How One Attempts to Chase Gravity E-Book

Nicole Campbell

• Herausgeber: Next Chapter
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Ethan Fisher is going to college.

He knows he'll run into Courtney eventually, and is determined to get another chance to be the man she thought he was. If it's possible for her to speak to him without throwing her coffee in his face.

Ethan is willing to take his chances, hoping that the infatuation of their summer love can hold up in the real world.

Courtney Ross feels like she just stepped out of a time machine. She thought going away to college involved some sort of growing up.

Is she ready to forgive and forget?

Leseprobe

How One Attempts To Chase Gravity

Gem City Book 3

Nicole Campbell

Copyright (C) 2015 Nicole Campbell

Layout design and Copyright (C) 2019 by Next Chapter

Published 2019 by Next Chapter

Cover art by CoverMint

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the author's permission.

For my readers who fell in love with Ethan and Courtney. Your feedback, comments, and, sometimes, downright obsession have made this story into what it was supposed to be.

Thank You.

Prologue

“Magic's In The Makeup” – No Doubt

The feeling rolling around in Courtney's stomach as she read the letter for the third time could not decide if it was angry, nostalgic, or really, really sad.

Courtney,

I know how you feel about handwritten letters, so I hope this one is legible. Anyway, I wanted you to get something other than bills or junk in your mailbox when you first moved in. I wanted to cheer you up from the last time we talked. Thinking about you being as sad as I am makes me feel even sadder. Sorry I didn't try to use a synonym, sad was all I could think of.

I know we both said we would try not to make this harder on each other, so that's all I will say. I hope you have all of your pens organized and that you and Vanessa are having fun. Tell her I said hi.

Know you can call, Court.

Miss you,

Ben

Well…there's that. Not making things harder at all. A vision of Ben's easy smile floated into her mind, and the guilt sank like a rock from her chest to her stomach, when the actual scene set before her was a newly organized desk with Train tickets for that weekend sitting prominently on top. She slid the letter and the tickets into a drawer in order to make the solid adult decision to, well, ignore it, for the time being.

1

“Magic's In The Makeup” – No Doubt

After the literal fourteenth outfit she put on, Courtney was near tears and giving up ever walking out the door. Vanessa stormed in moments later after pretend knocking.

“What happened in here?” V asked in disbelief at the state of the room.

“This is the product of the universe knowing it is a terrible idea for me to go to this concert.” She took a deep breath, fully understanding that she was being ridiculous.

“To go to the concert or to go backstage and hook up with Fisher in some rock star's dressing room?”

“Does that even exist? Like, dressing rooms backstage? That seems fictional… But completely beside the point- I'm not hooking up with him, I've informed you of my stance on this.”

“Yeah, you sound all sure of yourself in our kitchen. When he's not there.”

“Whatever,” she retorted, refusing to admit her friend's point. She went back to the closet for yet another try, and picked out a cream-colored lace sundress with a sweetheart neckline. While it was fancier than something she'd typically wear to a concert, it made her feel a little bit like a fairy, so it was deemed a winner. She and Vanessa were in the car fifteen minutes later.

“This dress is too much isn't it?”

“Oh. My. God. If you say one more thing about the dress, I am going to freaking lose it. You look fierce. Maybe if you'd just admit that you are having some sort of mental breakdown about seeing Fisher, all of your craziness would die down just a little. So try that.”

Courtney exhaled. “Ok. I am having an absolutely freaking meltdown about seeing him.” She didn't think it was helping. She felt even crazier than before, like she was introducing herself at an AA meeting.

“Because…”

“Because I don't know what will happen. I like knowing what's going to happen.”

“That's boring. Can't you just embrace it? I love not knowing what's going to happen. Reason three on the list of why I broke up with Luke. Too predictable.”

“You think Luke is predictable?”

“No, just our relationship was predictable. I want something exciting. And so should you. You're not attached anymore, Ben is in California, for Christ's sake. Ethan is… well, you know I hate to admit it, but he's beautiful. So just chill. Hook up, don't hook up, do whatever you gotta do, but for the love of all that is holy, will you just. Calm. Down?”

