The Day That Saved Us (17 page)

“I’M NO ORGAN
donor, but I’d be happy to give you my heart.”

Brodee and I walk hand-in-hand through town with our ice cream cones. The only place the surf was any good was up in Kill Devil, and we didn’t feel like driving all the way up there today. Instead, we decided to take the ferry to Ocracoke Island this morning and walk along the beach for new scenery. We talked. We laughed. We soaked in every minute together. After the ferry dropped us back off on Hatteras, we stayed in town.

“Do you have a sunburn or are you always this hot?” I lick my chocolate ice cream cone, staring at him from under my eyelashes.

He tugs on his bottom lip and smiles at me. “Where do you hide your wings?”

“Are you calling me an angel?” I give Brodee a flirtatious side-glance. “Or an insect?”

“Hmm…so I take it that was a pick-up line fail.”

I nod once with laughter in my eyes and take another lick. “Nice try.” I continue, “If you were a triangle, you’d be acute one.”

Brodee doesn’t shoot back another line right away. He just watches me with a subtle smile as we walk. “You’re so beautiful you made me forget my pick-up line.”

I tug on his hand, stopping us on the sidewalk, and pull him to me so I can kiss him. Tilting my face to him, we meet in the middle. It wasn’t meant to be more than a peck, but I can’t help melding into him the moment our lips meet. I sharply inhale when he breathes a possessive grunt and takes my bottom lip between his teeth.
I think I love you.

“I knew I was right.”

Brodee and I jump apart, startled by the voice. Rylie eyes us with a satisfied but crestfallen expression. Perfect timing. She’s the last person I want to see right now. Brandi is standing beside her, shifting her uncomfortable gaze between Rylie and us.

Brodee sighs heavily like he was waiting for this to happen and feels the same way I do. He doesn’t want to deal with her. The last thing I want is to hear is an ‘I told you so’ from Rylie. Even if Brodee and I didn’t have anything going on before, I think deep down we always knew we could someday become something, even if we didn’t think it or say it aloud.

“You caught us, Rylie,” Brodee says wryly. “Secret’s out of the bag.”

“What did I tell you, Peyton? You’re the worst kind of competition.” Rylie’s tone isn’t at all condescending like I expect it to be. She sounds like she didn’t want to be right. My heart aches a little for her. She really does like Brodee. It should make me want to lift my fists in the air and shout ‘I win,’ but it was never a competition. And she’s trying to cover up the hurt, but isn’t doing a very good job. I’m not her. I won’t gloat.

“But how will you guys last? You guys are going to separate colleges,” Brandi says, as if we’re unaware of this fact.

“That is true,” Brodee says slowly like it’s hitting him for the first time, and he squeezes my hand once in his.

“What are you going to do?” Brandi asks like it’s her business. She’s not being nosey. She honestly doesn’t understand what would possess us to take this kind of risk now. “You broke things off with Tyler so you could be with someone you won’t even see every day?” Brandi has never been good at being tactful.

At that moment, Tyler and Larson walk out of the marina store that we’re stopped in front of, holding two drinks. I cringe. This just keeps getting better and better. Though I knew seeing him was inevitable, I was hoping we’d be able to avoid him longer. He stops in his tracks when he sees us all standing together.

Almost instantly his demeanor changes. “What’s up, guys?” He lifts a smile, showing his pearly whites. Either he’s really good at faking a smile or he’s genuinely happy to see us. Something tells me he’s really good at faking a smile. “Here,” he says, handing Rylie a fountain drink. After Larson gives Brandi a drink, he does a guy handshake thing with Brodee.

We can hardly get through the awkward small talk fast enough. When we say our goodbyes, Rylie laces her fingers through Tyler’s as they all walk away. It makes me wonder if it’s a tactic or if they’re riding the end of the summer fling.

That was quick.
Okay, so I’m not really
that
surprised. Rylie is definitely an opportunist.

“Well, that was fun,” I say when they’re out of earshot.

“I honestly thought it was going to be worse. I half expected Tyler to be a fighter. I really didn’t want to have to give his pretty face a black eye.”

I nudge Brodee’s shoulder and chuckle. Like he could give Tyler a black eye. But I don’t dare say that out loud.

“So, you’re the worst kind of competition, huh?” I was hoping he wouldn’t bring that up.

“Apparently.”

“What did she mean by that?”

I roll my eyes. “It’s kind of embarrassing.”

“I like embarrassing.”

Groaning, I answer, “When you and Harper were pretending to date, Rylie cornered me on the beach, and we had a little heart-to-heart.”

“Uh-oh. What did she say to you?”

“Just some stuff about you and then said I’m the worst kind of competition because I’m ‘The One.’” I use air quotes and laugh at the ridiculousness of her insinuation.

“Why is that so funny?” Brodee looks at me seriously.

It’s hard for me to answer him when his eyes hold no humor. “Just…because it sounds so…I dunno …”

“So, while Brandi doesn’t think we’ll make it because of our college choices, Rylie thinks we’re the real deal.”

“Yeah.” I chuckle mostly to myself. “Crazy, right?”

