Chapter Two

Bray was so free-spirited, she didn’t seem to have a worry in the world. I noticed this about her the moment we reached the outskirts of the pasture and she broke away from me and ran out toward it. Her arms were raised high above her head as if she was reaching for the stars. Her laughter was infectious, and I found myself laughing right along with her as I ran behind her. We jumped off the end of the little rickety dock and hit the water with a loud splash, not even stopping to take off her flip-flops or my shirt beforehand.

We swam for a while, and I splashed her in the face every chance I got, until I think she finally had enough and swam back to the dock.

“Have you ever kissed a girl before?” Bray asked, taking me by surprise.

I glanced nervously at her to my left; we both moved our feet back and forth in the water.

“No. Have you?”

Her shoulder bumped against mine hard and she giggled and made a horrible face at me.

“No way. I wouldn’t kiss a girl. Talk about gross.”

I laughed, too. Really, I didn’t realize what I had said until after she pointed it out; I was too blindsided by the kissing topic to notice. But I played it off smoothly as though I was just being weird.

“I’ve never kissed a boy,” she said.

There was an awkward bout of silence. Mostly the awkwardness was coming from me though, I was sure. I swallowed and looked out at the calm water. Every now and then I heard a random firework pop off in the distance somewhere. And the song of crickets and frogs surrounded us.

Not knowing what to say, or if I was supposed to say anything at all, I finally added, "Why not?”

“Why not, what?”

“Why haven’t you kissed a boy before?”

She looked at me suspiciously. “Why haven’t you kissed a girl before?”

I shrugged. “I dunno. I just haven’t.”

“Well, maybe you should.”

“Why?”

“I dunno.”

Silence. We stared out at the water together, both of us with our hands braced against the dock’s edge, our bodies slumped between our rigid shoulders, our feet moving steadily in the water pushing poetic ripples outward across the surface.

I leant over and kissed her on the cheek, right next to the corner of her mouth.

She blushed and smiled. I knew my face must’ve been bright red, but I didn’t care and I didn’t regret it.

I wanted to do it again.

Next thing I know, Bray is jumping up from the dock and running back out into the pasture.

“Fireflies!” she shouted.

I stood up and watched her run away from me beneath the dark star-filled sky and she grew smaller and smaller. Hundreds of little green-yellow dots of light blinked off and on out in the wide open space.

“Come on, Elias!” her voice carried my name on the wind.

I knew I’d never forget this night. I couldn’t have understood why back then, but something within me knew. I would never forget it.

I ran out after her.

“We should’ve brought a jar!” She kept reaching out her hands, trying to catch one of the fireflies, but she was always a second too late.

On my third try, I caught one and held it carefully in the hollow of both hands so that I wouldn’t crush it.

“Oh, you got one! Let me see!”

I held my hands out slowly and Bray looked inside the tiny opening between my thumb and index finger. Every few seconds my hand would light up with a dull glow and then fade again.

“So pretty,” she said, wide-eyed.

“Just like you,” I said, though I had no idea what made me say that. Out loud, anyway.

Bray just smiled at me and looked back down into my hand.

“OK, let it go,” she said. “I don’t want it to die.”

I opened my hands and held them up, but the firefly just stayed there crawling across the ball of my thumb. I leaned in to blow on it and its tiny black wings finally sprang to life and it flew away into the darkness.

Bray and I spent the whole night in the field chasing the fireflies and laying on the grass, staring up at the stars. She told me all about her sister, Rian, and how she was a snob and was always mean to Bray. I told her about my parents because I didn’t have any brothers or sisters. She said I was lucky. We talked forever, it seemed. We may have been young, but we connected deeply on that night. I knew we would be great friends, even better friends than Mitchell and I had been and I had known him since first grade and he tried to con me out of my peach cup at lunch.

And before the night was over, we made a pact with each other that would later prove to live through some very troubled times

“Promise we’ll always be best friends,” Bray said, lying next to me. “No matter what. Even if you grow up ugly and I grow up mean, you’ll always be my best friend, Elias.”

I laughed. “You’re already mean!”

She elbowed me.

“And you’re already ugly,” she said with a blush in her cheeks.

“OK, I promise,” I gave in, though really I needed no convincing.

We gazed back up at the stars; her fingers were interlaced and her hands rested on her belly.

