May 30th
Powerful things.
Ainsley
“Today was fun,” I tell Damon. “But I’m so full and kinda worn out.”
“Getting up at the crack of dawn didn’t help, but I’m really glad you came fishing. You got to spend time with my grandpa. He told me tonight that you’re a real catch.”
“Like reeling in a catch?” I ask with a laugh.
“I think that’s grandpa talk for you’re a hottie . I totally agree with him, by the way.”
“Well, thank you.”
“So, the fireworks are fixing to start shortly. Chase and Dani like to lie on the boathouse’s roof to watch them. Haley and Daine snagged the two swinging chairs. But I’m okay with that because there’s somewhere we still need to go.”
“Aren’t you getting tired of revisiting all the places where I was a pain in the ass?”
“Not when that ass was naked,” he says with a grin. “ Come on. We need to hurry.”
He takes my hand and walks fast to the driveway.
“Are we taking the golf cart?”
“We are,” he says.
We hop in and take off.
“I see that you have a cooler back there.”
“Oh, yeah, I stocked it with water bottles earlier.”
“What? No champagne?”
“With the way I ate tonight?” He turns to look at me. “Wait, do you want to go back and get some?”
“No. I was just teasing you. Where are we going?”
“Out into the woods again,” he tells me.
And when the building where the cocktail hour was held comes in view, I realize where we must be going. “The glass houses?” I ask him.
“Yeah, you wanted to lie in the grass and look at the stars. Kind of a similar vibe to you wanting to spend the night in the dirt. Same situation. I didn’t want to deal with bugs, so I brought you here.
I noticed the stars at the reception, and I assumed without the twinkle lights on, we’d see even more. ”
He grabs a bag and the cooler from the back of the cart and carries them inside.
I hear the whiz of the first firework being launched into the sky.
He takes a comforter out of the bag, hands it to me, and says, “Can you spread this out on the floor?”
“Hmm,” I say, surveying the area. “What do you think about pushing a few tables together and lying on top of them?”
“Good idea,” he says. “We’ll be closer to the view.”
We make quick work of it and then lie down as fireworks explode in the sky.
“The gold ones are always my favorite,” I say, doing a little clap as they shimmer, then fall toward the land.
“I think you actually share my love of fireworks,” he says, studying me. “Your eyes are bright. That little clap. Your grin.”
“Doesn’t everyone love fireworks? I’m pretty sure there’s some magic involved in them. But you should be watching them, not me.”
“Can’t help it. I’m captivated by you.”
I swat at him. “I swear, you have all the lines.”
“They aren’t lines when they’re true. They are thoughts. Feelings.”
More fireworks boom, and the sky is lit by colors.
And while I’ve managed to get him to focus, now I find myself staring at him, watching the show unfold as reflections in his eyes.
“Kiss me,” I tell him.
“You don’t have to ask twice,” he says, turning his head and pressing his lips against mine.
I’m rewarded with the kind of kiss that makes me feel like I’m a firework. A flash of color while he kisses me and a sky of darkness when he stops.
“This is quite the show,” he comments. “It seems bigger than the last few years. I wonder if it’s just for us.”
“I don’t think so. They said they were using our stay to iron out the wrinkles in everything. I assume this is the new and improved show.”
And when a whole bunch launch up into the sky and start exploding, we’re even more impressed by the long finale.
“That was amazing. We need to remember to tell Uncle Tripp that,” I say.
“For sure. And now we can do what we came to do—look at the stars.”
He holds my hand tightly in his, and I can’t help but sigh in happiness.
“Hey, Ainsley,” Damon whispers in my ear.
Which causes me to jump. “Ohmigosh, did I fall asleep?”
“Yep. Just like you did that night. And just for a few minutes—okay, maybe it’s been, like, an hour.”
“An hour. What did you do?”
“Watched you sleep,” he says.
“Shut up. You did not.”
“I did think you were cute. But mostly, I was matching up constellations in the sky with the app on my phone. See, there is the Big Dipper.”
“And the Little Dipper next to it,” I say.
“The app says those three bright stars over there are Orion’s Belt.”
“Oh, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that one before. Very cool. So, what did we do after I woke up from the nap?”
He laughs. “You rallied. Told me catnaps were powerful things.”
I laugh too. “I actually do say that, so I know you’re definitely not making that up.”
“I never could have made all that up,” he says, shaking his head and smiling at me. “So, now that you’ve seen the stars, would you like to go back to my room?”
“I wish I could, but tomorrow the family is supposed to be up at six to sing Willow ‘Happy Birthday.’ I don’t know why little kids get up so early, but they do. She’s expecting candles in her pancakes and for us to all sing to her.”
“Sounds like something my sisters would do. But your birthday is sort of like your very own Christmas morning. You can’t wait to celebrate, no matter how old you get.”
“Is Damon excited for his birffday?” I tease as we walk back to the golf cart.
“If you must know, yes. I mean, I’m turning eighteen. That’s a big day,” he says, his eyebrows raised and a smirk on his face.
“Yeah, it is,” I agree.
He walks me to the door, kisses me, slaps me on the butt, and wishes me a good night.