Brodee’s expression stays earnest, the most sincere look in his green eyes. “I don’t think it’s that crazy.”

It takes me a second to say something. I’m not ready for this talk. It’s only been a week.

“Brodee, we’ve been avoiding this for a reason. I think you and I both know how this will play out at the end of the summer. Let’s not go there yet.”

He nods. I can tell he doesn’t want to think about it either.

“Let’s just forget about everyone else. Stop focusing on what will happen and do what we came out here to do. Savor the summer. So we go to different colleges. So what?” I shrug. “Things will work out, Brodee. No one knows us like we do.” I kiss him, hoping my pep talk will rub off on me. “We’ll always come back to each other.”

He throws his arm over my shoulder and draws me to his side. He kisses my hair and we walk toward his Patriot.

“Are you a magician? Because whenever I look at you, everyone else disappears,” I say.

“Did you fart, cause you just blew me away,” he responds.

I die. I can’t stop laughing. “Gross!”

“C’mon,” he says, laughing with me. “It’s funny.”

A FEW DAYS
later it begins to rain, and it doesn’t stop. We’ve been stuck in the house for two days straight with nothing but
Singin’ In The Rain
on repeat. My mom’s a sucker for a good classic. When I tried to turn it off, I thought she was going to decapitate me.

While the Fishers have all sought shelter in their rooms—including Brodee who has been up in his room spending his time studying who knows what—I’ve stayed downstairs with my mom. I think I have every word memorized now. I’m
this
close to crashing his study session.

I have a feeling being cooped up isn’t any easier for my mom. Idle time equals idle thoughts, which transform into a wandering mind that takes her to places she doesn’t want to go. Today is a bad day for Mom. While the movie has been on she’s done nothing but clean.

I do my best to stay out of her way, but stay close by in case she needs me. I’ve nestled myself into a chair in the corner near the large window facing the beach. It’s surprising how quickly time flies when watching rain trickle down glass, and how mesmerizing the droplets are as they tap the surface of the ocean. Plunk, plunk, plunk. The sound alone induces a trance. Pitter-patter, pitter-patter. Hours could pass by, and I wouldn’t even know it. Today my time is measured by scenes and how many times I’ve seen them. It’s the fourth time I’ve seen “Make ‘Em Laugh,” so I know it’s probably around three o’clock. I’ve yet to hear her laugh.

I stare longingly at the ocean. My mom and Tatum won’t let Brodee and me surf when the weather is this bad. Not that the waves would be any good. They’re too choppy. But still. I’d take anything over being cooped up for one more day.

Around six, I’m lying on the couch with a book when Brodee finally comes traipsing down the stairs.

He nods at the TV. “Still watching
Singin’ In The Rain
, I see.”

Gene Kelly is swinging around a lamppost as we speak and twirling his umbrella. I whisper so she can’t hear me from the next room. “In some strange way, I think it’s comforting to my mom. I don’t know why.”

“Come play in the rain with me.”

“Seriously?” He nods. Even if it means heavy, wet clothes, I’ll take anything over staying inside for one more minute. “All right.”

“DO YOU KNOW
what my shirt is made of?” Brodee flicks his wet sleeves as he walks backward down the beach. His soaked white T-shirt is suctioned to his chest. “Boyfriend material,” he finishes.

I roll my eyes, but he gets a good laugh out of me. “I may not be a genie, but I can make your dreams come true,” I say.

We share a look and agree, “Yeah. Okay. You won,” I relent.

“C’MERE, PETE. DANCE
with me.” He grabs my hands and swings me around. He spins us in circles as he bounces around like a five year old with too much sugar in his system.

I feel infinite. We’re the only ones in Hatteras. We own this cape and this rain is ours. Anything is possible.

I chuckle until he tugs me closer. Faintly, Brodee sings in my ear as he sways us back and forth. Only a note or two is off key. He doesn’t really know the words, so he fills in the gaps with humming. I’m not sure what awful dance moves he was thinking about before because nothing about this is awful.

All at once, I feel myself falling. Or flying. I feel feather-light—as if I could blow away, soaring high into the sky. I would be content riding his tune in the wind forever.

Brodee whispers the end of the song, tapering off. No words, just ‘do, do, do, do.’ The moment is ending. I think I might be falling in love.
How will I recover? How am I supposed to look at him the same?

As soon as he pulls back, he peers at me with the rain dripping off the tips of his eyelashes. They bunch together into soft peaks. I brush the back of my fingers across them. I’m not sure why. My fingers are just as soaked. I want to touch him. He blinks and leans in. I meet him halfway. The tips of my fingers graze his jawline. He smiles.

Kissing in the rain is a much better way to spend our time than singing. Maybe I’ll change the words.

I’m kissing in the rain.

Just kissing in the rain.

What a glorious feelin’.

I’m happy again.

Yup. It works.

He pushes away with a goofy grin. “Now you can’t say I never danced with you.” He’s jogging backward away from me. “Race you back to the house!” And then he takes off.

Oh, no you don’t.

I bolt after him, determined to win.