“I'll try,” Courtney mumbled, knowing that was a near impossibility. The parking situation only increased her stress. Living and driving in a city she hadn't resided in for six years was nerve-wracking. They finally made it to their seats and the energy from the crowd helped to improve her mood. You're going to freaking see Train, she reminded herself, and she was going to be able to do it backstage if she wanted. They were there early, and her mind couldn't help but wander to Ethan and how he was faring, knowing he was about to perform.

2

“Lover of the Light” – Mumford and Sons “For Me, It's You” – Train “We'll Pick Up Where We Left Off” – OAR “Learning to Love Again” – Mat Kearney

His shoes squeaked on the sealed cement floor of Crawford's apartment while he paced. They were set to leave in less than thirty minutes, and his mind was racing. They were opening for Train. At the Riverbend Music Center. In front of a lot of freaking people. It would be great exposure for them, and he and Brian had been working tirelessly at designing a banner and getting t-shirts and other promos ready to go for weeks. The radio station was taking care of their merch sales as part of the contest win, and the thought of having his music out there for that many new people in one night was making him antsy. In a good way.

“Okay, man, I like you and all, but if you don't stop creating that sound, I am going to chuck your shoes out the window.”

Ethan squeaked them loudly once more, but agreed to sit down afterward. “Sorry. Just ready.” He knew that opening bands had the difficult task of warming up a crowd with songs they didn't really show up to hear; they were going to have to convince them to listen. The short set list had taken what seemed like ages to iron out, and they tried to showcase the range of what they could do. Southbound was on first, followed by The Fray- not his most favorite band, but he had respect for anyone touring and making money doing what they did. He had driven by the venue a few days before and taken a fairly embarrassing amount of photos of the band's name on the marquee. Everyone started loading equipment, and he was relieved with having something to do.

When they arrived at the RMC, he was surprised with how structured and organized everything was. The venue manager clearly had her shit together. They made it through sound check without issue, and Ethan was twirling one of his silver rings around his pointer finger while he listened to the rush of the pre-show around him. He checked his phone and lit up, seeing his messages.

C: I tried not to text you, but I wanted to say I'm excited for you guys. You'll be great, and we will see you later with these fancy backstage passes :).

E: I'm glad you didn't try too hard ;). Knowing you'll be here makes the crowd seem smaller. Thanks for the vote of confidence- you can message me any time.

C: I'll keep that in mind.

He was feeling like he could conquer the world right about then. There was another text from his mom saying that she and Tay would be in their seats soon, and that made him feel better as well; he didn't really care if that was lame. He checked his appearance last minute- gray-washed jeans and a tight black t-shirt, and maybe more than his usual amount of jewelry. He liked his hair a bit longer, being that he could push it behind his ears when he inevitably had sweat dripping down his face.

“Fisher, we all know you're the fairest in the land, now can we go do what we came here to do?” Crawford teased him. His stomach dropped the way it did at the top of a roller coaster. He took a breath and nodded. Hearing their name announced made his heart pound in rhythm with some scattered applause throughout the arena. Most people were still milling around and securing their beers at this point in the show. Here it goes then, he thought, and wished for a moment that the spots weren't so bright and he'd be able to see Courtney or his mom in the audience. His mind cleared when the drums sounded behind him and he played the opening riff. The difference in the sound system of the RMC and their usual haunts was like comparing a Sentra to a Maserati because they were both street legal. The applause got louder after each song, and his energy was through the roof for their closing. They ended with a song he'd written with Courtney in mind, and he hoped she got that it was for her.

“Thank you all so much, we appreciate it more than we can say. Have a great night!” Crawford finished for the crowd, and they made their way back from where they'd come. All of Ethan's nerves seemed to crash once they were off stage, and his hands were shaking.

“That was amazing- the best we've ever sounded, like ever,” Brian relayed to the group.

Ethan breathed slowly, coming to terms with the fact that he'd just played the set of his life, several songs of his own creation, for a real audience. “Hell yeah it was,” his cockiness returning as he grabbed a bottle of water.

The venue manager walked by on a mission, her headset pressed to her ear behind her short blond hair, but she stopped to tell them congratulations. “Great set guys, honestly. You're free to hang out here for the rest of the show, or the radio station has a suite, Number two twenty-seven, if you wanna head up there with your passes- totally up to you.” She walked away, her heels clicking on the floor.