I had no idea what I was getting into Brayelle Bates. I didn’t know about such things when I was nine. I didn’t know. But I would never regret a moment with her. Never.

*

Bray and I were found early the following morning, fast asleep in the grass. We were awoken by three cops, Mr. Parson who owned the land and my frantic mother who thought I had been kidnapped from my room, stuffed in a suitcase and thrown on the side of a highway somewhere.

“Elias! Oh dear God, I thought you were gone!” She scooped me into her arms and squeezed me so tight I thought my eyeballs were going to burst out of the sockets. She pulled away, kissed me on the forehead, embarrassing the crap out of me, and then squeezed me again.

Bray’s mom and dad were there, too.

“Have you been out here all night with him?” Bray’s dad asked with a sharp edge in his voice.

My mom immediately went into defensive mode. She stood up the rest of the way with me and wrapped one arm around the front of me, pressing my back against her chest.

“That daughter of yours,” my mom said and already I was flinching before she finished, “she has a mouth on her. My son would never have snuck out unless he was influenced.”

Oh geez…

I sighed and threw my head back against her.

“Mom, I—”

“Are you blaming this on my daughter?” Bray’s mother said, stepping up front and center.

“As a matter of fact, I am,” my mom said boldly.

Bray started to shrink behind her dad and I felt worse about her being blamed, every second that passed

Before this got too out of hand, I broke away from my mom’s arms.

“Dammit, Mom!”

Her eyes grew wide and fierce and I stopped mid-sentence.

“Watch your mouth, Elias!” Then she looked at Bray’s mom again and added, “See, Elias never uses language like that.”

“Stop it! Please! I made my own decision to sneak out! I know right from wrong! I chose to do wrong and only I can be blamed for that, so leave Bray out of it!”

I hated shouting. I hated it that I had to put my mom in her place like that in front of her ’enemy’, but I spoke what I felt in my heart and that’s something my mom always taught me to do. Take up for the bullied, Elias. Never stand back and watch someone take advantage of someone else, Elias. Always do and say what you know in your heart to be right, no matter what, Elias.

I hoped she would remember those things when we went home.

My mom sighed deeply and I watched the anger deflate with her breath.

“I apologize,” she said to Bray’s parents. “Really, I am sorry. I was just so scared something had happened to him.”

Bray’s mom nodded, accepting my mom’s apology. “I understand. I’m sorry, too. I’m just glad they’re safe.”

Bray’s dad said nothing. I got the feeling he wasn’t as forgiving as her mom had been.

I was grounded for the rest of the summer for that stunt I pulled. And yes, I met the fly swatter that day to which I vowed never to sneak out of the house again. But whenever it came to Bray, from that time up until we graduated high school, I did sneak out. A lot. But I never got caught again after that first time.

I know you must be wondering why after so many years of being best friends, attending the same school, working together at the local Dairy Queen, even often sharing a bed, why we never became something more to each other.

Well, the truth is that we did.

You Might Also Like…

Now Available from Forever!

Sometimes life takes you off course…

THE EDGE OF NEVER

Twenty-year-old Camryn Bennett thought she knew exactly where her life was going. But after a wild night at the hottest club in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, she shocks everyone—including herself—when she decides to leave the only life she’s ever known and set out on her own. Grabbing her purse and her cell phone, Camryn boards a Greyhound bus ready to find herself. Instead, she finds Andrew Parrish.

Sexy and exciting, Andrew lives life like there is no tomorrow. He persuades Camryn to do things she never thought she would and shows her how to give in to her deepest, most forbidden desires. Soon he becomes the center of her daring new life, pulling love and lust and emotion out of her in ways she never imagined possible. But there is more to Andrew than Camryn realizes. Will his secret push them inseparably together—or destroy them forever?

*

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Secret of Ella and Micha comes a new story of hope, heartbreak, and the power of young love.

THE FOREVER OF ELLA AND MICHA

Ella is back at school, trying to focus on her future and forget the darkness of her past. Still, her ongoing family drama is making it harder and harder to get through the days. All she really wants is Micha, but no way will she let her problems get in the way of his dreams.

Micha is busy touring the country with his band, seemingly getting everything he’s ever wanted. But deep down he knows something is missing. Being away from Ella is harder than he expected. And while he longs to have her with him, he won’t ask her to leave college just to be at his side.

