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“Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?” I ask, my eyes wide and my chin raised, taking in a sight that looks like it comes from a dream.
“No,” Hudson answers. “Except for this morning, when I saw your golden hair feathered over my chest.”
My heart tugs, and the warmth that rises in me makes me forget the low temperatures.
Hudson continues. “Or a couple days ago, when I saw you laughing when Salsa tried to do a backflip. Or last night, when I came up behind you and kissed you on the soft shell of your ear, and saw it blush. Or when I saw you on the stage with your violin, making the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard. Or when you fall asleep before me, and I get to gaze at your closed, peaceful eyes.”
The long tails of the streaming meteors are growing blurry as tears of happiness gather in my eyes.
“Other than the hundreds, the thousands of times I see you,” Hudson says, “no, I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”
I grasp Hudson’s gloved hand and bring it to my mouth, pressing my lips hard against it in a kiss, feeling so blissfully close to him right now.
The meteors pass, and people around us start to talk in hushed and excited tones about what they’ve just seen.
I twist myself around, taking in Hudson’s eyes that are locked on me.
“And I can’t wait to keep you, every day, for the rest of my life.” His words go right to my heart and make me feel so loved that I’m overwhelmed.
All I can think to do is kiss him, so I do. The kiss is gentle, deep, affectionate. The kind of kiss we’ll be sharing for years; like Hudson just said—for the rest of our lives.
When the grumpy goalie sat next to me that first day of English class, I never even expected we’d end up friends. Now he’s my everything.
When our lips part and the first words out of his mouth are, “I love you, Summer,” there’s not a shred of doubt in my mind that I’m his everything, too. Exactly what I want to be.
I turn my eyes back up to the sky and see one last straggling shooting star flash for a moment. I close my eyes and make a wish on it.
I wish that I’ll keep being Hudson’s everything, and he’ll keep being mine. Forever.
EPILOGUE
HUDSON
My favorite ramen tastes so much better when I’m eating it next to Summer.
Then again, everything is better when it’s with Summer.
The warmth of the sun feels better when I’m feeling it on my neck with her hand in mine. Music sounds better when it’s coming from my car radio with her in the passenger seat next to me. Movies are better when we’re snuggled together on the couch, when I can dip my eyes down and look at her face illuminated from the light of the screen.
We’re back on campus after winter break. It’s been three weeks since I’ve seen her, and when I went over to her house after arriving back in Cedar Shade, I showed her just how much I’d been missing her during that time.
Took about an hour and a half showing her, in fact. Enough time for both of us to build up quite an appetite, which explains how quickly we just demolished these ramen bowls.
Not that we didn’t see each other at all over winter break. We spent Christmas Eve together at my dad’s house before driving down that evening to Rhode Island where Summer’s family lives and had Christmas day with them.
Spending most of the break with my dad went well. I brought Salsa, and she shockingly took a liking to my dad immediately.
I swear, that cat is friendly with everyone she meets now. Kinda makes me side-eye considering how much of a hard time she gave me at first. Then I realize she’s so much more friendly now because she learned to trust people, so it’s alright.
When Summer was over, Dad couldn’t stop telling stories about him and Mom. Stories I’ve never even heard before. His eyes were lit up like a Christmas tree the entire time. And then right before Summer and I left to drive down to her place, my dad told me how much Mom would have loved Summer.
Can’t deny that I had to blink my eyes tight a couple times after hearing that.
I know he’s right. I like to believe that Mom’s looking down and that she’s happy for me.
Summer’s family was a trip. Her mom’s a lot like her, but more boisterous and louder—in a good way. Her dad was laid back. Her siblings, who are all younger than her, were rambunctious and hilarious.
All in all, it was a great Christmas.