“Yeah, I'm going up to the suite- I'm pretty sure this is the life I was meant for,” Brian joked. Chase and Jeremy went with him, but Ethan and Crawford stayed behind. Being backstage with a tour like this one wasn't likely something he'd be able to repeat in the near future. They listened to The Fray and scarfed down some sandwiches.

“I think I should probably thank you,” Ethan said to his friend.

“Why?” Crawford questioned.

“I never would have gotten here if you hadn't called that day. Like I'm one-hundred percent sure of that. I mean, I would have kept playing, but nothing of this magnitude. It was a pipe dream, playing on a stage like this.”

“If we're handing out some honest gratitude? We wouldn't have gotten here either.”

“Nah, you guys were great before me.”

“We were good. Now we're better, so at least appreciate that. Your songs killed out there, enjoy it.” Crawford got up to talk to some of the label guys who were wandering around- the guy never quit. Ethan elected to relax instead.

“So, I'm pretty sure I've been missing out my whole life by not having all-access passes to everything. The treatment is amazing- like, I want VIP access to the grocery store now. This whole experience has corrupted me, I hope you know.” A grin spread across Ethan's face before he turned around, knowing Vanessa was behind the semi-compliment. She stood there, looking entitled in four-inch heels and painted-on jeans, a royal blue top baring her midriff.

“Hi to you too, V. It's been a while.” He stood up to greet her and held his arms out for a hug.

“Yeah, you're like really sweaty, so I'm going to just stay right here.” He rolled his eyes, but started to lose his excitement when he looked around for Courtney. “Stop with the puppy-dog face, she's here. She went to find water. You're so obvious,” She looked at him pointedly. “A word of advice though? Don't overstep tonight- she's in super-anxiety mode.” He nodded his understanding as he saw her come around the corner, water in hand. Vanessa made herself scarce, and he sent her a silent wave of appreciation.

She looked…beautiful. She had ditched her usual jeans and a tank top for a cream-colored strapless number and heels. Before she saw him, her hands worked at repositioning the beaded headband across her forehead, her eyes unsure. “Hey, sprin… Courtney.” He tried to recover awkwardly. He didn't know how she would feel about his former term of endearment. She covered a laugh at his expense.

“Hey there, rock star. Do you want me to tell you how amazing you were out there?” she asked, fluffing her short curls. His nerves were already overworked from being on stage, but they rose to the occasion when he thought about kissing her exposed neck.

“Of course I do, have you met me?”

She smiled. “Well, you were. Honestly- you guys were incredible. Very different than the last time I saw you play. This… well, it suits you better.”

“Agreed. I'm a lot happier… I get to play a lot of my own stuff, and the guys are amazing. I'll introduce you to Crawford in a minute, he's around here somewhere. The rest of the guys are up in the radio station suite. You'll like them though, really.”

“Well, look at you living the high life. I'm proud of you, you seem… steady.” If only you knew how long it took me to get here, he thought, knowing she would not be as proud if she could have seen him six months earlier.

“Do you wanna hang out for a bit? Or we could go up to the suite…” He was trying so hard not to “overstep” as Vanessa had put it.

“Yeah, I'm down to hang out backstage at a Train concert, you know, no big deal.” She grinned, showing her excitement. She practically skipped out of the lounge area so they could get an actual view of the stage. She seemed nervous, though she was playing it pretty cool. He caught glimpses of her glancing at him from under her lashes and biting her lip when she thought he wasn't looking. He wanted to fix it- the awkwardness of them not knowing how to act towards each other. They had never been just friends, not really, and he couldn't take the space between them. When Train took the stage and opened with one of her absolute favorite songs, he couldn't overthink his actions anymore.

Leaning over, he pressed his lips to her ear. “Dance with me,” he told her, hoping she wasn't going to shut him down.

“Ethan…” she replied warily, looking up at him.