When Ella and Micha are together, anything seems possible… but lately those shared moments aren’t so easy to find. When a new tragedy shakes their already fragile world, one of them will make a dramatic choice that could break them apart forever.…

*

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden comes an emotional new story about two troubled souls sharing one all-encompassing love…

THE REDEMPTION OF CALLIE & KAYDEN

The dark secret Kayden has kept hidden for years is finally out. Worse, he’s facing charges for battery. The only way to clear his name is for Callie to speak up—something he’ll never ask her to do. Instead, he’ll do whatever he must to protect her… even if it means letting go of the only girl he’s ever loved.

Callie knows Kayden is going back to his dark place, and she desperately wants to save him. But that means facing her greatest fear and admitting her own painful secrets aloud. The thought of breaking her silence terrifies her—but not as much as the thought of losing Kayden forever.

Deep in her heart, Callie knows the time has come for her and Kayden to forget the pain of the past. With the help of her friends Seth and Luke she makes a plan to show Kayden the life they could have. But can she convince him they can make a fresh start together—or is she already too late?

*

Can love save them?

After her father commits a crime that shatters her family, eighteen-year-old Delaney Cross is tired of pretending everything is all right. Packing up her car, she sets out to find the people her father hurt. Her search leads her to places she’s never been—and into the arms of Adrian Westfall.

To the outside world, Adrian is a sexy, charming ladies’ man. But his playboy persona is just an act. Secretly his soul is tortured by a memory too painful to share. Only Delaney seems to see through his façade to the real man underneath. And for the first time in his life, Adrian feels he can begin to open up about his past.

Together, Adrian and Delaney share a passionate, carefree love they never expected to find. Yet both still harbor their own secrets. When the dark truth is finally revealed, will it bring them closer together, or tear them apart forever?

You Might Also Like…

Looking for more great digital reads? We’ve got you covered!

Now Available from Forever Yours

Things Paige Morrison will never understand about Mirabelle, Florida:

Why wearing red shoes makes a girl a harlot

Why a shop would ever sell something called “buck urine”

Why everywhere she goes, she runs into sexy—and infuriating—Brendan King

After losing her job, her apartment, and her boyfriend, Paige has no choice but to leave Philadelphia and move in with her retired parents. For an artsy outsider like Paige, finding her place in the tightly knit town isn’t easy—until she meets Brendan, the hot mechanic who’s interested in much more than Paige’s car. In no time at all, Brendan helps Paige find a new job, new friends, and a happiness she wasn’t sure she’d ever feel again. With Brendan by her side, Paige finally feels like she can call Mirabelle home. But when a new bombshell drops, will the couple survive, or will their love come undone?

*

Grace King fell in love with Jax Anderson, her big brother’s best friend, when she was six years old. Eleven-year-old Jax came to her rescue when some older boys were bullying her, becoming Grace’s knight in scuffed-up sneakers on the spot.

Eighteen years later, Jax is the town sheriff, and Grace is the head baker at her grandmother’s café. They are all grown up—and still pretending there’s nothing between them. But when a heated argument at the Sleepy Sheep bar turns into a heated make-out session, the days of denying their attraction are over.

Now the whole town is buzzing about Jax and Grace, and not all the buzz is good. Grace’s family is no stranger to scandal, and when a new secret about her parents is revealed, not even Jax can protect her. As the rumors and accusations fly, can they hold on to their new relationship?

*

Twenty-six-year-old Gabriel Vincent is a badass hero.

Or he used to be, anyway.

As an ex–Army Ranger, Gabe never thought he needed anyone. But after one horrible night in Afghanistan scars him in a way that he can’t get past, he needs someone who can help him heal… even if he doesn’t realize it.

Twenty-five-year-old Madison Hill doesn’t need anybody… or so she thinks. She grew up watching her parents’ messed-up, abusive relationship, and she knows there’s no way in hell that she’s ever letting that happen to her.

They don’t know it in the beginning, but Gabriel and Madison will soon develop a weakness: each other.

But Gabriel’s got a secret, a hidden monster that he’s afraid Maddy could never overcome… and Maddy’s got issues that she’s afraid Gabe will never understand.

They quickly realize that they need each other to be whole, but at the same time they know that they’ve got demons to fight.

And the problem with demons is that they never die quietly.

Date: 2015-02-03; view: 818