Free Divine by B.L. Teschner Page A

imagine
how much you miss him,” I said, not really knowing what to say
to make him feel better. I felt the urge to protect him, to help him,
but I was useless.
    “ I don't really
talk to anyone about it. You’re the first person that I've
talked to about it in a long time, actually.”
    What he said made me
feel special; I liked that he could confide in me.
    “ Well,” I
said with a sympathetic smile, “I'm always here if you want to
talk about it. No pressure, though.”
    He brought his knees
back up and rested his arms on them again, smiling at me as he buried
the lower half of his face into his shoulder. “Thanks,”
he replied with a small sigh.
    Our conversation was
cut short as the brightness of fireworks trailed off into the night
sky. We scooted our bodies around to face the shore and watched
overhead as one after another they went off, exploding over the ocean
with a boom, sending sparkling reflections across the water.
    The fire warmed up our
sweatshirt-covered backs as we spent the whole show pointing out our
favorites as they went off. When they finally escalated into the
grand finale we stood up and cheered with the rest of the crowded
beach, adding our own sarcastic oohs and aahs while we laughed.
    After the last burst of
color the night sky went black once again. The mass of people slowly
began to pack up their things and disperse toward their cars, all
eager to get to the warmth of their heaters.
    I turned to Jonah and
reached my hand out to shake his. “Well, thanks for inviting
me.”
    His rough hand wrapped
around mine in a blanket of warmth as he shook back. “Maybe
I'll see you at your work sometime,” he said. “I like
their burgers; I think I'll start eating there a lot more . . .”
    “ I hope so,”
I flirted.
    He dropped his head for
a second before looking back up with a shy but satisfied smile.
Neither of us seemed to want to let go of our grasp, but we both
settled on a light squeeze before letting each others hand go.
    He put his hands into
the pockets of his sweatshirt and looked over at the rowdy crowds
along the beach. “Actually, I should probably walk you to your
car. There's a lot of crazy drunk people out right now.”
    “ Okay, yeah.
Thank you.”
    We made our way around
the bonfire and spotted his mom and Lou, both with beers in their
hands. I walked over to say a quick goodbye.
    “ It was nice
meeting you,” I told his mom.
    “ Oh, you too,
sweetie,” she said as she grabbed me up in another hug. “You
be careful going home.”
    “ I will, Jonah's
walking me to my car.”
    She looked over at her
son with a prideful glance. “That's my boy, I raised you
right.” She stepped next to him and wrapped her arms around the
side of his body. “You get home safe, too,” she said
before reaching up and planting a kiss on his cheek.
    He pulled an arm out
from her tight grasp and put it around her shoulders. “I will.
I love you, Mom.”
    “ I love you too,
Son.”
    They let go of each
other and Jonah stepped toward me, ready to walk with me down the
beach.
    “ Bye Lou,”
I added before taking off.
    “ Goodbye young
lady.”
    Jonah and I walked
across the sand toward my mom's car, passing the group of pot heads
on the way. I pointed through the crowd toward the one who had tried
to hit on me earlier. “That guy tried to mack on me,” I
laughed. “I told him my dad was a cop and I was looking for
him.”
    Jonah laughed back.
“And he believed you?”
    “ Well, he got
nervous and told me that he had seen him in the ocean.”
    “ Ha, he must have
been pretty out of it.”
    “ Yeah, he was,”
I agreed.
    I was bummed when we
got back to my mom's car because it meant that our night together was
ending. I got in and turned on the engine, turning up the heater so I
could blast the much needed warmth across my freezing face.
    “ The air's not
going to be warm yet,” Jonah pointed out with a smile.
    I looked up at him and
returned the expression. “Yeah, that pretty