As I was double-parked outside her apartment building, Pearl rushed out the back door, bundled in a jacket, hat, and mittens—things I’d told her to wear for today.
“I didn’t know you had a car,” she said, climbing into the passenger seat.
“I don’t.” I waited for her to get settled before I pulled into traffic. “It’s my mom’s. I borrowed it for the day.”
She was smiling as I glanced at her. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
“Surprising you will be much more fun.”
She continued grinning as I turned down several streets on the way to the interstate.
Today had taken a bit of research, as the destination was somewhere I’d never been. But because it was so high on Pearl’s fun list and seeing her smile was at the top of mine, I knew I had to make it happen. With some help from my parents, I’d found what I needed, and fortunately, it would only take about a half hour to get there.
I reached across the front seat, holding her hand in mine. “I’m sorry I didn’t make it to the bar last night, like I’d planned. Dylan really wanted to go, too, but that paper took me all night to finish, and it kicked my ass.”
We’d had a month off for Christmas, where I’d gotten to spend almost every day with her, and now, we were back to the full swing of another semester. I missed that time off—when school hadn’t dominated a majority of our life. If I wasn’t attending class, I was preparing for one, or doing homework, or buried under mounds of studying. The amount of work was coming on thick, and the hours I spent with Pearl were thinning out.
“Don’t worry about it.” Her fingers weaved through mine. “It was slow, and I got cut early. I went home and studied for the test I had this morning.”
I quickly glanced at her.
“And that’s the only reason I didn’t come over, knowing we wouldn’t have gotten any homework done.”
I was disappointed to hear I could have woken up next to her this morning, but she was right; we weren’t our most productive when we were in each other’s presence.
I lifted her fingers to my lips. “You’re forgiven but only because I have you for the afternoon.”
“And the night.”
I looked at her again. “You don’t have to work?”
Behind the happiness in her eyes was an even stronger emotion.
Worry.
Each shift she didn’t go into the bar meant a month that would be financially tighter, a concern that she wouldn’t make enough to cover everything she needed. She rarely spoke about it, but she didn’t have to—I could see the stress.
I kissed her knuckles before setting her hand in my lap. “Let’s grab some food later and cook it at your place, so Gran can enjoy it too.”
I felt her eyes on me.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go out or eat dinner in your bed instead?”
I turned off the highway and came to a stop in front of the light. “Do you know what we’re about to hit?”
“I’m hoping it’s not something with this beautiful car.”
Damn it, she’s so cute.
“Our six-month anniversary.”
She squeezed my fingers, her voice turning quiet as she replied, “I know.”
“I think I’ve shown you in that time how much Gran means to me.”
“You have.” She adjusted the collar of her jacket, so it wasn’t rubbing against her mouth. “I just … I don’t know.”
The directions were written down and tucked into my pocket for reference, but I remembered I needed to take a right at this light. I waited until it was clear and turned.
“Talk to me, Pearl.”
She took her time to respond, waiting until we stopped again. “Sometimes, you feel like a dream. Like this is all too good to be true.”
Since the light was red, I released her hand and cupped her cheek, my fingers sliding under her hat. My stare held hers steady. “Don’t you know I feel the same way?”
As she exhaled the air she’d been holding in, I gave her a kiss.
“I’ve never been this happy in my entire life,” I whispered against her mouth.
When I turned toward the windshield, she kissed the inside of my hand. “Me too.”
My foot returned to the gas, and I made a few more turns before entering what looked like an abandoned parking lot.
“You still have no idea where we are?” I pulled into a spot and shut off the car.
She searched the space around us—the trees that surrounded both sides of the large lot, the little view across that showed a few cozy neighborhoods. “Nope, I’m clueless.”
“Good.”
I nodded for her to get out and met her at the back of the car. When I lifted the trunk, she gazed at what was inside, her eyes then instantly meeting mine.
“You didn’t?”
I took out the two sleds that I’d packed in, holding them like surfboards against the ground. “I did, and this is supposed to be the best hill in the area.”
She jumped into my arms, legs circling my waist, hugging me. Each of her breaths hit my neck, the speed of them increasing with every second that passed. “I love you, Ashe.”
The sleds fell from my hand as I wrapped my arms around her, my eyelids closing at the sound of her words. I held her so tightly—a hand gripping the back of her head, the other holding her against my chest.
I waited until her eyes were on me again before I said, “I love you.”
I kissed her softly, so she could feel, not just hear, what was happening in my chest.
Our mouths stayed tangled, the coldness creating a thick white fog as we breathed each other out.
“And I love you for doing this for me,” she sighed, now a few inches separating us.
I swayed her in my arms as though music were playing, her smile growing with each dip. “I told you it was going to be a year of fun. Are you ready?”
She clenched the tops of my shoulders, but I barely felt the squeeze through my jacket. “Yes.”
I went to set her down, but she didn’t move.
I laughed at more of her cuteness coming through. “Are you sure? Because you’re going to have to let me go to make that happen.”
“That’s the problem, Ashe …” The emotion in her face was taking ahold of me, clenching as tightly as her fingers. “Every time I’m with you, it gets harder and harder to do that.”