20. Summer 19
“How’d you find this place?” I ask Andrew as we waltz out of the pizzeria. “I’m pretty full, but if I was offered another pizza to eat right now, I wouldn’t hesitate to take it.”
“I think you forget I grew up at the lake. I went to high school ten to fifteen minutes away from here.” He explains, grabbing my hand as we begin aimlessly walking down the street. We still easily have another hour of light left.
“If that’s the case, why haven’t you taken me here sooner? You know how much I love pizza.”
He chuckles. “Yes, I do. I’ve wanted to take you here for years, but it felt weird to take my buddy out to a nicer restaurant like this.”
I don’t miss his reference to nearly two years ago. I’ve wanted to give him an explanation for so long that the words burst out of me. “I didn’t mean it the way it came across when I called you ‘buddy.’”
He raises his eyebrows. “How else am I supposed to interpret the word ‘buddy?’”
I groan. “I was seventeen. I’d never had a boyfriend before, and I panicked. Plus, you had just broken up with Angelina, and I didn’t know how to read you. I was worried I was reading the situation wrong and would screw everything up.”
He stops walking. “Never had a boyfriend? Past tense? You’ve had one? How did I not know?”
“I guess I still haven’t technically had a boyfriend. I’d been on a series of dates with a guy in high school. He was nice, but I didn’t feel the spark. I think I only had eyes for a certain someone.” I look up at him through my eyelashes and find my words had the exact effect I hoped for. He has eased up and started tugging me along to walk more. “Don’t dodge the topic, though. What happened with Angelina? Can I ask about that now?”
“Yeah, we can talk about it, but I thought you knew what happened.”
I shake my head vigorously. “Clearly I didn’t, or we would’ve been here much sooner.”
He tips his head in my direction as if to say fair point. “Do you remember that night with the tequila?”
“Oh gosh! Do I? A disastrous night like that gets imprinted into your memory.”
He laughs. “When you got sick that night and asked me to stay in the tent with you, all I wanted to do was curl up next to you and hold you, keep you safe. It was around then that I realized I didn’t want to go back to my tent with Angelina and that I wasn’t in love with her, nor was I ever going to be. I realized I cared for you as much more than just a friend.” He squeezes my hand. “I thought you felt the same way after everything that happened, but then you went and called me ‘buddy.’” He quickly adds, “I was going to break up with Angelina regardless of how you felt though. It wouldn’t have been fair to be in a relationship with her after realizing how much I cared for you.”
I tug him to sit down on the bench near us and look up at him with sorrow. “I’m sorry about that. I was an idiot, and had I been smoother, we could’ve figured things out so much sooner. Everything would’ve been easier.”
He’s already shaking his head in disagreement, and I’m taken aback. “Don’t apologize. Sure, it would’ve been great to figure things out back then, but I think we have both grown a lot since then too. Who knows if we would’ve been ready for each other at seventeen? Besides, tonight, and really this whole summer, is about the present moment and moving forward, not about looking back.”
I grin and squeeze his hand. “Okay, I can manage that. Do you want to keep walking for a bit?”
Andrew glances at the time on his phone and stands. “Yeah, we still have a little bit of time before the next part.”
I give him a quizzical look, but he brushes it off, determined to keep the mystery alive.
We continue walking further from the direction of the pizza place for a few minutes longer as he points out different landmarks from his childhood.
“Do you hear that?” I ask him, eagerness flourishing in my eyes.
He pauses to listen, his forehead creasing in concentration. “Hear what?”
“Listen closely! I think I hear music playing.”
“One of the restaurants probably has speakers outside. A lot of them do at this time of year,” he suggests.
I shake my head. “No, it sounds like a live band.”
I pull him toward the sound, the smile on my face growing with the volume of the music. Finally, we reach an open concrete area between two restaurants. There are lights strung overhead, and a band plays music at the front as people sit around, eating takeout while others dance freely.
I turn to Andrew with delight filling my face, just as he pulls me toward the band. “Will you dance with me? I’m not the best at it, but I’m better than the average guy.” He winks.
I swoon a little and just beam in response as I let him pull me onto the makeshift dance floor. The song that is playing is a little more upbeat, so we wind up doing a quick two-step. As the song winds down, he twirls me around and dips me on the last note.
He pulls me back up, and I find our faces inches apart. His hot breath brushes my lips. God, I want to kiss him so badly. I’ve wanted to for years, and now that I finally know how he feels, it’s nearly impossible to resist, but I know this isn’t our moment.
Another song begins, and this one is slower. Andrew moves both of his hands down to my waist and pulls me in closer. We make eye contact, and I can see he’s feeling the tension build between us too. He turns his head toward my shoulder, and I feel his soft lips graze my neck. Chills grow on my arms, despite the fact that it’s still easily seventy-five degrees outside right now.
