Page 19 of Kickoff

I nodded my agreement. “Nothing like a night at the cabin to end the vacation on a high note. Let me text Jax. We gotta bring beer.”

“We can do a pitstop after dinner,” my brother said. “I know a place where they don’t check IDs as long as we pay cash.”

“You do? Never thought of sharing that piece of useful information with your baby brother before?”

He shook his head, a smirk forming on his lips. “Yeah, well, I’m surprised I’m the guy providing the information right now. Between us, you’re usually the one in the loop, man.”

“Life would be boring if I was perfect all the time. I love it when you’re the one teaching me stuff. After all, that’s the reason you were born first.”

My brother’s grin took over his face.

“I’m glad we’re doing this,” Paige said.

“Me too.” The tension straining Melinda’s shoulders seemed to vanish, and a tiny smile shaped her lips. “I need this. To let loose.”

I pumped my fist. “Good. We have a plan, people.”

The weird silence that had enveloped us until now dissipated. The energy in the car had transformed, the heaviness a thing of the past, and now we were back to being ourselves. I relaxed in my seat, the need to entertain the crowd gone.

Paige and Melinda were chatting about some movie I’d never heard of, and Craig kept stealing a glance at his girlfriend every few minutes. His hand stayed attached to hers as if he feared she could disappear any second. Something was different, though, in their interactions, and for the first time, I noticed what Paige had hinted at this morning and wondered what was troubling my brother.

Craig eased onto the highway and pushed the gas, and the Jeep swerved. “Oh, yeah,” my brother hollered, his lips tilting into a wide grin, as he winked at his girlfriend. Since we’d removed the Jeep’s soft top before we left, the wind blew our hair, and right now, it felt like summer would last forever. I clutched the cross bar above our heads, enjoying this moment of freedom where everything seemed possible.

Paige waved her arms in the air and Melinda laughed, whatever bothering her minutes ago seemingly forgotten. Her smile was back—contagious and blinding.

“Okay, listen,” she began. “One night when I was in Jersey, I was getting ice cream with some people I worked with when this couple walked in. The guy planned to ask his girlfriend to marry him. With the help of the employee working behind the counter, he had hidden the ring in her cone. She took a big bite and almost swallowed it. You should have seen his face when she choked on it. The poor guy. It was like the entire place froze, waiting to see how it would play out.”

“And?” Paige asked.

“She didn’t swallow it. She fished the ring from her mouth and started crying. The guy got down on one knee, told her what she meant to him, and they walked out of there engaged.”

“Wow. So romantic.” Paige cupped her heart and swiveled in her seat, her gaze drifting back and forth between Craig and me. “Take notes, guys. Girls love big gestures. A lot.”

My brother brought their joined hands to his lips. “You do?”

She smiled back. “We all do, right, Mel?”

“Yes.” She shrugged. “Can you blame us? Movies and books have been teaching us about romance all our lives and to expect fairytales. Girls have standards. Anyway, this was the most action I saw in New Jersey for the summer. It was fun, but hanging out with my grandparents got old after a few weeks. I’m glad to be back.”

I absorbed each word escaping her lips and burned to memory every one of her features, familiar but also different from how they were three months ago. Sharper angles and softer curves.

“I can’t believe Nathan Bellevue vacationed at the same place you did. How small is this world?” Paige asked. “I hope he treats you well, or he better run fast when I come after him.”

My brother’s glanced at her. “God, you’re hot when you get all protective and shit.”

She glowed at the compliment, a pink shade tinting her cheeks. “Thanks.”

“Ah, I understand now.” My brother watched Melinda through the rearview mirror. “That’s why you two know each other.”

“His granddad lives down my grandparents’ house. He was in New Jersey for a week, and we spent some time together. He wasn’t the same Nate he is at school. Anyway, we just had dinner last night. Nothing to feed the rumor mill.”

I thanked my brother and Paige in my head for bringing up the topic and putting to rest the questions swirling in my head.

“Hey Mase,” Paige said, stealing my attention. Was she about to deliver more insider information about her best friend? “You won’t believe what…” The first notes of a pop song playing on the radio captured her attention, and she toyed with the knob, increasing the volume. Turning backward in her seat, she lifted a finger in my direction. “I’ll tell you later. We cannot ruin a good song.”

The chorus started, and both girls belted the lyrics at the top of their lungs using their fists as mics, not a care in the world about their singing abilities. Flushed cheeks and bright eyes, with the breeze lifting their hair, happiness radiated from them.

A slice of my heart swelled at the sight. I wished every day could be like this moment. Carefree and filled with joy—and love. And that the girl would be mine and not hate my guts. The four of us together against the world.