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I stepped forward so I stood beside him.
He drew his arm back and let the first dart fly. It connected with the yellow balloon and the pop echoed around us.
He successfully popped the remaining balloons. “Told ya,” he snickered.
“Pick your prize,” the man working the booth intoned dryly. He looked bored and half asleep.
“Which one do you want?” Trace asked, pointing to the various stuffed animals hanging above.
There weren’t many options. A giant teddy bear, a blue gorilla, and for some reason there was a stuffed banana.
“That one,” I pointed to the gorilla. It was the cutest, with its pale blue wrinkly face, and fluffy body.
The guy removed the stuffed animal from the hook and handed it to me.
“There ya go,” he waved his hand for us to leave.
With a hand on my lower back, Trace guided me to the exit, and then to his car.
I sat my giant blue gorilla on my lap. It smelled like popcorn.
“Did you have fun?” Trace asked, exiting the parking lot. We passed by the Dairy Queen we had eaten at a few months ago.
I nodded my head eagerly. “It was great. I had way more fun than I thought I would. It was nice to have a night out, not worrying about school.” I leaned my head against the headrest and let out a heavy sigh. “I can’t believe the school year is over in only nine days.”
Trace swallowed thickly. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.”
“Really? What?” I asked, forcing my sleepy eyes to stay open.
He cleared his throat and his hands flexed against the steering wheel. “You can’t stay on campus for the summer, and your mom is still living at the Callahan’s…” his fingers tapped restlessly against the steering wheel, “so…” he paused nervously, “where are you planning to live?” He glanced at me anxiously.
“I figured, I’d stay at the Callahan’s as well,” I shrugged. “You know I got that job at the jewelry store in old town, that starts in two weeks, and Resa was able to get my mom a job at the hospital. My mom and I are hoping that by the end of the summer, with our combined incomes, we’ll be able to rent a place.”
“What if you didn’t have to rent a place?” His green eyes flicked my way for a moment.
“I don’t understand,” I shook my head. “What are you saying?” I was pretty positive I knew where he was going with this, but I needed to hear him say it. I had to know for sure.
“Move in with me,” he stated, like it was that easy.
“Trace,” I gasped, “I can’t do that.”
“Why not?” His brow furrowed together when he looked at me. “You spend most of your free time at my place, anyway. Move in.”
“I-I-” I stammered. I didn’t know what to say to him. Moving in together was a huge step. It was a step in our relationship I wasn’t sure either of us was ready for. I mean, he’d never told me that he loved me. True, I hadn’t told him either, and I did love him. I wanted to tell him, badly. I had come close to spilling out those three little words, several times, but always held back. I needed to hear him say them first. I knew it would break me if I confessed my feelings, and he didn’t return them.
He parked in front of the dorm, forcing a smile. His green eyes were sad. “Just think about it, Olivia. Please?”
“I can do that,” I nodded.
“Thank you,” he murmured, leaning over to kiss me chastely.
With my blue gorilla in tow, I made a slow procession up to my room.
I was so confused about what to do. Trace had thrown a wrench in my plans and I only had nine days to decide what I was going to do.
c h a p t e r
Twenty Nine
