didn’t want to scare her or cause her to move from the exact place she was resting on my chest. So this was what I love you felt like. I started to replay all the days and all the moments and all the memories I had of Julia Lang. My grin widened as I realized that each moment involved me being in complete awe of her and her not even knowing it. God, I loved this girl, and I bet she still didn’t even know how much.
“Will,” I heard her soft voice say then.
“Hmm?” I asked.
“Will you sing me another song?”
“What about?” I asked.
“About us,” she said.
I could hear the smile in her voice.
“Okay,” I said, taking a second to think.
I gathered the words and then whispered into her ear another melody, but this time, it was soft and low:
“Little girl, little boy
If love has a way
Fill their fields with laughter
And scatter the sun on their day
And if it should happen to rain
Make their raindrops kisses
Straight from heaven above
That touch their hands and faces
And that fill them with love
And make the moon reflect their smiles
And their stars plenty
And, above all, keep them together
And hold them as you may
Forever and ever
Until their last days.”
She squeezed her arms tighter around my side when my lips stopped singing her song.
“It’s perfect,” she said.
I watched for a second as her eyelashes followed the path the fireworks made from the barge in the river to the heavens. Then, I kissed the top of her head, pulled her hips closer to mine and smiled.
Chapter Eight
Senior Year
I heard a knock at the door just as I was signing my name to the last page of paperwork.
“Come on in,” I said.
I heard the door push open, and I took a quick glance back.
“Hey, babe,” I said, setting down the pen and flipping through the healthy stack of pages.
“Hey,” I heard her say, making her way over to me.
And within seconds, I felt her arms wrap around my neck and her weight press down onto my shoulders.
“Whatcha’ workin’ on?” she asked.
My hands left the pages and found a spot to rest on her arms, and I reached up and kissed her.
“Oh, just filling out forms for the fire department,” I said. “Even if you’re a volunteer, it requires an autobiography, evidently.”
I heard her take a deep breath as she pushed off of my shoulders.
“Can I have some water?” she asked.
I turned in my chair and watched her make her way into the kitchen and pull out a glass from the cabinet. She filled the glass with water from the faucet and took a drink. I smiled at her when her eyes finally met mine again, but her lips only slightly turned up.
“What’s wrong, Jules?” I asked.
She took another deep breath, then set the glass down onto the counter and walked back over to me. My eyes followed her as she fell into the chair next to mine and began to study my face.
“You really want to be a firefighter?” she asked.
Her question made me pause. Yesterday, when I had told her that I had driven by the fire station and the thought had just sort of overtaken me, she seemed happy for me.
“Yeah,” I said. “I mean, I can’t believe I hadn’t thought about it before. At least, then I could have gotten Counselor Old Fart off my back a lot sooner.”
She seemed to be tracing the lines in my eyes, until she eventually nodded her head.
“It’s just so…,” she started.
I furrowed my brows and tilted my head.
“So?” I asked.
I watched as she took another deep breath.
“So what, Jules?” I asked again. “You seemed fine with it yesterday.”
“I know,” she said. “It’s just so dangerous, you know?”
My eyes settled on hers, and I started to smile.
“Jules, it’s not that dangerous,” I said. “And, you know, it’s me. Jules, you know I’m not the type of guy who can sit in an office all day. Hell, I can hardly sit through a class.”
A soft, guarded laugh fell from her lips, but then her smile went limp again.
“It’s
“Will,” I heard her soft voice say then.
“Hmm?” I asked.
“Will you sing me another song?”
“What about?” I asked.
“About us,” she said.
I could hear the smile in her voice.
“Okay,” I said, taking a second to think.
I gathered the words and then whispered into her ear another melody, but this time, it was soft and low:
“Little girl, little boy
If love has a way
Fill their fields with laughter
And scatter the sun on their day
And if it should happen to rain
Make their raindrops kisses
Straight from heaven above
That touch their hands and faces
And that fill them with love
And make the moon reflect their smiles
And their stars plenty
And, above all, keep them together
And hold them as you may
Forever and ever
Until their last days.”
She squeezed her arms tighter around my side when my lips stopped singing her song.
“It’s perfect,” she said.
I watched for a second as her eyelashes followed the path the fireworks made from the barge in the river to the heavens. Then, I kissed the top of her head, pulled her hips closer to mine and smiled.
Chapter Eight
Senior Year
I heard a knock at the door just as I was signing my name to the last page of paperwork.
“Come on in,” I said.
I heard the door push open, and I took a quick glance back.
“Hey, babe,” I said, setting down the pen and flipping through the healthy stack of pages.
“Hey,” I heard her say, making her way over to me.
And within seconds, I felt her arms wrap around my neck and her weight press down onto my shoulders.
“Whatcha’ workin’ on?” she asked.
My hands left the pages and found a spot to rest on her arms, and I reached up and kissed her.
“Oh, just filling out forms for the fire department,” I said. “Even if you’re a volunteer, it requires an autobiography, evidently.”
I heard her take a deep breath as she pushed off of my shoulders.
“Can I have some water?” she asked.
I turned in my chair and watched her make her way into the kitchen and pull out a glass from the cabinet. She filled the glass with water from the faucet and took a drink. I smiled at her when her eyes finally met mine again, but her lips only slightly turned up.
“What’s wrong, Jules?” I asked.
She took another deep breath, then set the glass down onto the counter and walked back over to me. My eyes followed her as she fell into the chair next to mine and began to study my face.
“You really want to be a firefighter?” she asked.
Her question made me pause. Yesterday, when I had told her that I had driven by the fire station and the thought had just sort of overtaken me, she seemed happy for me.
“Yeah,” I said. “I mean, I can’t believe I hadn’t thought about it before. At least, then I could have gotten Counselor Old Fart off my back a lot sooner.”
She seemed to be tracing the lines in my eyes, until she eventually nodded her head.
“It’s just so…,” she started.
I furrowed my brows and tilted my head.
“So?” I asked.
I watched as she took another deep breath.
“So what, Jules?” I asked again. “You seemed fine with it yesterday.”
“I know,” she said. “It’s just so dangerous, you know?”
My eyes settled on hers, and I started to smile.
“Jules, it’s not that dangerous,” I said. “And, you know, it’s me. Jules, you know I’m not the type of guy who can sit in an office all day. Hell, I can hardly sit through a class.”
A soft, guarded laugh fell from her lips, but then her smile went limp again.
“It’s
Similar Books
