"DO YOU SEE that?" James pointed at a constellation in the sky. "That's Ursa Major. It's shaped like the hindquarters and tail of a bear."
After a hearty feast, we were laying on the picnic blanket looking up at the stars which my nerdy boyfriend took as an educational opportunity. I squinted my eyes at the constellation he was pointing at. "A bear? It looks kind of like a soup spoon."
He sat up and looked at me incredulously. "You mean a ladle?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "It resembles that more than a bear."
"You're ridiculous."
"Ridiculously irresistible?"
He smirked down at me. "I can't say I disagree." I pulled his face down to mine and kissed him. "I could get used to affectionate Dani," he joked.
"Pull another disappearing stunt like this on me and you'll see bitchy Dani," I threatened.
"You're always bitchy," he corrected. Had anyone else said that I would have bitten their head off, but instead I laughed. He cupped my cheek as he looked at me with so much love, it made my heart full. "You're beautiful."
"You're not too shabby yourself," I teased.
James tucked a few loose strands of hair behind my ear before stopping, his face puzzled. "Did you change your hair?" I held my breath as I waited to hear his opinion, already anticipating a negative response. "I love it."
I cocked an eyebrow. "You do?"
He nodded. "Dani, you could be sprouting horns on your head and I'd still think you're the most beautiful girl in the world."
Was it getting hot in here or was it just me?
Not waiting for a reply, James stood up and extended his hand for me to take.
"Can't we just stay here?" It was so peaceful on the clifftop and I wanted to relish this moment for a bit longer.
"Sorry, no can do." James clutched my hand and hoisted me up to my feet. I brushed away the dirt and debris from my clothes, knowing it was too late for those grass strains on my hoodie.
Still holding onto James' hand, we walked down the cliff, over the fence, and to the side of the road where his car was parked. Rather, where Angelina was parked. After his motorcycle was stolen three years ago, Niko offered to sell his beloved Civic, Angelina, to James. Of course, my brother used this as an excuse to splurge on a fancier and more expensive car. Mom was furious, but not even a fraction as angry as she'd be once she saw the car Brenton bought.
James opened the passenger door, and I sat inside. "How chivalrous," I commended. He did an overdramatic bow as he closed the door, making me roll my eyes. James sat inside and started the car. He changed the gear shift to drive and began driving to what I presumed was home. His right hand held onto mine and he interlaced our fingers.
I shot him a smile before resting my head against the window and looking outside. Even the far corner of the horizon was as dark of a blue as the rest of the sky, the sun now gone and replaced with the moon and stars. It was the end of the summer solstice. I tried to be positive, but I couldn't stop myself from feeling a little upset that we didn't fulfill our tradition this year. I was scared since we broke it this year what would happen next year as our lives got busier?
"Got something on your mind?" the boy beside me asked, breaking me out of my trance.
"I don't know, I just wish we could've done the whole carnival thing." I paused, observing his reaction. "I know it's stupid, and I'm so happy you're here, but I wish we didn't have to compromise."
James retracted his hand, putting both on the steering wheel as he turned. "Who said we have to compromise?"
When I noticed the hint of a smirk on his face, I looked out my window, an audible gasp escaping my lips. "You did not!"
The car slowed down and he put it in park. "Surprise."
We were at the carnival. Even from the car, I could see the twinkly lights, the ferris wheel, the games, the cotton candy stand, all of it. The only thing missing from the carnival was the people.
When we stepped out of the car I got on my tiptoes and pressed my lips against his cheek. "How did you make all of this happen?" I asked. The carnival closed at ten o'clock exactly, and it was well past midnight now.
"I may or may not have bribed the owner," he admitted sheepishly.
I took his hand in mine and squeezed it. "Thank you for making today perfect."
"You say that like the night's already over," he scoffed. "Race you to the whack-a-mole?"
"You're on!"
~*~
After hours of playing all of the games, stealing the biggest, fluffiest pink stuffed gorilla we could find, and eating way too many hot dogs and cotton candy, I was ready to call it a night. My companion, on the other hand, had a different idea.
"Let's go home," I urged. "I can barely keep my eyes open."
He feigned a gasp. "And risk breaking tradition? You know we can't leave without going on the ferris wheel."
