“Nothing to worry about, Ma,” he reassures her and I can tell she’s still a little tense, but she’ll be fine. It’s always like this.
My brother and I turn to head out the door, taking our things to the Jeep.
Zach meets us around the back and helps us load the bags in. I can’t help but feel anguished at the fact that I can’t reach out and touch him or kiss him right now, seeing as my brother is mere feet away.
“Shot gun!” Ry shouts as she tears open the front door.
“No way, Sailor Moon. Boys in front,” Brayden tells her as he makes his way toward the passenger door.
“Asshole,” she says to him. “Sailor Moon has blonde hair.”
“Apologies,” he snarks. “GothicSailor Moon.”
She glares at him before moving to the back. Zach and I just chuckle as they argue with each other like little kids while we finish loading the bags and then we both head to hop in the car.
As we reach the driver’s side, Zach stops me right before we get to my door and he risks pulling me in. He lowers his mouth to my ear before he whispers, “I can’t wait to kiss you this weekend.” And I swear I can feel the blood inside my veins turn to ice and then melt again.
I gasp, but I have to put on a poker face as he reaches out my door, moving aside to let me in.
I climb in, Bray and Ry still bickering. But I keep my eyes on Zach, smiling at him as I watch him climb into the front. He starts the car, turns on the radio and in no time at all, we’re off.
“Girl, I honestly can say that I am truly such a proud parent watching you sneak around with your childhood crush. You’re like Kim Possible but with no superhero abilities unless down-bad-for-brother's-best-friend counts.”
Ryen twists the marshmallow on her stick, letting it burn in the flames of the firepit as she leans in and whispers to me. I playfully shove her with my elbow, watching as my marshmallow also starts to crisp.
We both break out into a laugh as she pulls her stick back and peels the gooey substance from the tip. I follow her lead and we both shove our mouths full of burnt marshmallow.
“You know,” she starts with her mouth full. I press my hands over my mouth as I finish chewing my food down and I wait for her to finish.
“You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about your little situationship and I’m not gonna lie…” Ryen pauses to add another marshmallow to her stick. “I loathe your brother, but I think you need to tell him.”
And just like that, my mood drops.
“I know,” I groan, tossing my head back. “I know, Ry but I kid you not, the other day I almost did it. I mean, I was so close but he just kept shooting me down.”
“I just worry about the fallout of it all if Bray finds out and he really is a giant asshole who doesn’t approve of it. Which, I don’t know if you heard me but if he doesn’t approve of it, he’sjust a giant asshole.” Ryen shrugs and I let out a laugh. And while I agree to some extent, I also know that Brayden is just being an overly protective big brother. He’d never do anything to intentionally hurt me.
I lean into the fold out chair, laying my head back to look up at the sky. Peaks of trees tunnel in above and lead to a small circle of vast night sky. I look between the stars, watching as silver twinkling lights glimmer against the midnight. The cool breeze feathers against my skin as the heat from the fire dances against it, soaking in the calm of nature.
It’s our last night in the mountains; we head back to town sometime in the afternoon tomorrow. The weekend truly did feel like it kind of flew by, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re laid back with no responsibilities having fun. There’s at least a few dozen high schoolers up here, a mix of juniors and seniors, and of course a few parental chaperones to oversee everything. But everyone has just been chill and enjoying the last bit of warm weather.
Last night after we got up here and unpacked, everyone started to build their tents and then broke off to either partake in truth or dare, scary stories around the firepit, or just wandering the woods and hanging out; kind of like what’s going on now.
Earlier today, pretty much everyone hung out by the lake where we blasted the Bluetooth speaker, jumped from the cliffs into the water. Well, I watched. Everyone else jumped from the cliffs.
It was kind of hard watching Zach and not being able to really even talk to him. Wherever he was, Bray was usually not far behind so it made it impossible for us to attempt to plan to sneak off. We’d glance at each other every now and again, stolen glances that were sometimes even long enough to make it obvious. But the anticipation and tension that brewed between us was worth it, especially considering that we spentour morning together. A memory that causes a smile to pull on my lips.
But now, everyone is just hanging out, eating BBQ and roasting marshmallows.
“Like, what if they fight?”
I lift my head and shoot Ryen a sarcastic look. Her sudden outburst pulls me from the moment of serenity but I can’t help but laugh.
“You’re ridiculous. They wouldn't fight,” I tell her, having the hardest time imagining a circumstance in which my brother and Zach would engage in physical violence with each other.
“Never know.” Ry sticks the new marshmallow in her mouth right as my phone chimes.
“Is that the man of the hour himself?” She teases and I can’t hold back my cheesy grin when I see that it is in fact Zach.
