24
Dev had almost everything he could want. Charges had been brought against Mooney, Luongo, and Yapp and the three of them probably would likely never see the light of day again. And now he was free to pursue Kinsley.
He could hardly explain the sappy feelings that had taken over him. He felt like singing or humming. He felt like dancing. He felt like shouting for joy.
All due to the woman sitting across the room from him with his sister. Kinsley. He’d imagined for years what it would be like to be with her, but even his vivid imagination hadn’t done the life-changing, life-fulfilling, life-altering emotions justice. He just didn’t expect these feelings. He’d seen his brother and his teammates fall under the influence of a woman they loved, and he hadn’t understood their behavior. He did now.
Boy, how he did.
Every movement unfolding in front of him grabbed his attention. Her joyful expression. Her hurried movements as if she couldn’t contain her happiness. The way she grinned at Jada as they finally got to go through the memory box.
The fire had been contained the day after they’d fled to Portland, and they’d come home to cabins still standing. The firefighters had contained the fire two miles from home. At least home to Dev. Kinsley and he still hadn’t found a way to make their separate lives come together. But for now, they decided to spend as much time together as possible and prayed that God would show them the way.
“Oh, look.” Jada grabbed something small from the bed that Dev couldn’t make out and bounced on the mattress while holding out the item to Kinsley. “Do you remember this? It was your thirteenth birthday party.”
“Rollerama.” Kinsley’s mouth split in a broad smile. “How could I forget? Your mom rescued me from not having a party at all.”
“Yeah, your parents didn’t even remember it was your birthday. But Mom bundled us all in her minivan and took us for pizza and skating at the roller rink.” Jada shot across the room to Dev and held up a ticket. “Do you remember that night?”
Did he? Of course he did. Packed into the minivan with Kinsley sitting next to him. His crush on her in full swing, and her leg touching his nearly sent his adolescent body into turmoil. Then at the rink, he had to pretend not to like her, so he ignored her, but Jada saw his desire, and that was the night she made him make the awful promise not to date Kinsley.
“Youdoremember,” Jada said. “I can tell by the look in your eyes.”
“Well, you should remember, too.” He stared at her. “That was the night you made me promise never to date Kinsley.”
Kinsley came to her feet. “It was that long ago?”
“Yeah,” Jada said. “I saw him making googly eyes at you all night long, and I didn’t want to lose you as a friend.”
Kinsley came over to Dev and stopped in front of him. “I didn’t notice you looking at me that way. All I remember is that you ignored me when I really wanted to skate with you.”
“I wanted to skate with you, too, but I ignored you because that’s what middle school boys do when they have a crush on a girl.” He laughed. “Maybe if we would’ve just been honest with each other, we might have gotten together before Jada issued her decree and not lost so many years when we could’ve been together.”
“Like I’ve said for the thousandth time I’m really sorry that I kept you apart.” Jada’s eyes got glassy like she might cry. “I wish I could change it, but I can’t, so I hope you accept my apology.”
“And like we said about the thousandth time,” Kinsley said, “we do accept your apology, and we don’t blame you. It is what it is, and we’re together now, and that’s all that matters.” Kinsley sat sideways on Dev’s lap and put her arm around his shoulders.
“Please don’t tell me you’re going to get all mushy on me again.” Jada grimaced. “If so, I’ll have to leave.”
“You know,” Dev said, grabbing their attention. “Do you think Rollerama is still open?”
“I have no idea,” Jada said. “I haven’t been out there for years.
“Well, there’s one way to find out.” Kinsley pulled out her phone from her back pocket. “The Google knows everything.”
The three of them laughed, the way Dev hoped things would always be with the three of them.
She focused on the screen, but all he could focus on was that the woman he’d loved from afar for so many years now sat on his lap.
“Here it is. A link for the place.” She tapped the screen. “Yeah, yeah. They’re still open. In fact, they’re having a special fifty-year celebration on Friday night. They’re calling it a Blast From the Past, and they want skaters to come dressed in sixties attire.”
Jada’s eyes lit up. “We should go. It would be really fun to end my time here at the rink.”
“But what about the clothes?” Kinsley asked. “I don’t have anything with me to wear.”
“Mom’s a pack rat and is bound to have something we can use.” Jada rubbed her hands together. “Remember when we were kids and played dress up? She had all of those boxes of clothes from the sixties and seventies.”
“But do you think she still has them?” Dev asked. “I know when she moved to the house in town, she got rid of a lot of stuff.”
