“It’s how I feel about you,” I say, pushing some hair over my face because I suddenly feel self-conscious.
Shooting to his feet, he envelops me in his arms and spins around. “That was the most beautiful thing I have ever heard in my life. I love it.” He sets me down, burying his face in my hair. “I really love it, Raven.”
I smile shyly. “You do?”
“More than you can ever imagine.” He gives me a deep, powerful kiss that makes me feel deliriously good for a second. “Can you teach it to me? Can we play it together?”
I nod. “It’s just for you and me. Our special song.”
He smiles and gives me another kiss that makes my knees go weak. “Our special song. I love the sound of that. Let me fetchmy guitar.” He dashes out the door and returns so quickly it’s like he’s The Flash.
He sits down on Sophie’s bed, facing me so he can follow the chords I play. He catches on very quickly and soon we’re playing and singing together. We sound amazing together. It’s more than magic. It’s fate. I love sharing this special moment with him. His loving smile tells me he feels the exact same way.
Chapter Forty
Raven
Tonight is the school dance!
As Addie predicted, her grandfather sent each of us a plethora of dresses to choose from. It was hard for us to pick the perfect dress because they were all so stunning, but we finally made our decisions. I’m wearing a light pink long dress with two slits on the sides, Carly chooses a dark green short dress that goes so well with her red hair, Addie wears a sleek black dress that fits herperfectly, and Sophie is content with her poofy white dress.
We’re once again getting ready in Addie and Carly’s room, each of us gushing about how ecstatic we are for this dance.
“Excited to dance with your boyfriend, Raven?” Addie asks me, then laughs in a giddy manner. “Oh my gosh, I love calling him your boyfriend.”
“I do, too,” I admit.
“You guys aresodarn cute,” Carly says as she does a final check in the mirror. “I always catch you exchanging secret looks when you think no one is looking.”
I laugh. “You have no idea how often we sneak in secret kisses, too.”
Sophie giggles. “How do you evade the teachers? Every time I want to sneak in a kiss with Damian, a teacher seems to pop in out of nowhere.”
“I swear teachers are either blind or they pretend not to notice,” I tell her.
“Lucky you. A teacher almost bit Damian’s head off when she caught him about to kiss me. Maybe they’re extra hard on him because he’s the principal’s kid. Maybe they feel like they have to report it to Harrington.”
“Sucks,” Carly says.
Sophie beams. “It’s cool because we share so many secret kisses when we’re alone in his room!”
“Harrington doesn’t think you guys need space anymore?” I ask as I also check myself one final time in the mirror. Not to pat myself on the back, but I look really good. We all do. I can’t wait to see Kylen in a suit. He didn’t have a suit back at camp, just a nice dress shirt, so I’ve never seen him in formal wear.
“She still thinks we need time apart,” Sophie says. “But maybe she realized it’s a doomed battle. The more she tries to keep us apart, the more we yearn for each other. What’s the quote? ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder.’ That totally applies to us.”
“It makes me wonder how I’ll survive the summer without Ryder,” Carly says with a frown. “He promised he’ll visit, but what’s one week out of two months?”
“And don’t forget college,” Addie reminds her.
“Ugh! I don’t want to think about that,” Sophie says.
“I’m not sure if I’m even going to college,” Carly says. “Ryder and I might want to try to dance professionally.”
“That’s right!” Addie says. “You’re going to be a bigshot choreographer.”
“One step at a time, Addie.”
“But you can spend every second with Ryder,” Sophie says. “Wow, you’re so lucky.”
