Chapter Twenty-Six
“This is way better than prom.” Daisy had her bare feet propped on my car’s dash, a trail of In-N-Out special sauce dribbling down her chin.
I drove us to the lot for one of the local trails.
The parking area overlooked Harlow and the lower desert, all glowing with twinkly street lights and the steady flow of headlights.
“Agreed. Definitely better.”
“Sure you wouldn’t rather be in a room with the senior class, sweating to the latest top forty hits?” she asked.
“It’s all part of the high school experience.”
She rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe I said that.”
At the last minute, Daisy’s date dumped her and took someone else. The jerk. Who would do something like that, and to Daisy Johnson?
Mrs. Johnson had called to say Daisy wouldn’t be joining in the stretch limo our friend group had rented. I had no idea what she was talking about—I hadn’t planned on going to prom.
“That’s weird, I thought she mentioned that,” Daisy’s mom said over the phone, her tone especially upbeat.
So one guy’s idiocy became a chance to show up for Daze.
But more than that…I didn’t want our upcoming summer to fly by without being honest with her.
I was in love with my best friend. I had been for a long time, and the feelings never went away.
The deadline of college starting in the fall made me bold enough to want to say something, because otherwise, I’d run out of chances to tell her the truth.
Daisy’s cheeks sparkled in the moonlight.
She had her hair done in a half-up, half-down style, shimmery makeup flashing on her eyelids, and a pretty dress that was cut lower than the worn-in band T-shirts she usually wore.
Knowing that she got all done up for a night with me made it extra special, like an actual date.
“You look beautiful,” I said.
“Thanks. You, uh, you clean up real nice too. You should consider tuxes more often.”
“Yeah?” I inspected my tuxedo—the only one that came close to fitting, and it was still two inches too short. “I’ll admit, I’m feeling very James Bond…who hasn’t found a reliable tailor yet.”
“No, you look good. There’s something about seeing a guy in a tux that’s…” She trailed off, concentrating on the line of ketchup she was drawing on a french fry. “Really hot.”
Our eyes snagged over the center console, but I couldn’t tell if she was blushing or not. Did she mean hot in general or that I looked hot?
“So.” Daisy said, crumpling the wrapper from her burger. “Michelin-star meal.”
“Check.”
“Some damn fine views.”
“Check.”
“No dancing, though.” She tucked some strands of hair behind her ear. “There should be dancing.”
“I think Dua Lipa will have a different vibe out here.”
She laughed, and the sound was a sparkler in my chest. “I mean slow dancing.”
Right. I fumbled with my phone to find something to play. My reception was terrible, so I’d have to select a song from my library. After a few seconds of scrolling, I found something perfect.
“Oh, I love this one,” Daisy said, as if I didn’t already know.
The otherworldly vocals for Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You” came in. I exited the car and hustled to the passenger door, holding out my hand with a flourish. “Daisy Johnson, would you like to dance with me?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” she said, giggling and linking her fingers with mine.
This was my chance. After swaying stiffly a couple of times, I found more confidence and relaxed my arms around her, bringing her closer. This was better than I had ever dreamed. Daisy closed in, letting my fingertips meet on her lower back. She smelled incredible.
“Los Angeles is far,” she whispered.
“We’ll see each other all the time.” We would; I would make sure of it. I pulled back and searched her eyes. “I’ll be in Harlow on weekends and holidays. You can visit me anytime.”
“Mhmm.” She started playing with some errant strands of my hair, something she’d never done before. The newness of the gesture had me floating.
“What’s it like being so good at something?” she asked. We’d had this conversation a lot recently.
“You’re good at all sorts of things. You’re passionate, you’re friendly, you’re a great listener.”
“I can’t get a career with that.” She sighed, leaning into my shoulder, and I ran my thumb across the bare skin of her back. “I’m not like you with art. I don’t know what to do next.”
Daisy liked nature and animals, but she hadn’t found her calling.
Her grades didn’t win her a scholarship anywhere, so she enrolled part-time at the community college to give her a couple of semesters to figure things out.
It bothered her endlessly, but to me, she was exactly who she needed to be.
She was just Daisy, and that was more than enough. That was everything.
She wouldn’t stop comparing her path to my arts program in LA with a partial scholarship, though.
I actually hadn’t sent in my deposit yet.
There was a long shot of an opportunity in Dublin, but my hopes dwindled each day.
The chances were so low, I didn’t tell Daisy I applied.
She’d always told me to dream big—that my talent would take me far…
but I didn’t know what she’d think about a Europe kind of far.
“I’m glad you’re here, Max,” she whispered. “I’m glad I’m here with you.”
My body became lighter from her words. “Daze, I…”
She looked up, and her gaze settled on my lips. She leaned in impossibly close, and our back-and-forth swaying stalled. We shared a few shallow breaths, and I nudged my nose with hers, nervous and elated out of my mind.
This wasn’t in my head. This wasn’t one-sided.
A set of car headlights blinded us, squashing the moment. We both recoiled and shielded our eyes as a Jeep pulled up, the window rolled down.
“Park’s closed,” the ranger said, oblivious to what she interrupted. “I’m gonna have to ask you two to leave.”
Something switched in Daisy, and she pulled back, refusing to meet my eyes.
My insides sank. Daisy was pulling away in real time, and I knew that if I pushed her, she’d only retreat more.
I’d gotten close to her—closer than ever before.
Maybe with a little patience, we could get there.
This could be our best summer ever, if I only found the right moment.