Page 34 of Last Slice of Pie

The anger I had felt slowly slipped away, and a crushing sense of loss set in. Soon enough, he’d be gone, and who knew if he’d ever be back. Another breeze blew by, and the tall grass around the tree swayed, seeming to urge me on with a wave goodbye. I was going to lose something that had never even been mine.

I was used to the silence from him. He always spoke best through his eyes and his hands, but right then, I needed something from him, and he knew it. I was certain he knew how much prom meant to me.

“Bryan.” I needed him to acknowledge me. “Tell me why you’re here and not at the dance.”

His feet froze and the swing stopped. I couldn’t tear my eyes off him. Everything about him always seemed so mysterious and closed off, but I knew him. I knew him even better than James did. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he sat back against the swing, unclasped his hands, and roughly ran them up and down his thighs as if wiping them off. He looked away from me, out across the fields, and he still didn’t speak.

“One thing.” I had said this to him so many times over the years. It had become the only way I could get him to open up and let me know what he was thinking. He never wanted to have a conversation with me—or anyone, really—but he could handle telling me one thing at a time. All I could hope for after feeling the rejection from earlier was that he’d answer me.

He relaxed his shoulders and pushed off the ground. The swing began to move again, back and forth, back and forth. Patience was something I’d always had a lot of when it came to him. Most people got frustrated with his lack of enthusiasm for joining in on conversations or answering questions, but I knew he just needed time.

Finally, he glanced over at me out of the corner of his eye and reached out to grab my hand. I loved when he held my hand. Mine was so small in his, and it felt so right and perfect to me. His thumb gently rubbed across the back of my hand.

Bryan had never had a girlfriend. So many times over the years I had hoped if he did, it would be me, but he never said anything. I knew he cared for me by the way he looked at me. His eyes had always been expressive, and the words weren’t needed.

“I really did want to dance with you at our senior prom,” he said quietly.

“So why didn’t you?” The swing stopped again and he slowly looked over at me, the shadows of the night still partly covering him. I looked in his eyes, and the light of the moon reflected off the silver shade they’d shifted to. He leaned his forehead against mine, and I couldn’t help but gasp and inhale the scent of him. He smelled like grass from a warm summer afternoon mixed with mint. I loved the aroma.

Neither one of us moved, the wind slightly pushing the swing and blowing his hair across both of our faces. Reaching out, I grabbed his wrists, pulling him up as I stood.

“Will you dance with me now?”

Standing next to me, he looked me up and down, and his mouth quirked up on one side, revealing that tiny dimple I loved. Bryan never really smiled, but when he did, it was breathtaking.

“But there’s no music.”

“Sure there is—can’t you hear it? Our song is playing.” I held my arms out wide and swayed. Both of us listened, and the sounds of the night wrapped around us: the tall grass bending in the breeze, the leaves rustling on the oak tree, the melodic notes of the wind chime on the back porch, and the cicadas singing to each other across the fields.

Bryan stepped closer and placed one hand on my lower back to pull me in. My eyes shot to his just before I laid my head on his chest, wrapped my arms around him, and slid them up under his jacket. His other arm ran up the length of my back, and his fingers brushed against my neck and into my hair.

He laid his head on top of mine, and slowly we began to sway. He must have felt my heart pounding against my chest, because he pulled me closer and embraced me tighter.

“You look beautiful tonight,” he mumbled in my hair. It wasn’t very long, but GiGi had known just what style I needed to go with my dress. She’d parted it on the side and swept it across my forehead, pulling it all back into a messy but elegant chignon. She had twisted and braided different pieces and pinned in little crystals and pearls that matched the dress. We’d copied my makeup out of the same magazine I’d seen the dress in, making my eyes smoky and my lips a glossy pink. For the first time ever, I felt beautiful.

It turned out that dance with him under the oak tree was a thousand times better than one at prom ever would have been.

“One thing?” he asked me.

I pulled back and looked at him. His mood had lightened and his eyes sparkled. I knew what my one thing was; it had been the same thing for so long. I’d never had the nerve to tell him, at least not until that night. Something about this night felt different between us.

“I want you to be my first kiss.”

He stopped moving instantly and his muscles tensed. His eyebrows lifted a little in surprise, and then his eyes dropped to my mouth. Most of my friends had all had their first kiss years earlier, but I’d always known I wanted it to be Bryan who gave me mine.

“Hmm.” He licked his lips, and his eyes shifted back up to my face. He didn’t look angry; if anything, he looked intrigued. He moved his hand from my neck to my cheek and lightly cupped it; I couldn’t help but lean my head toward the contact. His thumb moved across my skin, and goose bumps raced down my arms.

“Cold?”

“No.”

His eyes trailed back down to my mouth. I wasn’t sure how much time passed, because in so many ways it stood still. Bryan tilted my head backward and lowered his lips to mine, his moist, full, and warm lips. Oh my God, this is happening. Heat flashed through me, and I felt it from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.

Gently, his lips moved with mine. His tongue ever so lightly ran across my bottom lip, and my lips parted as I leaned in closer to him and let out a sigh. I didn’t even realize I was holding my breath. Bryan used that movement as an opportunity to deepen the kiss, and I was officially lost in him. Being wrapped up in his arms, the smell and taste of him—it was more than I had ever dreamed of.

That first kiss came so easily to us. It was as if we had been kissing each other every night for the last eight years, no stumbling or awkward movements. We were completely in sync with each other, and slowly but surely, Bryan’s emotional wall slid down. His arms tightened even more around me, and I felt like he was trying to consume me. He wanted that kiss with me too, and that made my heart soar.

Standing under our oak tree in the moonlight, kissing the boy I had loved so much for so long—it was the best moment of my life, and I never wanted it to end.