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I squeeze her hand, and her smile grows, and then we’re sprinting out the door, still fully clothed. Onto the deck, down the grassy path and then out to the end of the dock, almost completely drenched by the time we get there.
Neither of us slow. We just launch ourselves into the water, me with a shout and Busy with a peal of laughter.
And then we’re plunging into the abyss.
Together.
We don’t spend too long in the water, the fear of lightning returning enough to pull us out after only a few minutes. But we do sit at the end of the dock together for quite a while, my arm around Busy’s shoulders, her petite form tucked snugly into my side.
It feels so good to hold her, and even though there are a million unanswered questions, a thousand decisions to be made, I can’t bring myself to ruin this moment by talking. Instead, I just enjoy what it feels like to have her in my arms.
Neither of us mentions the rain. Instead we just sit in it together, the air around us noticeably cooling. Hopefully, this storm will bring some relief to the heat that has been pummeling Cedar Point all summer.
“Doing anything fun this weekend?” Busy asks a while later, snuggling closer to me.
I shake my head, wondering where she’s going with this. “Not particularly. You?”
“We’re hiking Kilroy,” she says. “It’s the big family trip.”
“That’ll be fun. Short route or long route?”
“Everyone else is doing the long route, but I know Junie will be hard to manage on a six-hour hike, so we’re meeting them at the midway point.”
I nod.
“I was wondering…any interest in joining us?”
I blink, surprised at first.
But then I smile, imagining me, Busy, Junie, and Sydney, hiking the trail together, camping at the top, enjoying nature.
“Yeah,” I say, before I can get in my head about it.
Her eyebrows rise and she pulls back, her smile wide. “Really?”
I nod. “Absolutely. Misery loves company.”
Busy laughs, her head flying back, her eyes bright. And then I do the most natural thing in the world.
I lean in and press my lips against hers.
chapter twenty-one
Busy
I fling my hiking bag over the edge of the truck and into the bed then hoist Junie up to stand on the bumper.
“Your turn, little miss.”
She tugs off her own small pink bag—filled with snacks and crayons and a few toys—and chucks it in next to mine and Reid’s.
“I think that’s everything,” Reid says, resting his hand on the tailgate. “Unless you want to go over your list again.”
I smirk at him. He’s been giving me shit about my list since he first saw it typed in the Notes app on my phone.
“You mock me, but just know my list has been the savior of all on more than one occasion.”
His eyebrows dip. “The savior of all?”