Ignoring her hesitation, he held out his hand. She took it slowly and he twirled her around before bringing her in closer. She laughed softly, and god, how he had missed that sound. Her hair smelled the same, and when her fingers traveled up the back of his neck, he could have been right back at the river, falling in love with her the first time. She ran her nails along his shoulder blades lightly, and he tried to keep his hands at a respectable position on her back.

“Have I told you I like your hair this way?”

“Not today.” He pushed a stray curl behind her ear that had escaped from the headband, and tipped her face up towards him. Resting his forehead on hers, he tried to think of a good reason not to kiss her. Vanessa's words rang in his head, and he knew he had already left the territory of just pretending to be friendly. The song ended before he made a decision one way or the other, and she let go without making eye contact. Groaning silently, he looked toward the sky, kicking himself internally for not just going for it when he had the chance. She had walked a few paces ahead and he moved to follow her.

“Are you coming?” she asked plainly, holding out her hand.

“Of course,” he answered, taking it without hesitation and intertwining their fingers. She led him through a few smaller clumps of people until they came to stop at a metal partition just off the side of the stage. He couldn't deny that it was a great view. She didn't drop the connection once they made it to their destination, and he squeezed slightly. She squeezed back. Two songs later when he moved over to let someone slide by them, she didn't try to stop him from wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. Instead, she ran her fingers across his forearm and pulled him around her tighter. He let his lips brush her neck, and was satisfied when she shivered. Never underestimate the nostalgia-inducing power of a great song, he thought, admitting to himself that one of her favorite bands playing live in front of them was probably contributing to her openness at the moment.

Courtney's phone vibrated in her purse and she pulled it out. She held it up for him to see that it was from Vanessa.

V: I'm tired of flirting, come find me.

He took it that she and Luke were in a separation period- it wasn't the first time- and followed Courtney back towards the main backstage area. She stopped abruptly before they walked through the gate and were still largely alone.

“Okay, so I didn't… I don't know what I thought, coming here tonight. You didn't lie… you're different, but it feels the same too. It's kind of messing with my head, and I don't know what you're thinking-”

Before he really thought it through, his hands were in her hair and his lips pressed against hers. Her fingers found their way hastily to his belt loops and she closed the gap still between them. He didn't pull back this time, like he had always done before; he kissed her with the magnitude of a year's worth of mistakes and wishing things were different until she stepped back for air, her hands on his chest.

“I'm sorry,” he got out, catching his breath as well. Words began to rush out of his mouth, now that it was no longer occupied. “I don't want to mess with your head. You just said you didn't know what I was thinking, and that's what I was thinking… all night. I didn't mean to push.” He couldn't stop the stream of jumbled-up thoughts finding their way into words. “Can I apologize? For everything? I will make you a list of every stupid thing I did last year if you want, just let me make it up to you. You're-”

“Shhhh.”

“Okay?”

“Just, let's leave tonight alone. You opened for Train, we danced backstage, and that kiss was… well, I think it answered my question,” she said. “Let's just go hang out with V. We will talk. I promise. Just not right now, okay?”

“Okay, yeah, of course. Whatever you want.” He brushed her lips with his once more and grabbed her hand to walk through the gates. They found Vanessa chatting it up with Crawford on a sofa in the lounge. It did not escape his notice that Courtney dropped his hand when they crossed into their eye line.

“And where have you two been?” Vanessa asked knowingly as Courtney wiggled in next to her on the couch.

“Watching the band, obviously,” Courtney replied evenly. Crawford walked up behind him and clapped him on the shoulder. “You didn't tell me you invited such enchanting ladies to the show tonight, Fisher. I had to come across this one all by myself when I overhead her talking about our band.”

“Seriously, Ethan, your manners need work. You could have introduced us,” Vanessa replied. Crawford handed Vanessa a beer and sat down across from her. Ethan tried to control the surprised look on his face; never in a million years would he have thought the two of them would hit it off.

“I am so sorry. I have been remiss. Courtney, this is Crawford, Crawford, Courtney… clearly, you already know Vanessa.”

“Nice to meet you, you guys were seriously amazing tonight. Congratulations on the contest and this and everything,” Courtney relayed sincerely, shaking his friend's hand.

“Nice to meet you too, and thank you- it wouldn't have happened without this guy,” he replied, gesturing to Ethan. “So are you guys coming out with us then?”

