Where We Meet Again, стр. 23

I joined him on the blanket then, sitting close enough that I could tap his crossed knee with mine. “It’s amazing. I’m so glad you brought me here.”

“It’s nothing, really. I thought you might tire of the same trails and places we usually go.”

It was my turn to shrug, and I picked at my soda tab. “I mean, it’s not so much about where we go, as it is that we’re together. I guess if we ran out of things to talk about then it would get boring.”

Law looked at me funny, but I didn’t know what it meant. I saved myself from answering by taking a huge swallow of my drink. “I love waterfalls,” I sighed, attempting to feel less awkward about his funny look. “If I could move anywhere, I’d want a waterfall in my backyard.”

“Me too. A double waterfall.”

My eyes got big. “I’d want a second story deck. A big one that wrapped around the entire back of the house so I could sit up there on big, pillowed lounge chairs and watched the river. And a pergola with fairy lights, so when night came, I could turn them on and not be in the dark.”

“What about a big window seat inside that was actually a bed, so when winter came I didn’t have to freeze out on the deck. And we could lay there and watch the stars come out,” he added.

I moved to lie on my stomach, resting my chin in my hand, and I looked at him. “Oh, and for the summer, we could have a fire pit made with driftwood benches and filled with sand to feel like the beach.”

He moved to mirror my position, stretching his long body on the blanket. “I like that idea. You know what would be really fun?” he asked excitedly. “A pool that was both in the house and out of it. So we could swim outside in the sun or inside if the weather was bad. In the winter, we could fill it with snow and have a snow room.”

“Brr! How would we keep it from melting or making the inside cold?”

“Um…” His eyes drifted away in thought. “Well, it wouldn’t be an actual room in the house, but it would be an enclosed space, sort of like a garage minus the garage door.”

“Good idea.” I took a swig of my drink. “If this were my dream house, I’d need a library. A huge one filled with books I’d never read before. Floor to ceiling shelves and one of those cool sliding ladders that are in the movies. It’d also need to have a second level reading nook that you can only reach with a spiral staircase.”

“A reading nook? Isn’t anywhere a reading nook? You could use the deck chairs or the window seat as a reading nook.”

I pursed my lips in thought. “I could, but this would be special.”

“Special how?”

“I’d fill it with pillows. Different shapes and sizes and colors. It’d be a readers’ paradise.”

“You’re such a nerd,” he teased and dug through his backpack again. “What else would be in your dream home?”

I thought about it, and knew exactly what I wanted to say next, but embarrassment stopped me. My cheeks felt warm in a way that had nothing to do with the sun.

Law stopped searching his backpack when I didn’t immediately respond and crinkled his brow at me. “What is it? C’mon, tell me.”

“Please don’t laugh, but I always wanted a sister so I think it’d be cool to have a girl’s room and a boy’s room with built-in bunk beds that I could fill with my own kids someday.”

I couldn’t read the look on his face, and I quickly gave up trying. Whatever he thought about my idea, it took him a long time to come up with something to say. I heard him resume digging through his bag. “I brought lunch. Turkey and cheese.” He handed me a bulky ball of tinfoil.

I bit my lip to keep from smiling as I took it and unwrapped his handiwork. “Thanks.”

He tore off a chunk of his own sandwich and swallowed. “I like that idea. It’d feel almost like a year-round summer camp for them. Built-in bunk beds it is.”

A smile spread across my face so quickly I dropped my chin to my chest and aimed it at my knees to hide how happy his words made me. So maybe we were teenagers and talking about a future that would never happen. It still made stomach tingle to hear he wanted the same things I did.

Lunch was consumed in a comfortable silence, and after, we laid beneath the waterfall and talked. Our sophomore year was upon us, which meant learning to drive and formal dances. Law was excited for football to begin, to continue his reign of the youngest starting varsity player in 73 years. High school sports didn’t mean much to many people, but in a small town, football was everything. If something meant a lot to him, it meant a lot to me, too. I hadn’t missed a single game last year and didn’t intend to this year either.

“I could fall asleep,” I sighed. My eyes were closed, and the sun had moved so it now warmed my face.

“Me, too.”

I rolled my head to the side and took in his peaceful face. He looked like he was already asleep with his messy hair fanned over his forehead and his long dark lashes resting on his cheeks.

“You’re staring.”

“I am not.” I couldn’t keep the smile from my tone.

“You are, too. Ugh,” he groaned, suddenly sitting up. “We should get going. It’ll be a long hike back, and I need to be home for dinner.”

“I’m coming on one condition.”

Law shoved wrappers and empty cans in his backpack when he looked up at me. “What’s that?”

Something about the way the light hit his face made my heart beat faster. Which made me amend