Chapter 9 Peplum Tops and Gladiator Sandals
CHAPTER 9: PEPLUM TOPS AND GLADIATOR SANDALS
LACEY - ELEVEN YEARS AGO
I ’m standing in front of my closet trying to decide what to wear. Beau’s annual end of summer bonfire is tonight. I’m nervous as hell and want it to go perfectly. My crush will be there and I plan on telling him I like him. That is, if I can muster up enough courage to admit my feelings.
I haven’t told anyone yet, not even Poppy. Mainly because the realization absolutely freaks me out. It’s just not any guy, it’s our best friend. I don’t know when it happened or why it happened, but it did.
Poppy walks in wearing a floral-print dress, a pink statement necklace, and lace wedges. Her dark brown hair is in the perfect sock bun.
“Hey, babe, you look hot,” I say as she wraps me in a hug.
“Thanks,” she says, letting go and doing a little twirl. “Why aren’t you dressed yet?” She plops down on my bed.
I breathe out. “Nothing seems good enough.” I move the clothes around in my closet.
“Why? It’s just the bonfire. We go every year.”
“We’re about to be juniors and I don’t have a boyfriend. The whole school will be there. I can’t show up looking lame.”
“Since when do you want a boyfriend?”
Since I figured out I want Jace Jackson.
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is I have nothing to wear.”
“You literally have triple the clothes I have. Anything you wear will be fine.” I’m not sure she’s right. I’m full of nerves. I know I need to tell him and her, but what if I mess everything up? The three of us are a trio—a packaged deal.
Grabbing both of my options, I flip around, so she can see them. “Should I wear this peplum top with the aqua bubble necklace or this lace top with the white bubble necklace?” I ask, trying to distract myself.
“Definitely the peplum top,” she says. “What shoes were you thinking?”
“My gladiator sandals?”
“Perfect,” she squeaks. “Jace said he could drive, so he should be over soon.” She looks down at the Michael Kors watch Beau gave her for her birthday. My stomach fills with butterflies at the thought of Jace. I fight the urge to tell Poppy about my plan and quickly get dressed.
“Girls, Jace is here,” my dad yells from downstairs.
“One second,” I call back, running my straightener through my hair one more time before unplugging it. I pause in front of my floor length mirror. Poppy joins me and we pose for a quick mirror selfie before heading downstairs to where Jace and my dad stand by the front door.
Jace looks so good tonight. He’s in a pair of dark jeans, white sneakers, and a T-shirt that reads, “Well, This is Hawkward.” I laugh to myself when I read his shirt. His short dark hair is styled perfectly. As we step off the last step, he brings his camera to his eye and captures a picture of the two of us.
“Y’all ready to go?” he asks.
“Yep,” Poppy says, walking by him and out of the house. His ocean blue eyes find mine and his face erupts into a big smile, making my heart start to beat faster.
“You look beautiful, pixie,” he says.
“Thanks.” I feel my cheeks heat. “I like your shirt.”
“You might be the only one.” Embarrassment laces his words.
“It’s because no one else is as fun as us.” He smiles and I want to melt right there on the entryway floor.
“Alright, Jace, have the girls home no later than midnight,” my dad lectures. “And no drinking and driving.”
“You got it, Mr. Sims.”
“Bye, Dad.”
We walk out the door and when we make it to his Jeep, Poppy is already riding shotgun. I climb into the back and he cranks the engine. The ride to Beau’s isn’t very long and Macklemore blares through the speakers. The wind rips through the vehicle as we drive down a back road. I can’t stop fidgeting and my palms are so sweaty. Shit, I need to calm down.
He turns onto a driveway lined with cars and parks. Poppy jumps down and yells something about finding Beau. Jace swings my door open and helps me out of the Jeep.
“Want to take a walk?” he asks.
“A walk? You don’t want to go to the party?”
“You know this isn’t my thing. I can’t stand Beau or his friends. I don’t know what Poppy sees in him.”
“She always sees the best in people and thinks they can change. I tried telling her he’s still the same asshole he was when we were kids, but she swears he’s different now.”
“I don’t trust him,” he says.
“I don’t either, but I trust her.”
I follow him around the front of the house. Beau’s family owns a bunch of property perfect for a bonfire. They don’t have neighbors, so we can essentially do whatever we want out here and no one will ever know, especially since Beau’s parents are never home. The house is enormous—a giant monument erected in the middle of a perfectly manicured lawn, reminding everyone of how much money they have. In their front yard, a huge oak tree sits next to a small pond.
“Let’s swing,” I say, taking off toward the wooden swing hanging from one of its limbs.
“Wait up,” he yells.
I sit down on the swing and feel him walk up behind me. I consider telling him how I’m feeling, but then he puts his hands on my back and begins to push me gently. My brain scrambles and my breath hitches with his touch.
“I can’t believe school is already starting back next week. I’m so not looking forward to having Ms. Norris for homeroom. I think she actually takes it seriously,” I spit out.
He doesn’t respond and I feel myself begin to still. His hands are no longer on my back and when I look over my shoulder he’s backing away from me.
“You okay?” I ask.
“Did you know you’re my favorite person?” he asks softly, looking into my eyes. He moves to the tree and sits with his back against the trunk.
“You’re one of my favorite people, too, J,” I say, jumping down and walking towards him. “What made you tell me that?”
“I’ve just been thinking a lot lately. You’re the only person I can be myself around. You don’t mind when I go quiet.”
“Yeah because sometimes I need the quiet too.” I sit down next to him and give him a little nudge with my elbow. On the outside I’m trying to stay cool, calm, and collected, but on the inside butterflies are swarming my stomach and my heart rate is beginning to pick up its pace.
“I know you do. I guess what I’m trying to say is. Damn, I’m more—” he cuts himself off.
“You’re freaking me out. What is it?” I ask. He grabs both of my hands and looks me deep in my eyes. The light of the sun is barely visible above the horizon. The faint glow of lightning bugs is beginning to show in the distance. It’s only him and me. Poppy and the rest of the party are in the backyard, nowhere nearby. I squeeze his hands encouraging him to continue.
“Lacey, you’re my best friend in the entire world. I’m about to start my senior year and I don’t know where life will bring me after that and when I look back on high school, I don’t want to have any regrets.”
“Okay.” I try to remain calm, but I’m pretty sure the butterflies in my stomach are doing a full out acrobatic routine.
“And I guess I wanted to tell you that you mean more to me than anyone else ever has and I think I’ve known for a really long time that I love you.”
“I know you love me,” I joke.
“No, I don’t love you like I love Poppy. I love you like if I have to wait another minute to tell you how I really feel my heart might burst out of my chest. I love you like you are the one person in the world I was meant to be with.” Words keep pouring out of his mouth and I’m frozen. He looks at me like I’m the only girl he’s ever seen and my heart is beating so rapidly, I think it might burst. “And I know we’re best friends, but isn’t that what people say? That you should be friends first. And well I’ve known you my whole life and I want to give us a shot. I want to see if we could be more than friends because I love you.” He’s smiling now. “Gosh, I’m sorry I keep saying it, but it’s true and I’ve just waited so long to tell you and?—”
“Hey, Jace?”
“Yeah?”
“Will you kiss me?”
“You sure?”
“I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life.”
He pulls me onto his lap so we’re facing one another. He moves a strand of loose hair behind my ear and then cups both of my cheeks with his hands. Our lips find each other in an instant.
Kissing Jace Jackson is everything I dreamed it would be and more. It’s the type of kiss you read about in fairytales. It’s my past, present, and future, and I know the minute it happens nothing will ever compare.