Page 94 of When Wrecked Meets Ruined
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Fifteen minutes later, I was sitting in the Adirondack chair in my boardshorts, contemplating life and the fucked-up world we lived in, when she rounded the side of the house.
“Hey, Dally Boy.” Evie climbed the back porch steps and stopped in front of me. Once again, I was struck by how drop-dead gorgeous she was. Her black hair fell in perfect waves down her back, her skin was bronzed from the sun, and her green eyes were the purest green. Like a cat’s. Or like the turf on a football field.
She was wearing cutoffs with a loose white tank top, and I could see her black bikini top under the sheer material. Her face was all-natural beauty without a trace of makeup, and as much as I loved the red lipstick, I loved her naturally pink pouty lips just as much, if not more.
Her dark brows furrowed. “Are you okay?”
I tugged her into my lap. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I burrowed my face in her hair and breathed her in. Ripe fruit, spicy and decadent with a hint of pepper. Whatever her scent was, I couldn’t get enough of it. Or her.
It was Thursday, so we only had one more week. It wasn’t enough, and I had no intention of letting her go, but I’d wait until the time came and tell her then.
We swam in the lake until it got dark. Afterward, we fucked on the dock, and now we were stargazing.
“Did you ever wish on stars?” Evie asked.
“Nah. You?”
She was looking up at the sky, and I was looking at her.
Evie shook her head. “No. What’s the point? Wishes never come true.”
We were quiet for a few minutes, and I thought about her words and how I used to believe the same thing. I’d wished my mom would get clean and stay clean. I’d wished my asshole sperm donor would leave my mom alone. I’d wished for a million things that never came true.
But now, I see things differently. Life could change in an instant, sometimes for the worse, but sometimes, if you’re lucky, for the better.
“Let’s make a wish,” I said.
“Why?”
“Why not? What have we got to lose?”
She considered it for a minute and nodded. “It can’t hurt, right?”
“Right.” I tipped back my head and searched for the brightest star. When I found it, I said, “Ready?”
She laughed. “You make it sound like the wish will come true right now, and we have to be prepared.”
“You never know. Look up and make your wish in three, two… one.”
After I made my wish, I turned to her. “What did you wish for?”
“I can’t tell you. What did you wish for?”
I licked my lips. “Kiss me, and I’ll tell you.”
“You’re just trying to get in my pants again. Sorry to disappoint you, but I have to go now.”
I made clucking noises as she got to her feet.
“Is that supposed to be a chicken?” she asked with a laugh. “You really are a city boy, aren’t you?”
“The only chickens I’ve ever met are the ones on my plate.”
She laughed again, and I stood up because she was on the move, already halfway down the dock. I fell into step with her, and when we stopped next to her piece of shit car, she wrapped her arms around my neck, pushed up on her toes, and kissed me.
Just a soft brush of her lips.