“Out…” Vanessa raised an eyebrow.

“There's a party at this hotel, the radio station is running it. Not sure if those guys will be there,” referencing the headliners, “but it should be a pretty good time.”

“Um, yes,” Vanessa replied without hesitation. Courtney cleared her throat.

“Hey there, V. Can I talk to you for just a sec?” Vanessa rolled her eyes slightly and let Courtney pull her around the corner. He couldn't help it. He had to try to overhear them. Shooting Crawford a look, he casually made his way closer to where they stood.

“…you know I've been missing Luke, I just wanna go out and blow off some steam. You don't have to come if you don't want, I'm sure I can ride with this hottie out here.”

“Ugh. I am not doing a very good job of keeping my distance. You know he gets to me, I just don't think that going out and drinking, at a hotel no less, is the smartest thing I could do,” Courtney admitted.

“So then don't be smart. You're always smart. I knew as soon as you were alone with him you'd turn into a pile of mush. Just have fun. You're in college and we're getting invited to a rad party and literally one of your favorite bands of all time could show up. Come on.” Courtney took a breath, and he thought she was going to give in.

“Will you hate me if I just go home? Like, you can go, and I'll even come back and pick you up if you need a ride at four a.m., I just don't think I can do it.” Vanessa gave an exasperated sigh.

“All right, girl, whatever makes you happy.” Ethan quickly made his way back over to the couch and waited expectantly. The gears were already turning in his mind.

The girls walked back up, and before they could say anything, he said, “Hey, I think I'm gonna get a cab home or something, I don't know if I'm in the mood for a crowd tonight, but there'll be room in Crawford's car if you guys wanna go with him. You should, I'm sure it'll be a killer event.” He tried to give off the most innocent vibe possible in that moment and counted on Vanessa to carry his plan to fruition.

“Works for me! I'm gonna take you up on the ride, if that's okay with you, Crawford. Courtney's not gonna come because she's allergic to fun, but she should be able to give you a ride home, then,” Vanessa concluded with a devilish look. Courtney's eyes widened, and she shot daggers at her best friend. Vanessa promptly ignored her and slid into the seat next to Crawford, leaning into him flirtatiously.

“Yeah, absolutely. Are you sure, Fisher?” Crawford replied, putting his arm around Vanessa in response.

“Yeah, I'm sure. You guys have fun, though.” He took a few steps toward a back room where their gear was stashed, and he felt Courtney's eyes on him. “Come with me, you can carry my guitar.”

“There will be no carrying of anything in these shoes,” she shot back at him, her face still holding a pissed-off look from the unspoken argument with Vanessa.

“Fine, I'll carry it, you keep me company.” He knew he was pushing her, but he didn't care. She hesitated, but finally followed behind him. “You don't have to drive me home. I'm fine taking a cab, honestly,” he lied. He wanted more than anything to be alone with her. It was the only way he could picture ending this night.

“Stop, it's fine. I'd never pass up a chance to drive through Gem anyway. How come you didn't wanna go to the party?” Because you didn't wanna go, he thought.

“I don't know. This whole thing was kind of surreal, so I'm sort of in the mood to appreciate it where it's quiet. I'd also like to keep myself out of whatever's going on between V and Luke, so witnessing her make out with my band mate is not on my to-do list.” He grabbed his guitar and made a mental note to apologize to his friends later for not helping load the rest of their stuff. They headed down the corridor towards the parking lot.

“Don't even get me started. You know they'll be back together by next weekend. I think she just wants to prove she can be on her own.”

“It's happened before, and history would suggest that you're spot-on with that prediction.” He held the door open and slid his hand into hers as she walked by. She shot him a sideways glance but did nothing. It took some time, not that he was complaining, but she finally found her little silver Mustang in the still-crowded parking lot. There were a couple of people who recognized him, thanks to the telltale sign that he was carrying his instrument, and complimented their performance. He even signed an autograph on one of the 7-11 Southbound t-shirts that had been for sale that night.

“So, how much are you loving all of the girly attention, then?” Courtney asked, amused.

