the blackness casting shadows over the empty fairgrounds.
“Now, throw a punch and hit him.”
“Hit who?” I ask. “There’s nobody standing there.”
“Pretend that there is.”
“And what if I can’t?” I spin to face him, breaking my fighting stance. He looks so tiny standing before the gargantuan Ferris wheel. The last of the lights went out about an hour ago, but in the air are remnants of neon lights and echoes of child-like cries.
“How hard is it to pretend that there is someone standing there?”
“You’re all I see, Blue. When I look at the colors, I don’t see the world anymore. All I see is you.”
His brow furrows. “Where did that come from?” he asks with a loving smile.
“It’s just something that’s been on my mind.”
“Well,” his tongue rolls across his lip, “you can’t save that kind of talk for the bedroom?”
I land a playful punch against his chest. He stumbles back, clutching his wound in faux pain. “So you can’t hit Casper the friendly ghost, but you can lunge at me? I’m starting to think you have some pent up aggression.” His smirk lights up the grounds, his smile chomping against my heart.
“I’m going to kick your ass,” I say and ready my fists.
“Sure, ya are.”
When he winks, I throw myself at him, locking my arm around his neck before throwing him to the ground. Of course, I fall to the ground with him, but I enjoy feeling him trying to squirm free from beneath me. “Hey, Blue...”
“Yeah?”
“Can’t you save the squirming for the bedroom?”
“Ah.” He pounds his open palm against the dirt three times—a sign of surrender if my I-watched-wrestling-once memory is correct. I let go of him and roll onto my back. He immediately flips so that his body rests on top of me. “You know I let you take me down, right?’
“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” I say, “but you got your ass beat by a girl.”
“You’re not just an ordinary girl.”
“Shut up.”
“I mean it.” He strokes his fingers through my hair before pushing it out of my face. “You said that all you can see is me. Do you want to know what I see?”
I shrug and shift my body against the ground to find a more comfortable position. He seems to sink further into me, the weight of his body a comfort that can’t be bought. “What do you see?”
“I see a girl stronger than any girl I’ve ever known.” He pauses and slips his lips against mine, just long enough for a quick peck. “I see the most beautiful girl I ever laid eyes on.” He lands another kiss. This time, when he pulls away, I want to shut him up and kiss him until the sun rises. His compliments are great, but his lips are full of wonder. “But most of all, I see a fighter. A girl who will never give up, even when it seems the rest of the world is against her.”
“Blue...”
“I see exactly who you are, Charlie. You’re a beautiful fucking fighter.”
With my lips, I shut him up. When we’re connected like this, I forget about the rest of the world, because the only thing I see when my eyes are closed is the truth.
And the truth is that I love this man more than even God could ever know. I’d fight until my last breath for this boy, and then I’d fight some more.
CHAPTER TEN
BLUE
L oss-fueled adrenaline pumps through my veins. Every step toward the front door of this run-down shack is another step toward absolution. One problem bleeds into the next. Gina and Charlie were right when they said this wasn’t all Shane’s fault. But he’s at fault for being a thief, taking something that was never his.
Similarly, Shane is not at fault for what happened to my dad. That rests on the shoulders of those involved—Cookie, Rake, Trey, my dad, and myself. Charlie’s not to blame for his death, but through my rage, I know why she withheld the truth. She didn’t want to see the haunted look that passes across my face as I place my hand on the doorknob.
The door creaks open to a steady
“Now, throw a punch and hit him.”
“Hit who?” I ask. “There’s nobody standing there.”
“Pretend that there is.”
“And what if I can’t?” I spin to face him, breaking my fighting stance. He looks so tiny standing before the gargantuan Ferris wheel. The last of the lights went out about an hour ago, but in the air are remnants of neon lights and echoes of child-like cries.
“How hard is it to pretend that there is someone standing there?”
“You’re all I see, Blue. When I look at the colors, I don’t see the world anymore. All I see is you.”
His brow furrows. “Where did that come from?” he asks with a loving smile.
“It’s just something that’s been on my mind.”
“Well,” his tongue rolls across his lip, “you can’t save that kind of talk for the bedroom?”
I land a playful punch against his chest. He stumbles back, clutching his wound in faux pain. “So you can’t hit Casper the friendly ghost, but you can lunge at me? I’m starting to think you have some pent up aggression.” His smirk lights up the grounds, his smile chomping against my heart.
“I’m going to kick your ass,” I say and ready my fists.
“Sure, ya are.”
When he winks, I throw myself at him, locking my arm around his neck before throwing him to the ground. Of course, I fall to the ground with him, but I enjoy feeling him trying to squirm free from beneath me. “Hey, Blue...”
“Yeah?”
“Can’t you save the squirming for the bedroom?”
“Ah.” He pounds his open palm against the dirt three times—a sign of surrender if my I-watched-wrestling-once memory is correct. I let go of him and roll onto my back. He immediately flips so that his body rests on top of me. “You know I let you take me down, right?’
“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” I say, “but you got your ass beat by a girl.”
“You’re not just an ordinary girl.”
“Shut up.”
“I mean it.” He strokes his fingers through my hair before pushing it out of my face. “You said that all you can see is me. Do you want to know what I see?”
I shrug and shift my body against the ground to find a more comfortable position. He seems to sink further into me, the weight of his body a comfort that can’t be bought. “What do you see?”
“I see a girl stronger than any girl I’ve ever known.” He pauses and slips his lips against mine, just long enough for a quick peck. “I see the most beautiful girl I ever laid eyes on.” He lands another kiss. This time, when he pulls away, I want to shut him up and kiss him until the sun rises. His compliments are great, but his lips are full of wonder. “But most of all, I see a fighter. A girl who will never give up, even when it seems the rest of the world is against her.”
“Blue...”
“I see exactly who you are, Charlie. You’re a beautiful fucking fighter.”
With my lips, I shut him up. When we’re connected like this, I forget about the rest of the world, because the only thing I see when my eyes are closed is the truth.
And the truth is that I love this man more than even God could ever know. I’d fight until my last breath for this boy, and then I’d fight some more.
CHAPTER TEN
BLUE
L oss-fueled adrenaline pumps through my veins. Every step toward the front door of this run-down shack is another step toward absolution. One problem bleeds into the next. Gina and Charlie were right when they said this wasn’t all Shane’s fault. But he’s at fault for being a thief, taking something that was never his.
Similarly, Shane is not at fault for what happened to my dad. That rests on the shoulders of those involved—Cookie, Rake, Trey, my dad, and myself. Charlie’s not to blame for his death, but through my rage, I know why she withheld the truth. She didn’t want to see the haunted look that passes across my face as I place my hand on the doorknob.
The door creaks open to a steady
Similar Books
