“Say, Count Dracula,” shouts Henry from down the bar. “It’s not the Sears catalog. Get on with it.”
All three of us laugh—Kit’s with a small snort, Zoe’s big and bold, mine not much more than a quiet chuckle—and that’s when Alex gets the picture, probably the perfect picture. Probably I’ll have it framed and on my mantel by the end of the month.
Alex comes over, takes my diploma, and sets it on the table behind me, placing the camera beside it, leaning down to kiss my cheek. “Mind if I steal you awayfor a minute?”
Thank God.“Please,” I whisper to him. “This is—so many people here.”
Alex smiles down at me, takes my hand in his, and leads me through the crowd, stopping by the bar and taking a covered basket from Betty—who gives the both of us a wink—before he leads me down the hall. When he pushes open the back door, he takes his hand from mine and gestures for me to go ahead of him, bending to prop the door open with a wooden block he’s taken outof the basket.
The basket, the block—it’s only the first clue to what’s obviously been carefully planned. Betty’s back alley has been transformed as best as a back alley can be. There’s one of her two-top tables up against the brick wall, a few lit tea lights in the center, two chairs pulled out already, one with a hulking bouquet of fat red roses resting on the seat. Above us, tiny white lights have been strung between Betty’s and the adjoining building, a stringed canopy that does a lot to make the place look dreamy and romantic, even though there’s still a dumpster not all that many feet away. But someone—probably Alex, probably this is the errand he had to run this afternoon—has made an effort to clean up, the ground beneath my feet swept clean, no cigarette butts or bottles or wet, discarded paper anywhere. It smells like someone went berserk with a can of sprayair freshener.
“I’m not going to propose,” he blurts.
I press my lips together, tamp down my smile. God—this Alex. This Alex who gets flustered, unsure of himself.I love him so.
“I figured not. It’s pretty early on in this thing.” Two months since my accident. Two of the best months, together.
He reaches into the basket, takes out two flutes and a small bottle of champagne for me, a small bottle of sparkling water for him. Even in the low light from the candles, from the stringed bulbs above, I can see there’s a flush high on his cheekbones as he opens them both and pours for us. His eyelashes are still, obviously, stupidly, offensively long. Two weeks ago at dinner Ava asked if she could touch them.
“I wanted to do a toast. For your graduation.” I take the glass he holds out to me, but lean in first and press my lips to his. When I step back, he runs his hand through his hair, picking up his own glass. “I know you wouldn’t want a big scene. A bigger scene, I guess, than what’s already in there.”
“You know me pretty well, I guess.” My smile feels so big, huge for a moment between only two people.
He clears his throat, rubs his hand across my face on his chest again. I think he’s—I think hepracticedthis, same as Ava wanted me to practice the wave.
“Since we got together, Greer—I’ve been rethinking my position on luck.”
I raise aneyebrow at him.
“I’ve decided that I’m a really lucky person. Lucky I survived all those years on my own. Lucky nothing serious ever went wrong with Kit. I’m lucky I got that FG, and I’m lucky I got to meet a lot of people on the way who were willing to take a chance on a bad attitude kid with a good eye. I’m lucky I never died doing any of the stupid shit I did, chasing this career. Lucky my sister never gave up on me, even though I probably deserved it. And I’m so lucky you’re her best friend. That I got to meet you, and that I get to love you. I’ve got the best luck of anyone I know,I’ve decided.”
“Cheers to that,” I say quietly, smiling and raising my glass, my eyesall welled up.
“No, wait,” he says quickly, before I can take a sip. “What I wanted to say is that you’ve convinced me about my own luck. But I hope you know that this, today—your graduation, it wasn’t luck. It was only you and your hard work and determination, and you would’ve done it whether you’d gotten that ticket or not, even if it would’ve taken you longer. I wish I could’ve seen it from the beginning, you doing all this, but I—” He breaks off, swallows, and clears his throat again. “I’m glad I got to be here for this part. And I can’t wait to be here for the next part. All the parts, really. Whatever you do next.” He raises his glass. “Congratulations, sweetheart.”
He’s hardly finished before I step into him again,kiss him hard.
“We forgot to clink our glasses,” he says, a few minutes later. “Probably that’sbad luck, huh?”
I shrug. “Probably.” I lean back, staying within the circle of his arms, and tap his glass with mine. “Good thing you’ve got the best luck of anyone you know.”
He laughs, leans into me, and sighs, making goosebumps rise on my neck. The party inside is loud, laughing. Just a few more minutes here with Alex and I’ll be ready to go back in, to celebrate myself and this massive accomplishment. In two days, Alex and I leave for another celebration, a trip I planned over the last month, staying up late to do research on my computer, checking out guidebooks from the library. A flight out to Seattle, a rented car for us to drive over two weeks all the way down to Big Sur, stopping along the way to visit all sorts of places I’ve always wanted to go. My mother will probably need a whole bottle of Xanax, or maybe she won’t. Maybe everyone in that room is finally getting used to the Greer I’ve always been.
After a minute, Alex moves, putting his mouth against my ear before he whispers to me, a secret even from the privacy of this alley, fromthis night sky.
“Just so you know, Greer. I am going to ask you someday. If you won’t mind being stuck with me forever.”
I squeeze him tighter, smiling into the kiss I press against his neck. Stuck with Alex—what a thought. What a thought, when I always feel so free with him beside me. I nip lightly at his skin beforeI whisper back.
“Just so you know, Alex,” I say, kissing him again, feeling my whole heart expand.I can, I can, I can.“I can alwaysask you first.”