He was right. Every year we've gone to the carnival we'd wait until the last call for the ferris wheel and hop on before the carnival closed. James grabbed my hand and ran to the ferris wheel, leaving me with no choice but to follow in tow. The giant machine was slowly rotating when we got there, and I warily took a step toward it, unsure how we were supposed to get on. If we stopped the ferris wheel from moving to sit inside, then it wouldn't start moving until one of us stepped out to press the button to turn it on.
"Do you trust me?"
I ripped my hand out of James' hold. "Don't tell me you're thinking what I think you're thinking."
"Do you see that seat?" He pointed at the jade green passenger car slowly descending towards us. "On my count, we're going to make a run for it and jump inside."
"Are you crazy? There's no way."
"One..." he started.
I smacked his arm. "I'm not snapping my neck for your entertainment."
"Two..."
"I'm not going, and that's fin—"
"Three!" He grabbed my arm and the two of us ran to the passenger car. James hopped in before pulling me inside. I sat on the seat beside him, breathing rapidly as my mind processed what we had just done. I looked around me as we ascended higher and higher up, everything below us turning so small. I could see past the carnival and the forests that surrounded it, the houses, and the nearby towns.
"Wow," I said in awe. "The view's incredible."
"I like my view better."
I playfully pushed his chest. "You're so cheesy."
James draped his arm over my shoulder and I snuggled into his chest, enjoying the scenery and the company of the boy I was in love with. It was the perfect ending to a not-so-perfect day.
~*~
After James dropped me home that night, I crashed. I woke up the next morning, my pillow stained with makeup, my newly obtained stuffed companion beside me, and still dressed in the clothes I wore yesterday. That definitely wasn't my brightest decision, but I was feeling too giddy to care. I was just looking forward to the minute I could see James again. As I picked out an outfit from my closet, I looked through my open window to see if he was awake. James' curtains were uncharacteristically closed which struck me as a little odd, but then again he must have knocked out as I did.
Once I had finished brushing my teeth and showering, I changed into an off-the-shoulder dusty pink short-sleeved top with high-waisted black paper bag shorts. The summer of wearing my brothers' clothes was over — at least until James went back to Penbrooke. I applied some concealer before blowdrying my hair into its natural waves. Leaving my hair out, I returned back to my bedroom, surprised to see a certain blonde-haired boyfriend waiting for me.
"I brought breakfast," he said, gesturing to the brown bag in one hand and the tray of iced coffees in the other.
Have I mentioned how much I love this boy?
I greeted him with a kiss before swiping an iced coffee out of his hand. We took the food outside to the backyard to give us some privacy. We sat at the poolside, dipping our feet in the cool water as we ate. I leafed through the bag of breakfast treats while James told me about his fancy research job. My eyes lit up when I found a maple and pecan croissant and I nibbled on it while I listened to him speak.
"It's a seven-week program that runs until mid-August," he explained. "And I'm working with Penbrooke professors to study the effectiveness of stem cell therapy in cancer research and treatment."
I didn't really understand what any of that meant, but it sounded smart. "Is it fun?" I realized as soon as I said it how stupid my question was.
My dork of a boyfriend clearly disagreed. His eyes lit up, a toothy grin on his face. "It's a ton of fun, I love every second of it."
Although I had no understanding or care for stem cells, I was happy he was happy. I set my drink down and squeezed his hand. "I'm so proud of you."
James squeezed my hand back. "It's all thanks to your mom."
James and my mom had a rough patch when they first met, but she eventually grew a liking to him, which wasn't that difficult since he was by far the best boyfriend I'd ever had. Although he had fifty thousand dollars for school — courtesy of the incident we were prohibited from uttering under my mother's roof — it wasn't nearly enough to fund his entire studies. Mom saw real potential in James and she offered to cover his tuition fees. Her only condition was that he had to provide her with regular updates of his academic records.
"Have you seen her yet?" I asked.
He shook his head. "Not yet. She said we'd properly meet to discuss my future when she has an open evening."
I snorted. "Discuss your future? You still have a year left."
I supposed she wanted to make sure her investment was worthwhile, unlike Niko's sudden disinterest in law after completing his degree.
"I don't know." He took a sip of his iced coffee. "What's new with you?"
