All's Fair in Love and HoCo (ONC 2022)

Chapter Twenty-nine: Bonfire

As we drove off the kaserne to go to the base where the bonfire was being held, I saw Tim walking along the path that connected the two bases.

"Mom, can we see if he wants a ride?" I asked. She pulled over to the side of the road and I rolled down the window.

A few seconds later, he climbed into the mid-section of the van and thanked my mom for the offer.

Mom congratulated him on the homecoming king win and then said, "It's nice to put a face with a name. Emily talks about you a lot." Gee, thanks, Mom. I talked about Riley, too.

Tim looked over at me like the cat that caught the canary while I shrank in my seat. "Well, hopefully she's saying good stuff about me."

"She said you were also voted Most Likely to Become an Ax Murderer," Mom deadpanned. Well-played, Mom. Well-played. "Just kidding. She told me you were one of the boys who walked Bri and her home from Oktoberfest, so thank you for that."

Mom pulled up to the gate and asked for everyone's ID. When the guard approached our van she handed him all the ID cards and made a joke that if there were any kids in the back, she was leaving them with him. His eyes widened as he saw all of us.

"Good to go. Have a good evening," he said, smiling. Apparently, he didn't want to keep us with him.

North Cassius was infamous for its potholes. Unlike most of the bases where we could go thirty kilometers per hour, North Cassius' speed limit was fifty. Of course, any more than thirty meant a damaged vehicle, so Mom crept along slowly and maneuvered around the giant holes until she reached the parking lot by the shooting range.

A German firetruck, five firefighters leaning against it, was parked close to the pyre of wooden beams.

"You guys have fun," Mom said, looking back at me in the rearview mirror. She turned around to face me. "If you have any issues or end up needing a ride, please call me."

"My parents can give Emily a ride if she needs one," Tim told my mom.

"I think she has a ride lined up, but I'll give my permission, just in case."

We said our goodbyes and climbed out of the van. Hip hop music blared from two large speakers about fifty feet from where the fire would be. Riley was surrounded by a group of cheerleaders, his arms around the sophomore queen as she had her backside pressed against him. I took a deep breath. They were just friends.

"Is everything okay?" Tim asked. He brushed my hair out of my eyes.

"Just grand." I gulped. Riley's arms were still around her, too long for just being friends. Two could play at that game, right? I stepped a little closer to Tim. "So, did you line up a date for Homecoming?"

He shook his head, his sandy blond hair swinging into his eyes. "You're the only girl I was interested in going with." He looked down, like he was embarrassed to have said it. "It seemed pointless to ask anyone else. We're still on for that dance, right?" He kicked nervously at the dirt. He was adorable.

I looked over to Riley. It must've registered that I was here because he let go of the queen and backed away from her. He started walking in our direction. "Yeah, we're still on." Riley probably wouldn't like it, but my dancing with Tim was no worse than what I'd just witnessed. He'd have to deal with it.

"Hey, Emily," Riley said, his arm snaking around my waist. He did that universal s'up nod to Tim, though I kinda thought he might have wanted to kill him. "They're about to start the fire."

"I'll see you later, Tim." I said as Riley guided me toward the pyre. Tim took off toward a group of his senior friends.

When Tim was out of our earshot, Riley turned to me. "I'm sorry about Chelsea. She and her boyfriend got into an argument, and she's like a little sister to me, so I was trying to cheer her up."

I wasn't sure how to react. I wanted to believe Chelsea was like his little sister, but she hadn't looked the least bit upset. And that wasn't how I held my little sisters when they needed consoling.

He bent down to me, brushed his lips against my forehead. "I promise. There's nothing between us, and I won't talk to her again if you don't want me to."

The firefighters started walking toward the pyre of beams. I quickly returned my attention to Riley. "I'm not going to tell you who you can and can't talk to, but I also didn't like what I saw. If you like her, just tell me now, so I don't waste either of our time."

One of the firefighters threw a match onto the pyre and the fire roared to life, its heat warming me from a hundred feet away.

"I won't talk to her again," he said. "Would you like to go somewhere a little more private?"

I looked toward the bonfire where everyone was dancing in clusters. And I looked into Riley's irresistible, puppy dog eyes. And then I saw his mom talking to the DJ.

"Do you think that's a good idea? I don't want to get on your mom's bad side." She was known to gossip about students to other students.

"My mom is going to be so busy for the next three hours that she's not going to miss me for a few minutes. I promise, I'm not going to try anything." He wrapped his arms around me and laughed as he pulled me in close to him. "Okay, I'm going to try this, but nothing more. I just want to be able to talk to you without eyes and ears everywhere around us."

Why did I feel like putty in his hands? I raised an eyebrow at him. "You aren't going to have us surrounded by MP's aiming their guns at us, right?"

"No MP's." He winked at me. "I know the perfect place."

He checked over his shoulder. When the coast was clear, he grabbed my hand and we crouched between the cars until we got to the furthest row. He removed a key fob from his pocket and unlocked his mom's BMW. Soon, the back door was open, and Riley was motioning for me to climb inside.

I slid across the seat, hoping I'd made a good decision. Both Tim and Bri had called Riley a snake, but he'd never acted that way toward me. But wasn't it snakelike to have your arms around another girl when you supposedly liked someone else?

I needed to give him the benefit of the doubt. If he tried anything, I had a can of pepper spray in my bag. I'd taken karate classes in San Antonio, and my dad had also taught me self-defense. I could take care of myself should the need arise.

"I really am sorry about earlier," Riley said once the door was closed and he was next to me. The car smelled of cookies, and Riley smelled of Eternity and freshly showered boy. He traced his finger along my cheek. "I still can't believe I'm going to Homecoming with you."

I laughed. "I didn't think you'd ever ask me." Not in my wildest dreams, which Riley was frequently a star. I turned away to hide my embarrassment.

He moved a little closer. "I didn't think you'd ever say yes." He draped his arm around me and scooted me toward him. "Did you know I've liked you since freshman year?"

His comment about the fake leather leggings had me thinking he'd liked me last year, but I didn't think he'd known I was alive back then. I shook my head in disbelief. "But you've dated half the girls at Edelweiss."

"I can assure you I have not dated that many girls, and I haven't liked any of them as much as I like you." He wrapped his arms around me, and for a brief second, I thought he was going to kiss me, but he held back. My breathing hitched at the nearness of his neck, the nearness of his mouth. "Do you remember the day of the interview?"

How could I forget? I nodded my answer.

"I'd written my phone number on one of the questions and suggested you should call me." He gave an awkward laugh. "But then I chickened out and you know the rest of the story." That explained his weird behavior during the interview. Yikes. He squeezed me a little tighter. "You know I want to kiss you, right?" I bit my lip, and he laughed. "But I promised you only hugs."

I looked him in the eye. "I want more."

In a flash, he pulled me on top of his lap, and his mouth crashed against mine. We didn't come up for air for several minutes and then we started kissing again. A tap at the fogged-up window finally stopped us and the stern look on his mom's face said it all. We. Were. Busted. Thank God neither of us had lost any clothing.