He lets the silence linger, comforting me.
“I’ve never done this before,” I whisper into the heart-shaped pocket between us.
He kisses my forehead while his fingers drift up and down my spine.“You’d think we would’ve tried it after watchingDirty Dancing.”
I chuckle against him.“OrSixteen Candles.”
“OrWhen Harry Met Sally,” he adds.“Mom’s basement wasn’t exactly a romantic venue.”
“I don’t know.I thought so.A few times.”
“Which times?”
“Oh, the time you got creeped out byThe Blair Witch Projectand snuggled closer under the blanket,” I chuckle.
“I wasn’t creeped out.Ipretended, so I’d have an excuse to get closer to you.”
“Hmm, if you say so.”I don’t quite believe him, but I want to.
“What else?”
“When I fell asleep on your shoulder duringDazed and Confused.”
His fingers tickle my back.“I played the movie a second time to keep you there longer.”
“Did you?How sweet.”
“I’m a sweet guy,” he smirks.“What else?”
“Never Been Kissed.That prompted our first discussion on the use of absolutes,” I remind him.“And our mutual desire not to end up kiss-less.”
“That was our best basement moment.Remember how funny we were?”
The memory rushes in, making my cheeks heat against an unstoppable smile.“Oh, which part?Our lengthy discussion that led to agreeing to be each other’s first kiss, deciding what kind of kiss it should be, or the act itself?”
“All of the above.Your argument for being each other’s first kiss was very convincing.”
“I believe you negotiated for a soft, slow kiss rather than a quick peck,” I say.“Thatwas the better plan.”
He chuckles.“You insisted on no tongue, but then…”
My eyes widen.“I got a little carried away.You didn’t seem to mind.”
A delightful pink twinge appears beneath the rims of his glasses.“No, I didn’t.”
The same firecracker warmth spreads through me, just as it did then, and he leans down, softly, slowly, to recreate it.
“This is the best date I’ve ever had,” I tell him when we part.“It’s like you studied all of our favorite rom-coms to devise a plan for this evening.”
“I just thought of what would be nicefor us.”
His words remind me of Dad’s, about findingournormal.And suddenly, this is it—it’s right here, all around me—and I imagine more for us, like tonight has opened a portal into an alternate universe that I didn’t think could exist.A universewithHenry.The dried chrysalis of the past, holding my guilt and faulty notions about myself, is finally falling off my tired shoulders—a relief because I’m so sick of carrying it.Those mistakes,thatnight, shouldn’t wreck us forever.
“It’s perfect.Thank you, Henry.”
“Us together—that’s perfect, Vee.”
After several songs, the other couples meander to the bar, and DeeDee announces a “Milkshake break!”We perch on barstools between the other couples and share a strawberry milkshake with two straws.
