the back yard with one of the girls from the deck they were chatting with earlier and a guy she had never met but remembered seeing a few times before.
“How’s it going?” Julie screamed in a slur.
“Fine….” She looked over to Grant wide eyed, noting the large joker’s grin on his face.
“How much have you had to drink, Jewels?”
“Oh, I don’t know. A few. But I’m okay…” Her focus on the conversation appeared to be non-existent as she began to look around the yard. “I can’t drive us home, so do you mind if we sleep here?”
“I thought that was the plan. Where though?”
“Here! ” Julie screamed in a slur.
“I know here, but where here?”
“I don’t know, we’ll,” she paused, looking around with confusion. “Umm. I don’t know what I was just going to tell you. But anyway, I’ll be in the house when you two are done here,” she winked. Julie and her trio quickly turned away disappearing into the night.
“Wow.” Grant laughed.
“Yep, wow.” Gina replied. “Do you know who that guy was?”
“Bob.”
“Should I be worried?”
“Nope. Not unless Julie’s really a man.”
Gina looked back to him with a blank stare.
Grant tilted his head to the side waiting for the answer to surface for her.
“Oh, he’s gay?”
“Yep. He just doesn’t know it yet.”
“Ah, I see.”
Grant began telling stories about Bob which turned into stories about other kids from Kipshaw. The conversation smoothly transitioned to Gina divulging her high s chool tales as well as some tidbits about her family. Time disguised itself as minutes moving quickly when in reality, they had been talking at rapid speed for hours.
“It’s already 2:00 a.m.” Grant stated as he rubbed his eyes trying to confirm the time on his watch.
“Really? We’ve been sitting here that long?” She became suddenly aware of how comfortable she now felt with Grant. Her nerves had slipped away leaving only an overwhelming feeling of excitement.
“Almost four hours,” he confirmed.
The bonfire had faded, l eaving the back yard barely lit by night sky. He jumped down from the truck and reached his arms out to her.
With no hesitation, she surrendered to his hands, allowing him to grasp her by the waist and lower her to the ground. As her feet felt the earth, she looked up to him, instantly absorbed in the eyes that had captivated her all night. The amazing combination of blue and green reminded her of the depths of the ocean right before sunset. She hadn’t realized during the night just how tall he was. She was five foot four and barely crossed the pectoral line of his chest, guessing he had to be over six feet. Gina could sense her heart pounding through her chest and wondered if he could feel it as well.
Grant peered back down at her as he tightly held her close to him. He lowered his head close to her face slow and soft enough for his lips to brush against hers. He pulled back with caution to take in her reaction, uncertain if he should have kissed her.
She nervously slid her tongue over her top lip and looked down and away from him.
Grant could feel his breath growing shorter as he peered at her with admiration and anticipation. He raised his hands to gently grasp her face, lifting her eyes back to meet his.
Simultaneously, they carefully moved into each other surrendering to the moment, kissing under the dimly moonlit night.
As she pulled back breathlessly, Gina allowed her head to fall onto his chest as she enjoyed the feeling of him holding her tight. “I don’t know where Julie went,” she finally spoke.
“I saw her go into the tent with Kristal and Peg.” He pointed over to one of the four tents pitched in the back yard. In sync with the rules of the party, everyone stayed until morning. There were people sleeping in tents, sleeping bags on the deck and a few in the house. It was a perfect summer night to slip into a sleep under the