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“Seriously?” I tilted my head so I could see Austin’s face. The two of them were the joke of the school. They were good kids, but they only had eyes—and hands and tongues, unfortunately—for each other.
Austin bobbed his head from side to side. “It was just too close for comfort. Lola, of course, got all defensive.”
“She does that. I think because she knows better. I don’t think she’d behave like she does if Darius wasn’t pushing.” I didn’t have any basis for that. Lola and Darius had gotten together basically at freshman orientation, and they didn’t seem in any hurry to change that. “I don’t know. Maybe they’ll end up one of the few high school couples who go on to have a long, happy life together.”
“Stranger things have happened.” Austin leaned closer until our noses touched. “I can’t help but notice we aren’t on school grounds right now.”
My breath caught. “No. We’re not.”
Austin shifted. His lips brushed across mine. My eyes drifted closed. I lost myself in the kiss. It could have been five seconds or fifteen minutes. I had no idea. I just knew that I was with Austin and that he—finally—saw me as more than a friend.
Gradually, he eased back. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while.”
“I’ve been wanting you to do that for a while.”
Austin’s eyebrows drew together and he studied his ice cream a moment before looking at me. “How long?”
“What do you mean?”
He cleared his throat. “The way you said that sounded like you meant more than the week that I meant.”
“Oh.” I looked away. I wanted to hunch my shoulders. It shouldn’t matter. We were together now, so it was okay. “Um. Maybe about a year. Little longer.”
“A year.” He let out a laughing breath. “You’re pulling my leg.”
“No.”
He was quiet for so long, I turned to look at him.
“Why didn’t you say something?”
I sighed. “I wanted you to notice me.”
“Is that why you started hanging out with Megan? And pulling away from me?”
I nodded. I didn’t know if he could see me in the twilight, but I didn’t have any words.
“I’m sorry.” Austin’s voice was quiet. “I’m so sorry.”
I twisted on the bench so I could face him, and cupped his cheek in my hand. “Don’t be sorry. There’s no reason for it. Even if this had never happened, you wouldn’t owe me anything. I value your friendship. I value you. It’s one of the reasons I never said anything. I didn’t want to risk losing what we have. And I know there are people who get super annoyed by that in movies, but it’s true. You’re the most incredible friend I’ve ever had. If that friendship was all I ever got to have with you, I would have been incredibly blessed.”
“Kayla.” He covered my hand with his own. “I love you.”
I leaned forward and kissed him. “I love you, too.”
We sat in companionable silence for several more minutes as we finished our ice cream. I didn’t want to leave. It seemed clear that Austin didn’t either. But it was starting to get chilly, especially when the breeze kicked up off the water.
I shivered.
“We should get you home. You drove to the bookstore?” Austin stood and tugged me to my feet.
“Yeah. My car’s in the garage.” I pointed to the parking structure.
“Handy. I’m surprised you didn’t try for street parking.”
I chuckled. “I did. But it’s Friday night. The spots were full and I didn’t feel like spending an extra twenty minutes hoping, you know?”
“Yeah.” He shifted and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, tucking me in close to his side. I appreciated it on many levels—it was warmer, to start. And it was Austin. “What are you up to tomorrow?”
