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“That is the best news, ever!” She squeals as she wraps her arms around my neck and squeezes so tight, she cuts off my oxygen.
But man, what a way to go.
She smells so good.
Feels even better.
I want to cup the back of her neck, press my lips to her throat and kiss my way up to her mouth. One day soon, I will.
“Do I want you to? Is that a real question?” She loosens her grip on my neck and leans backward and stares at me like I’m a crazy person. “Let’s see. Do I want my favorite human being in the whole wide world to finally live in the same place as me, so I can see him more than three times a year?”
She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “Come on.”
“All right, cool. I’m thinking I should apply early decision, since it’s my first choice,” I tell her, feeling more confident now that I can see how happy she is.
She squeals and wraps her arms around my neck again and hugs me.
“Wait.” She pulls back suddenly. Her gaze is full of doubt suddenly. “What about your mom? Are you sure you want to leave her alone in LA?” She squints at me like she thinks maybe I haven’t considered it.
“She’s hardly alone. She’s got more of a social life than me. She’s got work, yoga. She’s friends with a lady named Becca ... I mean, it’s cool. Las Vegas isn’t that far away, so she can come up for a weekend or I can go down. Just like you do now.”
Her expression crumbles slowly. It starts with the softening of her eyes as they fill with tears, continues to the drooping of those always smiling cheeks, and ends with her pouting lower lip trembling. And then she buries her face in my neck and starts to cry.
“Hey, what’s all this?” I walk us to one of the benches lining the walk. By the time I set her down, she’s got tears streaming down her cheeks.
I squat in front of her, tilt her chin up with my finger and search her face, worry growing with every second she doesn’t respond.
“Apollo, talk to me,” I demand.
She turns those teary midnight eyes my way and says, “I’m just so happy.” She wails before she covers her face with her hands.
A bark of relieved laughter makes me throw my head back. When I look back at her, she’s smiling again.
“Things have been so hard at home. Being stuck there with Maman and all this stuff with my grandfather’s will. Lately, I’ve been thinking how I’ve never lived anywhere because I wanted to be there.”
“God, you’re almost eighteen, Apollo. It’s only seven years, really. Where are you in such a rush get to?”
“Life is short. I’m afraid I’m missing something. I wonder if the money’s worth it?”
“You’re not sure you want to inherit enough money to make you independently wealthy? You’d never have to work again.” We’ve talked about this so many times.
“I don’t mind working. I want to work.” She groans.
“Then you can. There’s nothing stopping you. But, let’s say something happened, and you couldn’t work, wouldn’t it be great if you could survive without it?” I can’t even imagine having that kind of security.
“That’s true. I mean, anything could happen. It’s just such a long time, and I want to start living now.”
She sounds so pained. All I can think is that I wish I had this problem.
“You’re young. You’ve got time. This time next year, I’ll be there.”
“Yes. Everything will be so much better,” she agrees and swipes her cheeks. She gives me a watery smile. “I’m so happy,” she says again and grasps my hands, links our fingers, and lifts it to her mouth for a kiss. When those soft lips touch the skin of my hand, it’s as searing as that brand was. I can feel the imprint of it on my heart.
She lets her mouth linger, and when I look into her eyes, I see something new there. But I recognize it because I feel it, too. I pull my hand away from her mouth and pull her back to her feet. “Well, then, mission accomplished,” I say. “Come on. If we don’t stop again, maybe we can make it there before the sun comes up.”
“I should make you carry me,” she complains, but she smiles as we start to walk.
“I should make you carry me. I’ve been all over this city today.”
