She flashes me her hand with the ring on her right pointer finger. “Wrong finger, wrong hand, Mr. Territorial.”
Wrapping my arms around her waist and bringing her even closer I respond, “Oh, I’ll be territorial if that’s what you want, Sunshine. Isn’t that what all of yours and Katie’s favorite book boyfriends are?”
“Wait, how do you know what a book boyfriend is?”
“Katie’s mood completely changes based on what kind of book she’s reading. She’s happiest when the book boyfriend is a caramel roll or something like that.”
“Oh my gosh, it’s a cinnamon roll. And you’re right, she loves a good ‘he falls first’ trope,” she gushes.
“What exactly is a trope?”
“It can be a storyline, theme, or character trait in the book. Most books have several tropes and micro-tropes in them.”
“Okay, now I’m curious. What would ours be?”
“Well, obviously best friend’s brother romance,” she ticks off her fingers as she continues, “sports romance since we’re both athletes, friends to lovers, and secret pining.”
“I think you forgot one more,” I say as I grab her hand and lead her out of the store.
“Oh, yeah, age gap,” she says as she gives me a teasing hip check.
“Not at all what I was going to say. Shouldn’t the age gap be more than two years?”
“You’re right. Your sister loves to read books with a ten to fifteen-year age gap,” she teases.
I heave out a long sigh. “I did not want to know that tidbit. I was going to suggest you add the boy next door to your tropes list.”
“Oh, yes! I used to seek out young adult novels where the boy would fall for the girl next door, just hoping that one day you’d think of me that way,” she says bashfully.
Tipping her chin up to look at me, I tell her, “One day is now, Kenna.”
McKenna
We get back to my house just as darkness creeps over the sky. Today has been one of the most romantic days of my life. After we left the downtown area, we stopped at Griff’s uncle Adam’s house. He wasn’t home, but Adam called Griff and told him to take me out for a boat ride before we headed back. So we packed up some sandwiches and snacks and had dinner on the river.
His uncle was absolutely insane for letting us take out his boat, which was really more like a small yacht.
Once we were anchored down, we ate a picnic-style dinner. Griff played music on the boat’s speakers and asked me to dance with him. He said we needed to find “our song.” He searched his playlists for a few moments before an acoustic version of “You Are My Sunshine” wafted through the speakers. His deep voice serenaded me as we danced on the bow of the boat.
He wrapped me in his arms and held me like he’d never let me go. I rested my head on the crook of his neck and kissed his collarbone as I soaked it all in. The way his warm body felt pressed against mine. The way his sun-soaked skin smelled of sunscreen and cedar—a lethal combination I didn’t know I’d love so much. It was a surreal moment and one I know I’ll never forget.
Now that we’re back, I was expecting him to walk me to my house, but instead, he leads me to his backyard. Once he opens the gate, he flips a switch at the back of the house. I let out a small gasp as strings of Eddison lights illuminate the backyard. Taking in the space, I notice there’s an outdoor projector screen and a bed of what looks like dozens of blankets and pillows in front of it.
“Griff, what is all of this?” I ask, bewildered.
“Katie helped me set this up before we left this morning. I thought we could extend the day just a little bit longer and watch a movie together. Or if you’d prefer to look at the stars, I can turn off the lights.”
“No, this is perfect. I can’t believe you did all this for me.” I shake my head in amazement.
“I’d do anything to keep that smile on your face, Sunshine. Come on, let me show you what your snack options are,” he says as he moves over to the makeshift bed. It looks like he took two air mattresses and putabout all the blankets and pillows they could find around the house on top. Next to the bed, there’s a basket of movie snacks.
“Alright, so I’ve got kettle corn because I know you like it sweet and salty.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me. “Then I’ve got peanut butter M&Ms, chocolate-covered cookie dough bites, and sour gummy worms. Oh, and I’ve got Cherry Coke in the fridge. Give me a sec, I’ll be right back,” he says as he’s about to jog over to the outdoor fridge. But I stop him when I throw my hands around him.
He lifts me up and splays his hands under my butt as I wrap my legs around his waist. I touch my nose and forehead to his.
“I seriously don’t think you’ll ever be able to top this day. No one has ever done anything like this for me. Thank you so much, G. I’ll never forget this day for as long as I live. It’s perfect. You’re perfect.”
“Just know, it’s only going to get better from here, Sunshine. I’m not perfect by any means. But I want to be my best for you. I want to give you everything if you’ll let me.”
