Chapter 33
BEFORE
May, Ten Years Ago
The day after Jackson and I got caught kissing by Julie, I woke up with a smile on my face. Jackson Delvecchio loved me. I didn’t have to pretend I didn’t have feelings for him anymore. I could touch him whenever I wanted, and he would touch me back. We didn’t have to play games anymore.
I drove to graduation with a smile still stuck on my face. I had splurged on a knee-length white dress with a scoop neck and spaghetti straps, and, per usual, paired it with my high-top black Converse with the embroidered sides. I wore my hair natural and pin-straight, and put on blush and mascara.
I took my seat in the auditorium while we got ready to go outside to the football field for the commencement. I looked around, but couldn’t find Jackson among the sea of bodies.
Everyone was talking, the excitement of being done with high school swirling around the room. I felt it in my chest, too; I was done with this school. Jackson and I were together, and in just two short months, it would be just the two of us. Wherever we wanted to be, touching whenever we wanted.
I still didn’t spot him when we walked out to the field, but when I searched the crowd for his family, I found them right in the first row, waving at me, so I knew he had to be here somewhere.
The ceremony was humid, and at one point I unzipped my gown and slid off my shoes to cool myself down.
The speeches were a blur, because I wasn’t paying attention to anything that was being said.
All I could think of was Jackson’s voice in my head.
Tell me you want me, too, Addie. You want me, too, right?
A shiver ran through me; he was the only thing I wanted.
I slid back into my shoes and carried my gown to the stage while I waited for my name to be called.
I zipped up my gown at the last second, walking across the stage as “Addison Bianchi” was announced into the microphone.
I could hear Julie’s screams and Phil’s loud whistle coming from the bleachers.
Someone yelled my name, and I knew it was Jackson, somewhere in the rows of chairs on the football field.
I watched Jackson accept his diploma on the stage sometime after me, and I clapped along with his family’s screams, even though he couldn’t see where I was sitting on the field. I tried to see what row he was in when he walked down the stage, but I lost him again in the mix of students.
When they finished announcing names, we switched our tassels from one side of our cap to the other. I was bouncing with energy; I couldn’t wait to get this thing off. I was done, and I wanted to go find Jackson.
As soon as we threw our caps in the air, it started to drizzle. Not a full-on rain, but a drop here and there. One on my cheek, one against my arm. I looked around the crowd for Jackson as people passed in a flurry around me, looking for their hats and friends, attempting to take pictures.
When we finally found each other and Jackson’s eyes met mine, I felt like we were in a movie. The perfect moment when the lovers finally lock eyes and run toward each other for their happy ending.
I started to head for him, and he broke out into a run, crashing into me and wrapping his arms around me. He spun me in a circle, and it felt so good to have him hold me like this. To not care about anything else except this moment with him.
He walked off the field with me on his back, finding his family and taking a few photos until the rain started to get heavier.
His parents said they’d meet us at the house and we took off in a run toward his car, using our diplomas to cover our heads.
I never went to look for my cap. I didn’t care about it in the slightest.
Jackson’s hand was in mine as we ran together, and I wasn’t even thinking about the fact that we had driven separately to the ceremony. I couldn’t let go of this boy’s hand—not when I had waited years to hold it.
We jumped into the truck, and Jackson immediately pulled me in for a kiss, his skin wet from the rain. My hair dripped onto the seats, and his was plastered to his forehead.
“I love that I can touch you now,” he said against my lips.
I pushed the fabric of his damp shirt to the side so his collarbone freckle was exposed, then I leaned forward to kiss it. “I’ve been obsessed with this freckle for years,” I admitted.
He grabbed both sides of my face before kissing me hard again.
“You’re beautiful,” he said against my lips. “I’ve been obsessed with you for years.”
We kissed for a few more minutes as the rain pattered against the top of his truck. It was perfect—this truck, and this moment, and this boy.
When Jackson pulled away from me, he put a lock of my hair behind my ear.
“We should probably act normal in front of my parents until the end of summer,” Jackson said sadly.
I nodded my head in agreement. I didn’t want to cause a problem at the restaurant, not after all the family had done for me over the years.
“No touching,” I said with a goofy grin, putting Jackson’s hands back on the steering wheel. He laughed before putting the car into drive.
On the way back to the house, “When It Rains” by Paramore was playing, but I decided not to take it as a bad omen.