Free A Summer Remade by Nicole Deese Page B

Pete.”
    “You’re sure?” Drew calls out to Harve’s backside.
    Harve lifts his hand and shuffles away. “As sure as the coming rain.”
    I lift my eyes to the sky. Clear. Blue. Sunny.
    Drew chuckles at my expression. “Don’t second-guess him.”
    “Um…there’s not a single cloud. It’s a gorgeous day.”
    He nudges my shoulder with his. “I tend to trust the instincts of people who’ve outlived me by half a century.”
    And once again, Drew has a point.
    A bright spear of sunshine spotlights the bulky buckets of candy in the Ford pick-up. My heart smiles as I think of old man Harve, who just like candy, has a sweet center.
    I laugh more in the next two hours than I’ve laughed in the last six months. My forearm sports a permanent indentation from leaning out the window, tossing candy to hoards of patriotically-dressed children screaming for sugar.
    One last time, I reach into the bucket as Drew nears the last corner of the parade route. I toss a hefty handful of candy to a couple of knee-height toddlers waving their miniature flags. They aren’t quite old enough to collect the treats that tumble over the curb onto the pavement, so I aim the candy at their feet. The festively dressed woman next to them waves at me, thankfulness in her smile.
    Satisfied, I sigh and fall back into the cab. Drew slides his hand onto mine and flips my palm over to intertwine our fingers. Two tiny shivers dance up my spine at the contact of his skin on mine. I could melt into this touch.
    “How did I get lucky enough to have a pro candy thrower as my co-captain?”
    I lean my head against the seat, the sun’s rays kissing my face. “You were the expert parade driver. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
    “Five miles an hour isn’t exactly expert-level driving.” He slows the truck to a stop and parks under the leafy branches of an oak tree. “I could have fallen asleep at the wheel and no one would’ve noticed.”
    As if intoxicated by sunshine, sweets, and celebratory happiness, I rotate in my seat to face him. The words slip through my lips without hesitation. “I would have noticed.”
    Drew’s prominent boy-next-door grin, the one he’s worn since my first night on the island, no longer feels innocent. A prickly heat fills my chest.
    His eyes linger on mine, a stretching silence that spans the distance of our shared bench seat and pushes us closer, pulls us together. There’s no first move, no grand gesture, no spoken invitation. We simply answer the silence.
    Our lips meet.
    The bright, cloudless sky might prevent the visibility of fireworks until nightfall, but within the depth of Drew’s kiss, an explosion of fiery color extends from my head to my toes.
    Under heavily lidded eyes and through raspy, uneven breaths, Drew presses his forehead to mine. “Joss.”
    There’s an ache in his voice I’ve come to recognize. The same desperate plea that’s taken a hold on my heart. A tone that carries with it a kind of pleasurable pain that plagues as much as it pacifies.
    “I know,” is what I want to say, “I’m falling for you, too.”
    But, instead, my words are lost to a kiss I hope will last until the real fireworks begin.
    *
    “It’s so loud. Where are you, Syd?” I cup my hand over my opposite ear and adjust the phone. The phone beeps a warning into my ear. Low battery . I step off the blanket Drew laid out for us hoping for a great view of fireworks over the water.
    “My mother’s ridiculous bachelorette party. Hang on. I’m almost inside. I just wanted to check in with you.” The peppered beat of a drum fades, and suddenly I can hear her again. “I haven’t heard from you since we texted last week.”
    I hike my way to the top of the short hill. “I know. I’m sorry.” My apology is lame, but trying to come up with an excuse that will satisfy Sydney, or any of my friends, would be even more so.
    “When are you headed back?” Sydney asks.
    If only “back” were an actual place.