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With a deep breath, she shakes her head, then determination fills her eyes.
“Fine.” She softens her shoulders, takes a deep breath, and closes her eyes. She opens her mouth slightly. If she actually does this, I’m going to have to throw her over my shoulder and take her back to her room for a quickie.
But apparently, the trouble I noticed in her eyes as she closed them was her coming up with a plan. She flashes her eyes open and stares at them.
“Fuck you, Nick. Fuck. You. Trevor,” she says pointedly.
Everybody laughs.
“Uh, that wasnotan orgasm…” Trevor says, staring her down.
“Maybe not, but it feltalmostas good as one,” she says with a smirk.
That puts an end to our game and we move on to roasting marshmallows and talking. We reminisce about how long we’ve all known each other, some crazy as hell moments, and all the good times we’ve had over the years. It’s a little sad, but mostly it’s filled with happiness. I think we all know we’ll stay in touch no matter where we are. For most of us, we aren’t the type to move away forever. Ida is home, so there will always be plenty of new memories to make.
Rae
The party is winding down, and everyone is heading home. Braden left earlier to pick up Harper. Maia and Vince just left. Greg and Jenny are heading out now as well. They’re going to college out of state, so I know we probably won’t see them until winter break. There are lots of hugs and well wishes. Hyla and Jenny end up crying in each other’s arms. They remind me a lot of Sarah and me. I can’t imagine saying goodbye to her. I always think of Aaron as my person, but Sarah is my other half. I couldn’t imagine not having her by my side through everything, good or bad.
Jamie is the next to leave. We tell him to hold down the fort for us and invite him to come up and visit and use his magic powers on the college girls. He gives us a sweet but knowing grin at that.
The sun has faded from the sky, and I’m starting to feel emotional. It’s that end-of-summer feeling wrapped up in all of these goodbyes.
“All right kids, have a good rest of the night. We’ve got to get home,” Nick says, wrapping his hand around Leigh’s.
“Not quite the partier you once were,” I tease. Nick’s been through a lot in the last couple of years, and I’m really proud of him for how much he’s grown.
He rolls his eyes, but then gives me a soft smile and says, “We all have to grow up sometime.”
It’s sobering. And almost heartbreaking. It’s not that I don’t want to grow up and experience life, but letting go of our childhood feels like letting go of a piece of myself.
I throw my arms around him. “I’m gonna miss you and all your sassy, cocky bullshit, Nick.”
He squeezes me tightly. “And I’ll miss you and all your drama.”
We all laugh as everyone shares hugs with Nick and Leigh.
“Hey, I’ll still be here whenever you’re home for the holidays and we can still party,” he says, glancing at Leigh, who rolls her eyes but smiles.
“Still party?” Miles asks with a knowing smile.
Nick gives him his signature smirk and says, “A little bit.” He looks between us, and I think he might say something profound. Instead, he says, “Have fun at college. And remember kids, no glove, no love.” Then he winks at us as Leigh gives him a little glare. He melts her with a kiss, then with a wave, they head down the street hand-in-hand.
After a few more minutes of talking, Trevor takes a deep breath and looks around. “All right, we should probably go. Hyla?”
He looks around. But she’s nowhere to be seen.
“Hyla?” he calls, louder this time.
Then Mackie and Hyla appear quickly from the other side of the house, looking a little disheveled. Sarah and I stifle a laugh as Trevor shakes his head. He leans in and gives her a kiss on the side of the head and whispers something in her ear that makes her smack him.
I love their friendship. It’s a lot like mine and Joel’s. They’ve been friends their whole lives, and they consider themselves siblings. I know they’re going to have a hard time saying goodbye to each other. Hyla is going to school in Long Island, while Trevor will only be about forty-five minutes from us.
“Where were you two?” Sarah says, elbowing Mackie in the ribs.
She doesn’t say anything, she just gives us a sly grin as the tiniest amount of pink creeps into her cheeks.
We make our way out to Joel’s front porch. We all share hugs and goodbyes. I’m gonna miss Hyla. She’s so different from Sarah and Mackie. She’s ditzy-but-smart, a little wild, but extremely sweet and heartfelt. Trevor shares some bro-hugs with the boys before turning to us girls. He and Mackie share a hug, then he looks at me. I’m already crying.
