Chapter 21

"Hello, you two," my mom said to us, nodding her head.

   I didn't move, but Parker took a step back. "Hi, Mrs. Wallace."

   "How's Aidan doing?" I saw the concern in her eyes as she asked.

   "He's... okay." Parker smiled at her for good measure.

   "I'm glad. Becca, inside in five minutes?" my mom said to me.

   I knew what she was thinking. I could have a few minutes alone with Parker, but not long enough to do anything I wasn't supposed to do. I nodded at her and waited until she was gone, with the door closed again.

   "So, tomorrow?" I asked him.

   Parker smiled, then stepped in closer to me again. "Do you want to hang out with me?"

   "Yes," I told him, grabbing for his hand. "I do."

   "My mom was right," he said, shaking his head.

   "What?" I asked.

   "She said that you're special, and I shouldn't mess things up with you," he grinned.

  "You didn't."

   "I sort of did."

   "I forgive you," I smiled, then stuck out my tongue at him.

   "Yeah?" he asked, and pulled me closer. "So, can I kiss you now?"

   The question surprised me, but I nodded, inching closer to his face. He gave me this half smile I'd never seen on his face before, then nodded back, his hands at my face. When his lips touched mine, I melted into him, my arms pulling him closer still. It wasn't long, it wasn't perfect, but it was Parker and I, and I knew it was right.

   As soon as we separated, I could tell Parker was unsure. He stumbled back a bit, then looked away. Confused, I reached for his hand again.

   "Parker."

   When our eyes met again, he smiled. "This is embarrassing."

   "What is?" I asked, still confused.

   "That was... you're the first girl..."

   He'd never kissed a girl before. He would be eighteen in one day and I was his first kiss. Technically I'd already kissed him, in the trailer, but this was a real kiss.

   "Oh, well, I already kissed you..." I grinned.

   "You were drunk," he teased me. "This was..."

   "I know. But I don't care, Parker. I kind of like that I'm the only one you've kissed," I told him.

   He grinned, but still looked embarrassed. "You should get inside."

  I nodded and hugged him, before slipping into the house.

   Over the next week, things got serious pretty fast. Maybe too fast.

   For his birthday, I brought over pizza and a cupcake, and the two of us just pigged out, while his mom was at the hospital. I wanted him to get to feel normal, again. We went to see Aidan that evening, and he was looking good and happy to see us together. On the drive home, we held hands in the back row of the minivan, then Parker kissed me goodnight, again, on my front porch.

   BEST BIRTHDAY IVE EVER HAD, he texted me later that night, when I was in bed.

   IM GLAD.

   I WANT TO KISS YOU AGAIN.

   My heart went a little crazy. TOMORROW?

   I WORK UNTIL 5.

   COME OVER AFTER? I asked, excited.

   OKAY <3

   And everyday for that next week was the same. During the day I walked to Maddie's or Teah's, getting home in time to see Parker hop out of my dad's truck. Parker's mom was almost always at the hospital, so we had his house to ourselves for awhile. My mom usually made us have dinner with her and my dad, but as soon as we were done we would disappear to Parker's backyard. We would lay together in the grass and talk. And laugh, and kiss.

   On Friday evening, two weeks after we had been camping, it was raining. We ate dinner with my mom, who told us how nice it was to have us there, while Dad was out with Uncle James. She asked about Aidan, and Parker told her that he was healing well but the medications still made him tired all the time. I'd seen Aidan mid week and didn't look great. He looked tired, yes, and he was having a hard time breathing.

   After we helped clean up from dinner, Parker and I ran across the lawns in the heavy rain to his house. We slipped out of our wet shoes and settled in to the living room. He disappeared for a minute and came back with two blankets.

   "I'd be losing it for real, if I didn't have you," he told me, wrapping one around my shoulders.

   "You're doing pretty good," I told him, as he sat beside me.

   "No. I swear, you distract me, you make me happy, you make me want to get out of bed..." He moved closer, moving a piece of damp hair off of my face.

   "Park..."

   He forced a smile. "Thank you."

   "For?" I asked, smiling at him.

   "Everything."

   I kissed him, something I was getting so used to doing. My heart jumped and my body reacted in a way it never had before. His hands - which were usually at my face - were now on my waist. I wasn't thinking as I moved closer, practically climbing onto him on the sofa. He grunted, somehow pulling me closer. Our bodies pressed together, I felt like right there with Parker was exactly where I needed to be.

   "I love... kissing you..." he mumbled, his eyes closed.

   "Me too," I replied, pulling back for air.

   Neither of us had done this before, but somehow we knew what we were doing. We knew we wanted to be together. I knew what he liked - when I kissed his neck - and he knew that I really liked it when we were pressed together.

   We were in our own world, though, so we didn't hear the minivan in the driveway or the front door open. We would have been fine if we had gone to Parker's bedroom. But we didn't. We were right there in the living room.

   "Parker Michael Allen." His mom's voice boomed through the room.

   I froze for a second, and then jumped off of him. At least our clothes were still on, though they might not have been a minute later.

   "Mom-" Parker began, his face red.

   "Goodnight, Becca," she said to me, motioning for me to leave.

   I nodded and picked up my sweater, then looked at Parker again before turning to leave the room. I wanted him to say something else, but he didn't.

   In my bedroom an hour later, something hit my window. I went over and opened it right away, relieved to see his smiling face.

   "She was so mad," Parker laughed. "Mostly because we were on her sofa."

   "Are you in trouble?" I asked, wishing I was back, close to him again.

  "No, I mean I'm eighteen and this is the first time she's walked in on me making out with a girl," he answered.

   "You're so cute," I told him, leaning out the window a bit.

   "Oh, yeah? Cute?"

   "Mmmhmm."

   He stuck out his tongue at me, then smiled again. "You know, this has been the best week of my life..." He was serious suddenly, so I dropped my smile.

   "Yeah?" I asked.

   He nodded. "I know Aidan is really sick... it sucks so much but..."

   I swallowed hard. "Can we go see him tomorrow?"

   "Maybe," he shrugged.

   "Park... tonight was..."

   "Awesome?"

   "Yeah," I smiled.

   "Bec, I have to tell you something."

   "Okay."

   He closed his eyes for a second, dropping his shoulders. When our eyes met again, he managed a smile. "I love you. I'm in love with you."

   The words hit me like a brick wall, stopping me from breathing for a minute. But I didn't have to keep him waiting long.

   "I love you, too."