Piper
A week later, I meet Henry at Clementine’s for late-afternoon acai bowls. He’s scored a spot by the window, and he’s waiting with spoons and napkins and bottles of water.
He stands as I near the table. I rise onto my toes to kiss him.
“I ordered,” he says. “I got you a Sunrise Bowl, but it’s not too late to switch if you want something else.”
“Nope, that’s perfect.”
“You’re all dressed up,” he says, taking in my outfit: black cigarette pants with Mary Janes and an emerald tie-front shirt on loan from Tati. He looks uncertainly at his frayed-hem shorts and faded T-shirt. “Should I have worn something nicer?”
I swat his arm. “You always look good.”
“So do you,” he says, tucking a curl behind my ear.
The guy behind the counter catches his attention; our bowls are ready. I take a seat while Henry goes to the counter to get them. Then he slides into the booth beside me.
“What’d you do today?” I ask, mixing granola into my blended acai.
“Golfed with my dad.” He grins. “I beat him.”
“No way! Was he grumpy after?” I’ve never actually seen Davis grumpy, but I know he’s competitive. Unsurprisingly, I can relate. Losing makes me super irritable.
“Nah. We had a good time. I know it’s only been a week, but I swear I can see a change in him. It’s like his skin fits him better.”
I smile. “That’s amazing.”
“Yeah,” Henry says, scooping up a banana slice. “He’s excited to have you on at the restaurant.”
“I can’t wait to start.”
Davis has hired me as a hostess. They had an opening, and after getting Tati’s blessing, I ran the idea by him the other night while I was eating takeout with Henry at their place.
“We’d be lucky to have you,” he said. “When can you start?”
I’m not sure if Davis and Tati will ever get back together, but I wouldn’t mind if they did.
“You want to guess what I did before I came here?” Henry asks, twisting the top off a bottle of water.
“Hmm…went on a run? Read something enriching? Took an SAT practice test?”
“Wrong, wrong, wrong.” He smiles broadly, drawing out the suspense. He clears his throat. “I registered for classes at Sugar Bay High.”
I knew he was planning to, but senior year with Henry didn’t feel real until this moment. He’s going to live in Sugar Bay. He’s going to start school with me in a few weeks. We get a whole year together. And after that, maybe more.
I drop my spoon, sandwich his face between my hands, and lay a kiss on him.
He laughs, then eclipses my kiss with one that’s softer and sweeter, his warm hands coming up to take mine. “You’re happy?”
“I’m ecstatic.”
“Me too.” He pulls me into a hug.
I press my lips to his neck, beyond grateful that we reconnected this summer.
I can hardly remember life before him.
He lets me go and hands me my spoon, nudging my snack closer. After a couple of bites, he asks, “What’d you do today?”
“I went to Gabi’s this morning. Her dad made a big breakfast—biscuits and gravy, grits, and sweet milk waffles, and then I helped her pick a dress for the concert she’s giving in Tallahassee next month. It took forever. She likes to look as perfect as she sounds. And she will, of course.”
Henry grins. “I’m glad things are good between you two. Your face…your whole demeanor…you’re an incandescent bulb. Or, like, a star. Polaris! Brightest star in Ursa Minor.”
I bump his shoulder with mine, laughing. “You’re such a nerd. But yeah, I had a good morning. At least until…” I wrinkle my nose, reluctant to talk about the appointment I sat through after leaving Gabi’s. But I’m working on being more open. Especially with Henry.
I draw in a breath and tell him, “Tati took me to consult with an attorney. She wanted advice on filing for a restraining order. She doesn’t want Damon anywhere near me. One of the rare topics we agree on.”
“Shit,” Henry says, resting a comforting hand on my leg. “I’m right there with you guys. Are you gonna do it?”
“I think so. It’ll be tricky because we go to the same school.
No judge is going to deny him his right to education.
But it’s not impossible, so long as Sugar Bay High cooperates.
He’s been harassing me and causing me”—I throw up air quotes, because this is a phrase Tati has taken directly from Florida code—“substantial emotional distress. Basically, he makes me fear for my safety, and that’s illegal. Also, it really sucks.”
“Yeah. Understatement of the fucking century.”
Fondness bubbles up within me. He was right—since Gabi and I made up, since my sister and I had our heart-to-heart, since he decided to stay in Florida, since I established a future to work toward, my outlook has been so much brighter.
Lately, life feels too good to be true. A tiny part of me is afraid it’s only a matter of time before my joy is snatched away.
Who am I to deserve such unbridled happiness?
When I mentioned my worries to Tati in the car earlier, she smiled and said, “Life is highs and lows, Piper. It’s not always going to feel this perfect, so soak it up.”
I’m doing my best.
I turn a grin on Henry. “Want to know what I love about you?”
His cheeks go pink at the word love, I think. He swallows and says, “I absolutely do.”
“I love how you look all upstanding and respectable, how your vocabulary is, like, double mine, how you’re so thoughtful and gentlemanly—standing when I walk into a room, ordering treats for me—and yet you drop the most perfectly placed f-bombs like it’s nothing.”
He bursts out laughing. “You really love that?”
“I really do.”
His gaze catches mine and holds tight. “You know what I love about you?”
I shrug. “Probably everything.”
He swoops down to kiss my cheek, then whispers in my ear, “That’s exactly right.”