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Connor speaks again after a few moments. “I found this place when I was a teenager. Still young, maybe sixteen or seventeen. I never brought anyone here—until now.”
He looks over at me, and we watch each other.
Not even Ruby?I want to ask, but I can’t bring myself to break this spell we are under.
“I would grab some beer from the corner market where they never carded and some chips and dip, and I would come out here, spend hours by myself. It was cathartic in a way. But since I got older, I haven’t been out here. I thought it was about time,” he says, turning back on his side. “And there’s a meteor shower tonight.”
He pats right beside him, clearly indicating that I should move and lie there.
I’m terrified.
He bared part of himself to me, and although the rational part of my mind had known this was the path we were headed down when he woke up and told me that fate had brought us together, to see it playing out for real this time has my head spinning. It’s not that I don’t want this. I’m just having a hard time accepting that this is my life now.
The possibility that Connor’s and my feelings are lining up to become more than lust or even like is scary. There are a lot of unknowns in this world, and I hate it.
“Are we wishing on stars tonight?” I ask as I move to lie down.
I stare over at his profile, angled toward the sky, and he finally turns to look at me.
“Yeah, but don’t tell me what you wish for.”
“I would never,” I say.
We both start looking for shooting stars as his hand creeps across the blanket, wrapping his fingers through mine.
7
CONNOR
This is almost too perfect to be real. I wanted out of the house and away from my life for a few moments, and this escape is something I think we both needed.
I don’t think I’ve laughed this much in, well, ever. I wasn’t a happy child or teenager or even adult. I don’t know that this life allows us to be happy. We are always on guard, waiting for the next shoe to drop, but tonight, I’m carefree and easy, like I was with Mama all those years ago.
I was torn about bringing Wryn out here, telling her my story. But I’m trying to open up myself to her. I’m trying to trust. That time spent away from her let me know how short life was and how much I was connected to her. And I don’t want to lose that. It seems that I always lose those I’m connected to, and I’m determined for things to be different this time.
“There’s another one,” Wryn points out and then closes her eyes.
She scrunches her nose up adorably, and I want to run a finger down the tiny ridges it makes.
“You only get to make a wish on the first one you see,” I tell her with a chuckle.
Her eyes fly open, pinning me with a look that I can clearly see in the moonlight.
“You never specified that in the beginning. You can’t make up rules whenever you want,” she says. “I’ve only made five wishes … I think.”
I grin, looking back up. My phone starts to ring in my pocket, and I groan. I don’t want the real world cutting in, but I told Geo to only phone me for emergencies.
I don’t want to deal with any emergencies.
I let it go to voice mail.
It starts to ring again.
“You going to get that?” Wryn asks.
Turning on her side, she trails her fingers over my chest. Now, I really don’t want to get it. I shake my head, and she drags her pointer finger over the column of my throat.
My phone rings for a third time, and I sit up, throwing off her touch so I can focus. I pull it from my pants pocket and answer it gruffly.
