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“Knock, knock,” Matthew calls out, getting to the entrance much faster than I do. “You guys had better be decent.”
“Come in!” Justine yells back.
I’m still on the sidewalk as he walks through the door.
“Which room’s mine?” I hear him ask.
When I enter the house, I don’t see anyone around, so I yell out, “Where’d you guys go?”
“Down here,” Matthew responds.
I turn the corner to his room, and Tucker immediately grabs the box I was carrying.
“Hey, sweetie.” Justine gives me a hug, and I hug her back.
It’s been fun, getting to know her. Since she’s so much younger than Tucker, I almost feel like she’s a big-sister type rather than Matthew’s stepmom.
We all head back out to the front to start unloading the trucks. Matthew’s friends—who I refer to asthe guyssince they seem to always travel as a group—pull up to the house and hop out. They look like they just walked off the farm with cowboy boots and shoulders wide enough for them to be grown men, though most of them aren’t even eighteen yet.
Though they can all be rowdy in their own way, I know they’re good guys deep down. I was sitting with Matthew when he told them we were helping his dad move today, and without Matthew even asking, they all said they’d be here as well.
The first thing we grab is the speaker, as we all agree there’s no need to work without music to help us pass the time.
We spend the rest of the day moving boxes. Thankfully, with all the guys here, I’m on unpacking duty with Justine, which is totally fine with me. As they bring in the heavy loads, I help her put away the kitchen.
“Gunpowder & Lead” by Miranda Lambert comes on, and I absentmindedly start singing along.
I turn around with a bunch of plates in my hands and stop in my tracks when I see Justine standing there, staring at me. “What?” I ask.
“Your voice … it’s beautiful,” she responds.
I wave her off. “Sorry. I didn’t realize I was singing so loud.”
“No, I enjoyed it. Do you sing often?”
I laugh. “Only in the shower.”
She nudges me playfully. “Well, you should think about doing it more.”
Matthew walks in and wraps his arms around me from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder. “I’m going to run to pick up some pizzas from Sauce it Up. Want to come with me?”
I smile big, turning my head slightly to look up at him. “Sure.”
He grabs my hand, then turns to Justine. “We’ll be right back. Can we get you anything besides the pizza and some sodas?”
“I’m good. Thank you though,” she responds as she continues to unpack.
When we get to his truck, he helps me in, but before he shuts the door, he leans in to grab a kiss. “This will be us someday.”
I place my hand on his cheek as he looks into my eyes. He’s the sweetest guy I’ve ever known, and I should love the fact that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me, but I know better than that. We’re so young still, and I need to keep that in mind. Besides, he’s going off to college in the fall, and who knows where I’m going?
With a grin, I answer, “Someday,” hoping I’m not coming off too somber, but since our senior year started, all I can think about is,What the hell am I going to do?
Thankfully, he returns my grin and shuts the door before heading to his side of the truck.
* * *
After we get everything moved, the guys take off. The rest of us sit down around the fire that Tucker starts, and we relax.
