We’ll stay out of your way. I know you’re tired.” He stepped back and walked out of the room before popping his head back in. “I missed you, Marisa.”
I’d have said it back, but my throat was too tight to speak. I nodded and closed the door after he disappeared from the doorway.
How was I supposed to make it through this whole year without making a fool of myself—again?
8
Marisa
SENIOR YEAR - HIGH SCHOOL
Standing at the bottom of the porch steps, I got my answer to how the hell he pulled this off.
One of the freshman football players had been squeezed into a Tinkerbell costume, complete with blonde bun, wings and a wand. His legs in those tights made me the slightest bit jealous.
“Welcome to the wonderful world of adventure. We hope you have a magical day.” His falsetto voice, pouty smile and curtsy almost burst the dam, but I kept my laughter contained. They could probably have heard me from four blocks away. I bent over, holding my stomach.
My sides hurt as we stepped inside the house, which had been transformed. String lights were attached to the ceiling flowing out from the square columns, which made for perfect shielding during sock wars.
There was a popcorn machine in one corner. A cotton candy machine. A VR headset hooked up to the TV. Face paints on the dining room table complete with glitter.
“I know it’s more like a carnival than Disney…” He shrugged.
“Are you serious? This is amazing. How did you get all this put together?”
“A little bit of raiding the concession stand supplies, bribing the underclassmen with a couple cases of beer and pulling the cancer card to get people to help out. Plus, after telling them why you were missing the senior trip, people were more than happy to pitch in.”
“I can’t believe you did this for me.”
He peered over at me and my stomach flipped like there was a wacky-waving-inflatable-arm-flailing tube man going bonkers inside. “When are you going to get it? I’d do anything for you.”
All those achy feelings came rushing back. The ones I felt when we were up late at night playing video games. The ones where I looked at him and wondered what his lips would feel like on mine. Not in a preteen or playground kiss, but a real kiss.
“Wait until you see the back yard.” He grabbed my hand and I let him drag me through the house at a moderate pace to the back yard.
I walked out back, shielding my eyes from the glare of the sun.
It was complete with a treehouse we hadn’t slept in since we were eleven. A wooden swing set where we’d both gotten more than our fair share of splinters had been out of commission for more than a few years.
There were plastic tubs filled with balloons and water guns set up like an arsenal on plastic folding tables ten feet apart, with chairs behind each one.
“I know you can’t really run around and stuff, but I figured we could have a sitting water battle, if you’re up for it.”
We spent the day with off-brand cartoon characters popping into the house. I had my fill of every carnival food I could think of, including hot dogs, so I wasn’t in a sugar-induced coma by the end of the day. I changed into the spare clothes tucked into my drawer in LJ’s room.
With soaking wet hair, I turned off the VR headset recreating some of the biggest rollercoasters in the world, complete with a fan blowing my drenched strands.
The sun had set a couple hours ago.
LJ handed off the cases of beer he’d acquired to the underclassmen. It would definitely require some prodding to find out how he’d broken his straight-arrow code to come up with that bribe.
He sat on the edge of the couch.
“That was the best day I’ve ever had in my life.” I rested my hands over my stomach, which wouldn’t rumble for another decade.
“I have one other thing to show you.” He held out his hand.
Stuffed, sore and sleepy, I took his hand and followed him down to the basement. A disco ball spun from the ceiling and a multicolored ball light bathed the ceiling and walls in different colors.
He walked over to the tablet beside the speakers and tapped the screen.
An early-2000s hit filled the large space. “It wouldn’t be a senior trip without a dance party.” He waved his hands over his head, showing off his moves, which had gotten a lot better over the years.
I laughed and moved right along with him.
Anyone who thought a dance party of two didn’t sound like a fun time hadn’t met me and LJ. Bringing back old dance moves long since retired, we moved through the playlist he’d made and sang along to every song, screaming up to the ceiling and right beside each other.
Sweaty and filled with more joy than I’d ever been, I dropped my hands to my sides when the last song ended and the next one came on.
It was a slow song.
LJ had one hand behind his back and held the other out to me. “May I have this dance?”
“Why, yes, kind sir.” I laughed and attempted a restrained curtsey.
We went old school—middle school. He slid his hands on either side of my waist.
I’d popped another round of pain meds, so there wasn’t more than a distant throb, even after all the running around today. I held onto his shoulders. Rocking back and forth, I felt like we’d been transported back to the seventh-grade dance. The same one where our mouths had been almost welded together. Neither of us were sporting braces anymore.
“How are you going to get all this cleaned up by tomorrow?”
“The underclassmen are coming by in the morning to take everything away and put it all back the way it was.”
I rolled my eyes. “Football player perks.”
A chuckle rumbled through his chest. “If you hadn’t helped me with Quinn, I’d never have even been able to play football for the past two seasons.”
“I did what anyone else would’ve done.” And hanging out with his sister had given me a reason to be at his house. It hadn’t only been for selfish reasons—LJ needed to focus on football, and Jill had a lot to handle with Charlie. I helped out where I could.
“No, they wouldn’t have. A lot of people acted like I had the plague once my dad got sick last year, but you didn’t.” His gaze held an intensity that sent a flush flooding through my body.
Staring at him, I knew then that my feelings for LJ were real. But in a matter of months I’d be going to New York and he’d be going to Fulton U.
The level of attention for him would be even higher, especially female attention. Not to say there weren’t girls who flirted with him now, but he mostly didn’t pay any attention. But his college games would be on national TV. There would be coeds from all over the US—and some from outside—vying for his attention. And he wouldn’t have me there as the plucky tagalong cock-blocking him with my presence alone.