“I planned this date so perfectly, but this right here was a happy little accident,” he admits.
“I’m glad it happened, and I’m glad we are finally going on a date. It was worth the wait.” I add, “You were worth the wait.”
I feel his breath hitch for a moment next to my ear. “You were too, Em. If I had the opportunity to do things over again, I wouldn’t change a single thing. I’d take the jab of being called ‘buddy’ again—” He nudges me playfully “—and deal with the screaming ache to kiss you every time I saw you for nearly two years all over again because it led me to this moment with you. I’d say this moment right now is pretty incredible.”
I nuzzle in closer to him as the song ends.
Andrew spins me around again just for the heck of it. Glancing up at the sky, he notes, “We better get going for part two.”
“I don’t suppose you’ll tell me what part two is?”
Humor fills his face. “Sure, I’ll tell you where we are going next, but that’s it, okay?”
I assess his face hesitantly, wondering what he’s up to. “Okay.”
He whisks me back toward the direction of the restaurant, where his truck is still sitting. “We are headed to the grocery store.”
I jerk my head back in surprise. “The grocery store? Is that code for something?”
He laughs. “Nope, I mean the grocery store. You’ll see.”
I glance at my phone while I wait in the truck. Andrew ran into the store and insisted I had to wait here. He said if I came in with him, it’d spoil the surprise.
I can’t help but think about how things would be different if Rebecca was still here. She probably would’ve already sent me five texts during dinner asking for an update, and I’d have two more since then about how best friends shouldn’t keep things from each other, even though the only reason she wouldn’t have heard anything yet is because I’m having a good time and want to be polite on my date.
To my surprise, I have a text from Dani.
Dani
Hey sis! Thinking of you and hoping you’re having a good time on your date. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do ;)
Me
Having a really good time. Too late… I already ate pineapple on my pizza. Whoops!
She responds immediately.
The horror! And apparently you also text on dates. Strike 2! Get back to Andrew xo
I glance out the window, wondering if Andrew is headed back yet. I don’t see him.
Andrew ran into the store for some surprise that I can’t see so I’m waiting
I see dots pop up on the screen and then disappear. I’m about to text her again when the doors unlock, and Andrew tosses a bag in the back seat. “No cheating. You can’t look at what’s in the bag. Promise?”
I scoff. “Why are you being so secretive? This better be good after the way you’ve hyped this up.”
His eyes meet mine, and I can see he’s being serious again. “It’ll be good.”
He pulls out of the parking lot, and in a matter of minutes, we are driving down a dirt road with no streetlights. The sun still hasn’t gone down, but there’s an orange glow beginning to tinge the sky.
“Oh my gosh! You’re going to murder me! That’s why you’ve been so secretive.” I glance toward the mystery bag sitting in the backseat of the truck. “You stopped at the grocery store to get supplies!”
“Yes, because the mini-mart is famous for selling murder weapons,” Andrew deadpans. “We are almost there. Just be patient.”
I can’t sit still. I’m glancing back and forth from the left to the right side of the road and back to the left side again, trying desperately to find something I recognize and get some inkling of an idea of what we are going to do.
Andrew brings the truck to a stop, and rushes out, throwing the rear door open and grabbing the grocery sack before saying, “Give me two minutes, and then you’ll understand everything.”
I don’t even get the chance to acknowledge his words before he’s hustling to the back of his truck, pulling the cover off his truck bed. I hear a lot of rustling around and then I begin to see little specks of light lining the back of his truck. What is he up to?
Andrew comes around to my door and opens it, holding out a bandanna. “What’s that for?” I ask, pointing to it.
He pushes it toward my face. “It’s a blindfold.”
“What do you need a blindfold?—”
“Just trust me, Em,” he sighs, grabbing my hand and helping me out of the truck, then tying the bandanna to cover my eyes.
He walks me several feet along the length of the truck, and then his hands grip my waist to hoist me up and set me down on what feels like the tailgate. I let out a little shriek in surprise.
I hear him jump up next to me, and then he says, “Alright, you can take the blindfold off now.”
He helps with the knot tied on the back of my head. When I finally see, I affirm I am in fact sitting on the tailgate, facing away from the truck.
I turn toward Andrew and see the pride radiating off of him. It melts my heart. He reminds me of a puppy sitting for his owner so he can get a treat, so innocent and excited.
I take in the scene around us. We are in a field that looks to be in the middle of nowhere. I catch a glimpse of the lights I saw earlier and turn to look at the truck bed behind me. It’s filled with pillows and blankets, with a tub of chocolate fudge brownie ice cream seated perfectly against the pillows. Small tea lights are lining the truck bed. It’s gorgeous. It’s simple, and it’s perfectly planned for me. I couldn’t ask for a better date set up.
