He only released my hand to put on his shirt and shoes that sat next to the blanket.
“Where are we going?” I asked, following closely behind him, up a trail leading away from the river. The pathway was surrounded by the tallest, most beautiful sunflowers I’d ever seen.
“I want to show you something cool.”
“It better be cool,” I griped as he trudged up the rocky trail.
“We’re almost there,” Ace said, taking hold of my waist to steady me.
We walked up and down a sort of winding trail for probably another fifteen minutes. The other kids were long gone, and I couldn’t even hear their laughter or voices anymore.
“We’re here,” he said when we came to a clearing.
I glanced around and saw that it was an overlook. We could see down into the town of Harlington. While the spot was nice, it was deserted and not unique in any way that I could see, save for the view.
I turned to Ace. “What’s this?”
“Hang on.” He held up a hand.
It grew quiet between us. I heard the noise of car engines and horns somewhere in the distance, but that was it. We weren’t far from a road. Then, after about a minute of waiting, a rumbling started. The sound grew louder and louder. The earth beneath our feet rattled.
I glanced upward and shielded my eyes from the sun. Through squinted eyes, I could make out a black figure in the sky.
Ace’s laughter beside me caught my attention. “There it is.” I watched him as he watched the fighter pilot fly over our heads. He spun around and followed the plane with his gaze until it was out of our sight.
“That’s going to be me,” he turned and said, squeezing my hand.
I dropped my gaze and looked at our clasped hands. “You’ll make an amazing pilot.” There wasn’t a doubt in my mind.
His smile widened. Ace ran his thumb against the knuckles of my hand. I shuddered.
“What do you want to be?” he asked.
“A doctor,” I replied without hesitating.
“You can be my doctor.”
I laughed at that until he told me he was dead serious.
“Well,” I said, off-handedly, “it’ll be the least I can do since you’re sacrificing yourself for our country and all.”
We stayed up on that overlook, laughing, debating which episode ofStar Trekwas the best, and watching fighter pilots fly overhead until it got dark.
Ace walked me home, and when he wrapped his fingers around my chin and pressed a kiss to my lips before I went inside, I knew I’d fallen for the beautiful boy that lived across the bridge.
* * *
A weekafter that first kiss, Ace told me he had changed his mind about letting me be his doctor.
“I don’t think doctors are allowed to treat their spouses. Or something like that.” He’d shrugged.
I’d given him a curious look. “What’s that mean?”
He took my hand while we walked down the street toward a local pizza spot. “It means you’re going to be my wife, Savannah. I can’t be your patient because I’ll be your husband.”
He’d said the words so casually, but there wasn’t a hint of laughter or joking in his voice. He’d meant it one hundred percent.
And less than two years later, Ace made good on his word.