About a million different answers popped into my head, but I thought over my response carefully. We had only been reunited for less than a day and I didn't want to start a fight so soon. "My mother has a new boyfriend."
James gagged and choked on his iced coffee before spitting it all out of his mouth. "She has a what?"
I handed him a napkin. "My thoughts exactly."
"But get this," I continued. "She's dating the cop who arrested me and Brenton."
My poor boyfriend made the mistake of drinking again, spitting his iced coffee out one more time.
"I really should've given you a warning."
He flicked iced coffee droplets on me. "You think?"
Since James managed to get iced coffee all over his face, shirt, and somehow his hair too, I let him shower. He wasn't too pleased when I offered to hose him down in the backyard, so I was hoping the time he spent showering would help him cool down after I dumbly broke the news about getting arrested. I really should have added that to my mental list of conversations to avoid. He stepped into my bedroom, clad in his beige shorts with a towel around his neck. I threw his shirt in the washing machine during his shower and now we were just waiting for it to finish drying, but I hoped the dryer would take its sweet time. Even three years later, seeing James shirtless had me weak in the knees.
He sat on my desk chair and so I let my hormones take control and sat in his lap, my legs straddling either side of the chair. "We have about ten minutes to kill before your shirt's done drying," I mused. "I wonder how we should spend that time." I pressed my lips to his neck, trailing my way down when he stopped me.
"Why didn't you tell me you were arrested?"
I gave him a flat look. "Your horny girlfriend is sitting on your lap and you want to talk about a stupid misunderstanding?"
"So we're calling jail time a misunderstanding?" he said in disbelief.
I swung my leg over and stood up, no longer in the mood. "I misplaced my licence, okay?"
He folded his toned arms across his bare chest. God, he looked so good right now. "Misplacing your licence had you put behind bars?"
"And the cops may have thought we abducted Alex..." I winced when I saw the look on his face.
He stood up, his tall figure towering over me."Dani!"
"I'm sorry," I apologized. "Now can we make up so you can take me on my bed before my mom gets home?" What can I say? It had been two months. When he didn't budge, I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes. "James, don't be like that. I didn't even know I lost my licence and Alex was being, well, Alex."
"How could you be so careless?" he demanded. "Mommy's money can't make your criminal record disappear."
"Yeah, like you're one to talk about criminal records." I instantly regretted the words as soon as they had come flying out of my big mouth. "I didn't mean that."
"Save it." He chucked the towel off his neck and stormed out of my bedroom. A few seconds later I heard the front door slam shut.
Upon hearing that noise, Brenton popped his head in my doorframe. "Is everything okay?"
"Just peachy," I said through gritted teeth.
My goal to not fight with James couldn't even last a measly day. How did everything go so wrong? We were just loved up and happy to finally be with the other, and now it looked like we weren't speaking to each other.
"I hate your kind," I said to Brenton, who was still at my door, as I walked past him.
"Right back at you, sis."
I trudged to Alex's bedroom and swung the door open. Alex and Niko were sitting on the beanbag chairs in Alex's room as they played a mindless and violent video game on the TV. Again, another reason to be jealous of my little brother. I never had a TV in my bedroom growing up, and I still didn't have one.
"Scoot," I told the youngest Parker, who quietly obliged without tearing his eyes from the game. I collapsed on his beanbag chair, my arms folded across my chest as I sunk into it.
"Die!" Alex exclaimed. When I gasped, he pointed at the TV. "Not you."
"What's wrong with you?" Niko asked without looking away from the screen.
"I got in a fight with James."
"Go rot in hell!"
"Niko!"
"I was talking about the game, I swear," he testified, a grin on his face. He paused the game to face me, much to Alex's chagrin. "Couples get into disagreements all the time, there's nothing to be this upset about."
"I said something I shouldn't have," I mumbled, fidgeting with a loose thread sticking out of the beanbag chair.
"What's new?" Alex called from the other side of his room.
Niko grabbed a football-shaped pillow from the floor and threw it at his head to shut him up. "Go apologize," he told me.
"I don't want to," I admitted.
"I'll throw something at your head too," he threatened. "But be warned, the closest object to me is Alex's dirty underwear."
I wrinkled my nose in disgust while my little brother beamed proudly. Boys were disgusting.