He grinned at her, hoping it was a hint of jealousy he heard in her voice. “It's not terrible, but to tell you the truth? I'd really prefer the attention from just one girl,” he said carefully, nudging her with his elbow not subtly at all. He placed his guitar in the trunk.

Her eyes rolled, but he had made her smile. “You think you're so smooth.” When she turned on the car, his band's music came through the speakers. She quickly reached to turn it down.

“So you listened to the CD, then?” He smirked.

“Don't do that.”

“Do what?”

“You know what. Don't look like that.”

“I literally don't know what you're talking about, but I will try to stop looking however I was looking.” He wasn't being entirely truthful. She had mentioned more than once when they were together what it did to her when he carried that expression. He wanted to pretend he didn't know why she was fighting so hard when the pull between them was overwhelming, but he knew exactly why. He felt a familiar sting in his chest when he thought about hurting her.

“Sure you don't.” Soon, an old playlist was resounding through the car, and they were cruising up the highway with the windows down. They fell into the old habit of singing along with one another, and that performance felt just as important as winning the battle of the bands. You cannot screw this up.

She pulled up in front of his house, and he was ready to convince her why coming in was the best possible idea. “I can't tell you what it meant for you to be there tonight. I, well… I know you said we would talk another time, but really, when have I ever listened to your timelines? So will you come in? We can sit on the deck and drink decaf. I get your hesitation, I-”

“Yes, I'll come in. I was going to ask to anyway, but good job selling it.” He breathed. Originally, he had hoped they'd be alone at her house, because he wanted her out of that dress in the worst way, but being at home with his mom and sister sleeping upstairs was much safer. Memories of the last time she'd stood in his kitchen were hard to ignore, but he washed them away with all of the words he'd practiced saying in his head a million times. A pot of coffee brewed while she sat on the porch, and he grabbed her a sweatshirt from his closet.

“Here, it's cold,” he told her, handing it over.

“Oh, thanks, yeah, it's so crazy that this is summer. In Phoenix I'd still be sweating in one hundred degree heat at night.”

“Yeah, but then there's the seventy degree Christmases to enjoy.”

“True, I can't argue there.” There was an expectant pause on both sides as he struggled with exactly what to say.

“Yeah, so…I don't really know how to start, but I'm so sorry for how things ended between us. I don't have any excuses for you, that's not why I wanted you to hear me out- I should have done a lot of things differently. I should have told you how I was feeling along the way instead of always acting like I was fine. It was stupid of me to think things were going to be easy, but I let it get to a point where I couldn't take it anymore, the distance.”

“Ethan, I was heartbroken when we broke up, but I didn't begrudge you that decision. It was hard. Like, so hard. Just…”

“I know. The phone call. I can't. I don't have words. I was, I don't know, in a downward spiral of poor decisions, and I thought if you would just take me back everything would be fine, and that wasn't fair either. I am so sorry.” His voice broke in delivering the last apology. Having her sitting in front of him and seeing the residual hurt in her eyes as she recalled that night was almost too much, but he knew it was what had to happen. “Can you at least believe that me calling you that night had everything to do with my own bullshit and nothing to do with wanting to cause you pain?”

She took a moment and he held his breath. “I can believe that, yeah. I didn't know how much I needed you to say it until right now. I sort of thought I had just put it behind me or risen above it or something, but being with you tonight? Put me right back into last year, and well, I needed it, I guess is the shortest explanation I can give.”

He wanted to hold her, but knew she had to be the one to initiate it, and he got the feeling she wasn't quite finished yet. “Can we just be real for a minute?”

“As many minutes as you want, yeah, of course.” He was afraid what she'd say next, and that she'd channel Vanessa and start yelling.

“Tonight felt good,” she admitted, surprising him.

“Yeah, it did.”

“And Vanessa was being a bitch because she's mad about Luke, but she said a couple of things that hit home for me, and I feel like we just need to get it all out on the table before I go home, or I won't be able to sleep tonight.”

“Well? Lay it out there, then.” She hesitated, but pressed on.