I open my mouth to say something to Andrew, but I’m speechless. This is so romantic, and I’ve never had someone put so much thought and time into something for me like he did.
“Oh wait! I almost forgot…” He trails off as he pulls his phone out and presses a few buttons. A speaker at the edge of the truck bed begins playing music.
I stammer, “I—I can’t believe…you did this all for me? How did you plan this in less than twenty-four hours?”
He smirks. “I’ve had a lot longer than that to plan this one out. Do you remember when I took you into town for books and ice cream after you tried wakeboarding?”
“It was an amazing day, books and ice cream in one trip!” I reply.
“I remember you saying your perfect first date would involve getting pizza and a romantic gesture that shows thought and personalization to you. In a way, you planned this date out for us when you were fifteen, but I came up with the grand gesture idea last summer after that night under the stars. I saw how mesmerized you were by them, and we didn’t even do things the right way, so we are doing it right now.”
“You’re incredible,” I tell him. “I still can’t believe all of this.”
“We better eat the ice cream before it melts,” Andrew insists, popping the lid off and grabbing two spoons from who knows where.
I happily dig into the tub of chocolatey heaven. Andrew follows suit.
“I know the stars aren’t out yet, but they should be by the time we finish the ice cream,” Andrew explains. “This is probably the best place to see them. There are no trees nearby to block the view, and there’s no lights anywhere nearby to dull the shine.”
“How did you find this place?”
He chuckles. “This was a pretty popular place to come hang out and drink in high school. I like this use for it a thousand times better though.”
“Me too.” I smile softly and lean my head against him.
He wraps an arm around my shoulders, and I love the feeling of being wrapped up in his arms. He’s solid but cozy, like being wrapped up in your favorite blanket, only better.
The stars begin to come out as faint freckles of lights in the distance. “I hope you don’t mind we missed the sunset,” Andrew says as he licks his spoon clean. “I just couldn’t bring myself to start us with any kind of ending, no matter how beautiful.”
“What do you call this?” I ask, gesturing to the sky. “The night isn’t the end of the day?”
He shakes his head vigorously. “No, we are watching the night just begin to unfold. Isn’t it lovely?”
I can’t help but wonder how I got here. When I woke up yesterday, Andrew and I were just friends, and somehow that changed so quickly. Now, we are here on a date. I’ve been dreaming about this for years! I know I haven’t been on that many dates, but even if I had, there’s no competition. This is the best date I’ve ever been on, and we haven’t even kissed yet.
Andrew holds out the tub to me, offering me the last bite. I gleefully take it, and the urge to kiss him for that simple gesture nearly wins out.
“Thank you, Andrew. For all of it. The pizza, the grand gesture, the ice cream…this is easily the best date ever.”
He grins. “I’m glad you like it.”
He takes the empty carton from me and sets it aside, pulling me back to lean against the pillows and be able to take the stars in. They’re very prominent at this point, shining with a brilliant radiance.
“Do you know any constellations?” I ask him.
“Do the Big Dipper and Little Dipper count?” he asks me with a self-deprecating chuckle.
“I suppose they do.”
“Do you know more? Will you show me?” he urges.
“I only know a couple more than that. My grandpa was interested in astronomy and started to teach me before he passed.” I point up at the sky, tracing with my fingers. “Do you see those five stars that kind of look like a slightly crooked drawing of a house?” I look to him for reassurance. “That’s Cepheus.”
I watch the childlike amusement in his eyes with adoration. “Where’d that name come from?”
“Cepheus was some king. He was married to Cassiopeia, whose father was Andromeda. Both of them are also constellations,” I tutor.
“Dang. How do we get a constellation named after us?” he teases.
“Maybe you can start by becoming a king.”
His eyes grow round. “I didn’t realize those were the stakes. I’m only a knight who’s trying to get a princess to realize I’m the one for her.”
“Well, it’s working,” I turn toward him.
Our faces are so close as we both lie there, motionless. This is your moment! I scream to myself, but I’m frozen.
It’s not like Andrew is my first kiss. I wish he was because it would be so much more poetic than my bumbling first kiss with that boy from high school who was only with me for the sake of being with someone. Even without this being my first time, I feel incredibly nervous. This is Andrew after all. I’ve wanted to kiss him for years. I’ve already messed things up in the past, and I don’t want to do it again.
I catch him watching me intently. “You’re overthinking things, aren’t you?” he asks, running his pointer finger along my jaw.
When his finger reaches my chin, he pulls it in slightly, and then we are kissing. It’s amazing. His lips are soft and full, and our tongues dance together.
We break apart for a moment, and our gazes meet again. There’s a pause, and then he’s pulling me back in.
When we separate, he speaks first. “Sorry, I wasn’t ready for that to be over yet.”
The hummingbirds with their rapidly flapping wings are back, but they begin to ease quickly because this is all starting to feel natural, meant to be.