Page 13 of Rewrite Our Story

“Of course I know you, Goldie,” he responds, his tone offended. “Did you expect something different?”

I shrug, turning my attention back to the moon high above us. The stars are putting on a show tonight. They twinkle, as if they’re as excited as I am for what the late night will bring. “You just haven’t been around much lately.”

Things seemed to shift right after he graduated high school. Truly, things may have already been changing before that. Regardless, him graduating really changed things. For starters, I no longer spent every weekday morning in his truck, singing along to whatever new song he’d found the night before. I hadn’t realized how much I cherished those early mornings with Cade, Pippa, and me until they were gone. Even summer mornings are different. He’s awake before all of us, already out helping his dad around the ranch by the time we make it downstairs for breakfast.

“You know I’ve got to work,” he answers, his elbow bumping into mine as he lays all the way down next to me.

I bite my tongue. He does have to work. It isn’t the workday that has me missing his presence. It’s the time between work and bedtime that we used to see him more. Now, he quickly showers and leaves the ranch to hang out with his friends. I don’t always know what he’s up to or where he is, all that matters is that he isn’t home like he used to be.

Not that I have the right to admit that I wish he’d be home more. He’s nineteen and works his days away. He deserves to go out and have fun. I’m just jealous that I’m not part of that.

Cade sighs, the sound loud and dramatic compared to the quietness of the clearing. “Say whatever you’re thinking. You’ve got your lips pressed so thin I know you’re dying to say something.”

Damn. Maybe he does know me well. I don’t want to prove him right. Mostly, I don’t want him to know how much it bothers me that he’s gone. I’m left lying in bed every night wondering if he’s off with Rhiannon. Or maybe some other girl from our town. He could even be with a tourist, someone visiting for the summer.

“Mare.”My name is said as a warning.

“It’d just be nice to see you more. That’s all.” I turn toward him, propping my body up using my elbow as my hand cradles my cheek.

He watches me carefully. His eyes travel over my hairline, down my cheeks, and pauses for the slightest moment on my lips before he makes eye contact once again. “You’re seeing me right now.” His voice is low and husky. I don’t know why it’s said so quietly with no one else around.

Heat flushes in my cheeks. “Yeah, but you’re only here because you feel bad for me.”

A dark look passes over his features. In one swift motion, he sits up, leaning closer to me with a serious look on his face. My body freezes when he reaches into the space between us and tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. It’s something he’s done before as an innocent act.Your hair is always in your eyes, Goldie. One of these days you’re going to take a horse right into a ditch because your hair is in the way.His constant gripes about my hair rush through my mind.

It doesn’t seem as innocent right now. Maybe it’s because, for the slightest moment, his fingers paused against my cheek before his hand fell back into his lap. His breath tickles the tip of my nose when he exhales. “You’re giving me more credit than I deserve. I’m not that nice. If I didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t be here.”

My heart lurches in excitement. It’s like it wants to jump out of my chest and prove to Cade right here and right now that it’s completely his after one simple sentence.

“Understood?” Even with the boyish haircut, I’m realizing how much Cade is no longer a boy and noweverybit a man. He’s grown into his wide shoulders. Dark stubble now peppers his cheeks. Even the tone of his voice is more commanding. It’s deeper and seems to wrap around me and caress different parts of me.

All I can do is nod. Words don’t come to me. I’m too locked in on what’s happening between Cade and me in this clearing.

He taps my thigh, a slight smile on his lips. “Get up real quick.”

I do as he says, but stare at him, confused. I watch his moves closely, wondering where he’s going with this. Maintaining eye contact, he reaches into the pocket of his worn Levi’s. He pulls out a black lighter. The air around us becomes thick as he inches across the grass until his knees bump against mine.

His full lips tilt up ever so lightly. He holds the lighter between us. “If Pippa had been awake she no doubt would’ve brought some homemade birthday treat for you, but I’m shit at baking, and wasn’t exactly prepared for tonight.”

“I don’t need anything,” I interrupt. What I don’t say is that no matter how much I love Pippa, tonight with him, is a better way to spend the night I turn sixteen than what I’d originally planned. A dessert isn’t needed. The alone time with him is more than enough. It’s all I could’ve ever wanted.

Cade slides his phone out of his pocket, looking down at the lit screen. It’s one minute until midnight. One minute until it’s my birthday. “It’s your birthday, Goldie. Everyone deserves to make a wish on their birthday.”

He flicks the lighter, a flame illuminating the space between us. He leans in closer, his breath hitting my cheek as he breathes out. Lifting his hand, he cradles the flame to protect it from the breeze around us.

My breath catches in my chest when he looks up at me. The moon reflects off the flecks in his copper eyes. I’m so close that if I dared, I could reach out and feel his sharp jawline. I might even feel the soft prickle of facial hair that dusts his skin. I don’t dare to move, afraid if I moved even a fraction of an inch that I’d ruin the moment between us.

His eyes flick to the phone on the grass in front of us. We both watch it as it turns to midnight. Cade looks back at me and smiles.

I’ve never been more sure I’m in love with him. This isn’t just a crush. It’s the soul crushing kind of feeling, one I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to recover from. His lip twitches before he speaks. “Happy birthday, Goldie. Make a wish.”

Leaning forward, I move my hair to my back so it isn’t in the way. I close my eyes, already knowing what my wish is going to be.

I’ve never wasted a wish on Cade because it felt silly to wish for something that I couldn’t have. But the way his eyes lingered on my lips as my eyes fluttered shut had me thinkingwhat-if.

With a smile on my lips, I make my wish.

I wish for Cade Jennings. I wish for him three times, hoping maybe the extra two times will be the reason it comes true. When my eyes slowly open, I find him watching me with hooded lids. My lips pucker before I blow out the flame.

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