Later, when Haley walks with me outside to my car, she lets me carefully wrap my arms around her waist to hold her.
“Thanks for coming to see me,” she whispers. “Do you think it’s too cold for some hammock time tomorrow? I think I could maybe get in and out of it okay.”
“No,” I say, easily able to see my breath in the air. “It’s not too cold. We’ll just have to bundle up real good. I’ll pick you up, take you to Mrs. Elsie’s for lunch and dessert, and then go to my house to lie in the hammock. How does that sound?”
“It’s a date, Keelan Sanderson.”
Nothing can wipe the grin off my face
. I can see her Mom peek out the window, so I only kiss her cheek.
“Give me a real kiss,” she murmurs. “I don’t care if they’re watching.”
“I do.”
“Please?”
I dip my head and press a hard, yet chaste kiss to her lips.
She laughs when I pull away. “Not a real kiss, but I’ll accept it since I really like you.”
“Good because I really like you too, and it’d break my heart if you didn’t.” I kiss her one more time on the lips.
“I miss kissing you,” she whispers, her eyes downcast.
“I’m here to kiss you any time you want, Hales.” To prove it, I kiss her again. “Except for now because your mom is glaring at me, and I need to go home.”
Haley laughs again and says, “Okay, go. We don’t need to get in trouble again for a while.”
“Exactly. I’ll text you later.”
Because I can’t help myself, I kiss her one more time before heading home with a grin on my face.
