Page 68 of Finders Keepers
“You can’t promise that. You can’t even defend me if we get caught.”
“Why not?”
“First of all, you don’t even do that kind of law,” I point out as we park in the lot at the edge of the property. “So you would probably not be very effective counsel.”
He unbuckles his seat belt. “Wow, glad to know you have such faith in me.”
“Second, would they even allow you to represent a co-conspirator in a crime?”
He shrugs. “Don’t actually know. Like you said, I don’t do that kind of law.” Quentin flashes me an impish, if hesitant, smile.
Then it suddenly hits me, as I’m opening my car door carefullyso as not to ding the truck beside us, that the parking lot is actually pretty full.
“What are we doing?” I ask in a sharp whisper as Quentin emerges from the driver’s side. “Do you even know what kind of event we’re crashing?” I look down at my navy sundress and sandals. I’m not sure if it’s fancy enough to blend in at a wedding, but definitely better than the threadbare Old Navy flag shirt from 2003 I wore for most of the day after finding it buried deep, deep in my closet. I try to listen for any indication of what’s taking place up ahead, but it’s all crickets. Literal crickets. And maybe some cicadas. “Are we joining the local nocturnal wildlife for a game night?”
“Man, I hope not,” he says. “You are the absolute worst charades partner.”
“Just because I thought a chinchilla was a type of Mexican dish when we were ten…”
Quentin laughs as he takes my hand, leading me over a small rise beside the estate’s pond. It’s very dark, but he seems to know where we’re going. As the ground evens out again, the crickets and cicadas are gradually drowned out by conversation and the occasional peal of a child’s laugh. Ahead is a cluster of shadows, which, as we approach, turn out to be people—some sitting on blankets, some in chairs, and others (mostly kids) running around with sparklers.
“It’s a good fireworks spot,” he explains. Which makes sense, because they usually launch them east of downtown, right across the river. “Supposedly gets less crowded than Riverside Park or the Food Lion lot.”
Except instead of staking out a spot of our own as I expect, Quentin leads me past the people and along the walkway that winds around the Castle.
“That isn’t the surprise?” I ask.
“Nope.”
“Oh. Where are you taking me?” But I don’t need him to answer, because I can see exactly where we’re headed—into the gardens.
31
Quentin ushers meinside the mushroom folly. The darkness and the massive rhododendron bushes surrounding the phallic stone structure make it feel like we’ve entered another world, thousands of miles away from another living soul.I wonder if this is Edlo?I think for a moment, and it sends a pleasant shiver down my spine. “What’s this all about?” I ask, rotating in place before I turn back to where Quentin still stands at the entrance.
“Trying to fix some of my mistakes,” he says cryptically. The word “mistakes” makes me swallow hard. He steps toward me, his gaze intent, and gently places his hands on my hips, before he walks me back against one of the pillars, the smooth concrete pleasantly cold against the exposed top of my back, my neck, my shoulders. “This is what I was going to do—what I’d planned to do—if you’d shown up that night.” One of his hands drifts up, and his thumb softly lifts my chin, angling our mouths toward each other. My eyes close as our lips meet, and somehow,even though this isn’t the first time we’ve kissed, this one feels like something new. Something different. More vulnerable.
“Nina.” His smile is small, uncertain. No facade to be found here. This is pure Quentin, the boy, the man. The person some secret part of me has always and probably will always adore. “When you told me the other night that I made you feel like you weren’t enough for me to want to stay in touch…God, that broke me. It shattered me, completely. Because it was so far from the truth, and I just didn’t know how to tell you then. I barely know how to tell you now, but I’m trying. I’m trying to do better this time. Even though I know it’s not enough to make up for everything we missed out on because I was too afraid, too stupid, to be honest about how I felt.”
I reach out and run my fingers over his jaw, needing to lend my support in some way. (Also to feel the progress he’s making on that beard. It’s coming in quite nicely.) He closes his eyes against the touch, leaning into it, before taking my hand away and holding it.
“From the very first day we met,” he continues, “I knew you were amazing. Like no other person I’d ever known. And, yeah, we were only five years old at the time, so that’s probably not saying much, but you were so pretty and smart and we laughed at all the same things. I decided then and there I would do anything it took to make you want to be my friend.” He stares down at where our fingers are intertwined. “But you didn’t seem as interested in knowing me as I was in knowing you. Not until I started competing with you. Telling you I could do something better or faster or whatever lit this spark in your eyes, and it was so much easier to get your attention. By the time we were fifteen, I was absolutely head over heels in love with you.”
Even though Hanako already revealed Quentin’s crush, this confession makes my breath catch. He wasin lovewith me?
“I wanted to tell you how I felt, but I was so scared you didn’t feel the same way.” He glances back up, into my eyes. “That’s why I was so adamant we team up and look for the treasure that summer. Because I thought it would show you how good we could be together. So that once I left, you might not forget about me.”
Forget abouthim? It makes no sense. “But you…You’re the one who…” I start. “You never responded any of the times I tried to contact you.”
“I know. I can never apologize enough, or express how much I regret that. First I was ignoring you because, yeah, I was a little mad. But mostly I was hurt. Heartbroken. Then embarrassed. You were the first girl I ever loved, Nina. You not showing up that night felt like a confirmation that all of my fears were completely founded. That you didn’t feel the same way. That you were only looking for the treasure for the thrill of the competition, not because you cared about me.”
“No, I—Quentin. I cared so much. I felt the exact same way. I just…I thought that I needed to impress you in order foryouto likeme. That if I found the treasure on my own, you would be so proud that you wouldn’t forgetme. And then it felt like that’s exactly what you did.” I shake my head, and my voice goes quieter. “I loved you too. That night we spent stargazing in your backyard, I wanted you to kiss me so badly.”
“And I wanted to kiss you,” he says.
“I know,” I whisper. I respond to the question on his face. “Hanako might’ve let it slip.”
“Ah.” He rolls his eyes and quirks the corner of his mouth.
