Page 25 of So Long, Honey

“That one,” I pointed to it, and Ryan gently picked it up and paid for it, handing me the small brown bag with a smile. “Thank you,” I said to him, and he smiled down at me, creeping forward with his hand still on the bag, too. He tugged me toward his chest until he was within reach to kiss me.

In public.

I inhaled a shaky breath as he pulled away.

“Are you okay?” He asked in a hushed voice, but all I could do was nod. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I just didn’t expect you to…”

“Kiss you?” Ryan’s brows furrowed, “Rae…” He leaned close and kissed me again, “Now that I’ve done it once, I’ll need them at least once an hour until the day we die.”

I stared up at him, my heart racing so fast it felt like it would burst out of my chest on main street. “I mean in public.”

“Am I not allowed to kiss you in public?” He asked quietly, matching my tone.

“I—well…” I shrugged; I had just expected him to.

“If I ever gave you the idea that I was ashamed to be seen with you, Starlight, you’re going to have to remind me when because I'm blanking.” Ryan smiled down at me because he was right. Never once had he pretended like I wasn’t there around anyone. It had been him who wanted to sit in the library for our tutoring, him who dragged me to the fair…

“I’m sorry. I guess it was just a surprise,” I said.

Ryan kissed me again, and it warranted the same rush of heat as before.

“I’ll kiss you until you're comfortable, I'll kiss you until the whole town knows it.” He declared, “I’ll even scream it down the street.I kissed Lorraine Field!” He said a little louder.

“Ryan, don’t you dare!” I laughed and pulled him back for a third kiss before he could act on the foolish notion. He smiled against my mouth and pressed his fingers to my throat, holdingme in place as he leaned his weight over me and deepened the kiss.

“What’s next?” He asked when he finally pulled away.

”You said you wanted to see the bowling queen in action?” I smirked up at him.

”Oh, God. I’ve never wanted anything more,” He laughed and tossed his arm over my shoulder as we started down the street toward the alley.

CODY

“Here,” I knelt in front of her on the bench, despite the deep pain in my side, and tied the laces of her bowling shoes for her. When I looked up to see if they were too tight, she stared down at me with the stars in her big blue eyes.

The lights from the dark bowling alley reflected back at me, paired with her big smile, was enough to drive a boy over the edge of insanity. It had been such a short time, but I couldn’t remember a moment without her now. She consumed all my thoughts, to the point that until this very moment, I had stopped to think about my Dad or baseball.

I just didn’t care about any of it when I was around her. It was terrifying and exhilarating all at once. I knew full well that baseball needed to be focused on. It was my ticket out, and now I had another person to take with me.

I’d be damned if I left her behind in a town that doesn’t see her light.

I needed to work hard, finish my papers, and practice more. I had a newly formed responsibility to her and myself. To be the best I could.

“You’re going to start to smoke if you think any harder.” She said, her fingers brushing under my chin to hold my gaze.

“Lost myself for a second. Luckily, I have the North Star sitting in front of me.” I beamed at her and stood up from the floor. “Come on, show me those skills.”

She took my hand in her own, never saying a word, but her cheeks blushed deep pink, and she tucked in close as we navigated the busy bowling alley. There were tons of kids here today, a few families, but mostly the senior crowd that liked to waste Saturday afternoons gossiping.

“We’re number nineteen,” I said to her, and she weaved around a group of old ladies sipping coffee to find our alley. “Do you need the bumpers up to score your perfect game?”

“Do you?” Lorraine countered as she set her shoes and bag on the cushioned pinstripe bench.

“You’re cocky, Starlight. This won’t end well.” I teased her.

“You may be good at baseball, Cody, but you can’t cheat math.” She ran her eyes over me with a smirk and took her turn first. “Watch closely now. Maybe you’ll learn something.”