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I shrug.
“Mm probably tomorrow sometime. Might need your help with that, if you’re up for it.”
“You got it, Rae baby. I’m happy for you, by the way.”
“Thanks, Sarah. I love you. Thank you for… being there through it all.”
“Always, baby,” she says, climbing off my bed. “Always.”
She heads back to her room, and I fall asleep feeling blissfully happy.
I wake up around eight, already thinking of Aaron.
I think about heading over to his house and attacking him in bed, but then it hits me: I want to ask Aaron to prom. We’ve been so wrapped up in everything else, that even though we’ve been planning on going to prom together—coordinating our outfits and everything—neither of us actually asked.
Normally, this is where I would call Joel and ask for his help to plot a surprise. But I don’t want him to know yet, so I hatch a simple, sweet plan of my own.
I run down to the kitchen and ask my mom where our Christmas lights are.
She narrows her eyes at me. “Why?”
I hem and haw for a second, then sheepishly say, “I’m going to ask Aaron to prom.”
She smiles at me—that knowing smile she gets. “Are you two finally together?”
I can’t hide my smile. “Yeah, we are. Only Sarah knows for now, so don’t tell anyone besides Dad, okay?”
“Of course, honey,” she says sweetly. But she’s still staring at me, and I know what she’s asking.
I roll my eyes a little. “We haven’t. Yet. But we did do some othersexualthings last night.”
She nods.
“He didn’t stay the night, though. We weren’t sure how you felt about that.”
She laughs. “You hooked up, sure, but worried about him staying over?”
I laugh too. In hindsight, that does seem kind of silly. “Are you mad?”
“No. You’re eighteen and obviously in love. I’m not surprised. And your dad and I have talked about it before. We don’t mind Aaron staying over or you staying there as long as we know where you are. So, as long as it’s okay with Cathy and Bob, he can stay here. Just not every night, okay? I don’t want you getting so caught up that you don’t spend time apart, okay?”
I nod at her. “Okay. Thanks, momma. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
I sit quietly for a moment and then say, “I promise whenever wedo, we’ll be responsible.”
She nods, accepting my sincerity. Then she smiles at me. “In the attic of the garage there’s a big box of lights. Have fun.”
I shoot a smile back at her and head out to the garage.
Quickly finding a strand of white twinkle lights, I look around and grab a long extension cord. Then I get two big pieces of white poster board from the art supplies tote and head for Aaron’s backyard.
Aaron’s parents left early this morning to go to a lake about an hour away to meet up with a college friend of his dad’s. His mom couldn’t stop talking about it the other night. She loves being up at the lake. They won’t be home until late tonight, so I have Aaron—and the backyard—all to myself.
I arrange the lights on the poster board to sayProm?then I tape them in place and lean them against the back fence. I plug the extension cord into the outlet on the back porch and run it to the back fence. Then, I text Aaron.
Aaron