“I just got out of a relationship. It was a good relationship, and leaving Phoenix to come here was… difficult.” His stomach tightened at listening to her talk about Ben. “But in the interest of full disclosure, I don't think it was as hard as leaving you after homecoming.” He nodded in acknowledgement, not wanting to interrupt her. “Seeing you, and well, kissing you, felt… right, like it's how it was supposed to be all along, but in a lot of ways that seems like cheating.” He sat back slightly, wondering what she meant. “Not like cheating on him, I mean, I'm single, don't take that the wrong way. It feels like cheating in a universal sense. Like it shouldn't be this easy to fall back into what we had. It can't be that easy, because if it is, then it seems like my relationship for the past seven months was a placeholder, and I need you to know that it wasn't. I'm not saying that to try to hurt you or to emphasize that I was with someone else. I just need to be clear, I guess, before we… I don't know what we're going to do. There have to be some rules or something.”

He had forgotten how much she talked. “I knew that you were with someone else. Vanessa and I sort of had a, well, I wouldn't call it a confrontation, because she's the only one who did the confronting, but the point is that I knew. I don't expect-”

“She yelled at you?”

“Yeah, but I had it coming. Really, it's fine.”

“No, I just sort of wish I could have seen it, that's all. Sorry, you were saying?”

He gave her a half-smile and laughed slightly at the memory. “I, uh, yeah. I was saying that I don't expect to like… pick up where we left off like nothing happened. I know that I missed the last seven months of your life, and I know that I'm very different now than I was then. Better, I hope, but different. Still, I can't lie and tell you I don't want to do this. I want you. You know that I do.”

“And we can agree that there should be… rules? On how exactly to do this?”

“Yes, anything,” he said, though he sincerely wondered what possible “ground rules” she had in mind. In the grand scheme of things, it just didn't matter. She stood up and stepped towards the chair where he sat.

“Then I guess we can discuss those tomorrow.” She smiled and climbed onto his lap. Her eyes searched his and her expression betrayed her seemingly cool exterior. This moment, with the stars barely visible overhead in the cloudy night sky, it was important. With that, her lips pressed into his tentatively, and he reacquainted himself with the way his hands felt on her skin. Heat spread across his chest when her fingertips found their way there. He had never been more thankful for the invention of sundresses in all his life; her legs were so much better in person than in memory. He didn't ask for anything more, and let her show him what she needed. They continued their reunion tour for almost an hour. He finally stopped distracting her when she said she had to leave for the ‸‸ forty-seventh time and his lips were near swollen from their intensity. Dizzily, he walked her out to her car.

“When can I see you again?” He was not ashamed of his eagerness.

“When do you wanna see me again?”

“Right now.” He kissed her playfully. She laughed against his lips and stepped back.

“I don't have anything going on tomorrow, unless I have to go pick up Vanessa somewhere.”

“Nah, Crawford will make sure she gets home. He's a good guy. Can I take you somewhere? Like somewhere good. I canceled all of my lessons and got someone to cover my shift at the pool because I wasn't sure how late I'd be out tonight. Let's go to King's Island and ride roller coasters and eat funnel cake.”

Her eyes lit up, and she seemed to have agreed even before he'd said “funnel cake.” He kissed her again, his hands unable to stay out of her hair, and let her drive away. You are the luckiest idiot ever, he thought, not believing the good fortune that had finally shown up that night. He ran this thumb over his bottom lip and appreciated the fact that he thought he'd never get to feel that way again.

3

“Sparks Fly” – Taylor Swift Performed by Landon Austin or Alex G

Have you fallen down the freaking rabbit hole? What the hell just happened? She had a good ten minutes of uninterrupted bliss after the tryst with Ethan, but now her brain was working overtime questioning what she'd done. It wasn't even like he had done anything. They had been sitting there, discussing things. Serious, important things, and all her mind could focus in on was the way his hair brushed his jaw line and the woodsy smell of him on the sweatshirt he'd lent her, and the reminder of what his lips had felt like earlier that night. Before the concert, she'd promised herself there would be no kissing. That they could be friends, or at least friendly. Pretty sure what happened out on the deck could be classified as friendly, she thought, groaning inwardly. When he looked at her with that stupid, irresistible, 'I-know-what-you-look-like-naked,' tempting-as-hell smile, she lost all sense of logic.