"It'll be dark by then, right?"
"Uh..." Luke let out an uncertain laugh. "What's this all about?"
I fell back onto the mattress and stared up at my ceiling. I suddenly wanted to say, "Never mind. I didn't mean to call." But instead I said, "It's about our little secret."
"Our—" His voice cut out, then he said so quietly I could barely hear him. "More people wrote in to the paper?"
"No."
"Then what?"
I grinned. If I wasn't good at anything else, I was great at frustrating the poor guy. "Meet me and you'll find out." Luke took forever to decide, but finally he relented. My chest began to swell. We were going to meet again. I was going to see Luke alone one more time.
139
The Stillburrow Crush
by Linda Kage
For the first time, we said goodbye to each other before hanging up.
"Since I'm the one driving, don't you think you better tell me where we're going now?"
I shut the passenger door of Luke's Mustang and glanced over at him. He darted a suspicious peek at my book bag. It was stuffed full, and lumpy. But he didn't ask what was inside, probably because he knew I wouldn't tell him. I shrugged. I was nervous. I hadn't yet fully decided if this was a good idea or not, therefore I hadn't settled on all the details of my plan, like where this event would take place.
"It doesn't matter where we go," I answered. "As long as it's outside of town where we're alone." Luke glanced at the bag again as I slid it to the floorboard between my knees. He put the car into gear. "You're not one of those serial killers that gets her victims alone and then slices them open and drinks their blood, are you?" I wiggled my eyebrows. "What's your blood type?" He laughed and ran a hand through his hair. Then he mumbled something under his breath. It sounded like he said,
"I can't believe I'm doing this."
"We can always go back," I said, watching him, almost hoping he'd stop and turn around but wanting him to keep going at the same time.
"Heck no," he said. "There's no calling it quits now. I've got to see what this is all about."
He pulled the car off onto another country road and came to a halt. He killed the engine but kept the headlights on. 140
The Stillburrow Crush
by Linda Kage
When I realized where we were, I gasped softly. It was our spot. I turned to him, ready for an explanation. He shrugged, looking a little embarrassed. "I didn't know where else to go."
My insides grew warm and snuggly. Instantly, I thought of our last visit to this exact spot. I felt like we were repeating history, returning to our first kiss. It was like Luke and I were destined to repeat the scene until we got it right.
"All right," he said, turning to me. "What's in the bag?" I rolled my eyes. "I'm glad to see you too," I said, and reached forward to lug the bag onto my lap. I unzipped it and moved it back when Luke leaned over to peek inside. He glanced up and I shook my finger at him.
"To start with," I said, trying to sound dramatic, "we have this." I pulled the first item free. It was a thick red-and-whitecheckered tablecloth. In the dark, I caught a glimpse of Luke arching one eyebrow. He lifted the tablecloth out of my hand. "A blanket?" He sounded baffled.
I nodded. "Very good. Now be a doll, will you, and spread that out on the ground."
His head swiveled up to me. "On the ground? Outside?" I nodded. And he shook his head.
"You've got to be kidding me. It's freezing out there."
"Well then, you're in luck because I've got something to warm us up." I pulled out a full bottle of wine. He snatched that away from me too, peering at the label. When he saw it was the same bottle he'd pulled from my mom's kitchen drawer, I added, "Be glad I decided against the ice cream." 141
The Stillburrow Crush
by Linda Kage
He looked up, shaking his head. "You never cease to surprise me."
I took the blanket back and handed him a silver utensil. "I also thought to bring a corkscrew. There's no cups, though."
"So where's the food?" He smiled as he worked the corkscrew into the cork. When I pulled out the Tupperware container, his smile dropped and his jaw fell open.
"Right here," I said, grinning. "But it's not much." The plastic was fogged from the temperature difference inside the container. Luke bent down to peek inside.
"What is it?"
I popped the lid. "Cheese, apples, rolls, and...watermelon," I said proudly, showing off the ruby-red, bite-sized chunks inside. "They don't sell whole watermelons at Getty's General this time of year. But I found this much being sold with a whole fruit platter of grapes, pineapple chunks and melon balls."
"Why watermelon?" he said.
"I'm trying to re-create something," I said. I rested the bag in my lap, the last surprise still inside. "Tell me what redand-white-checkered tablecloths, wine, and watermelon remind you of."
"Um..." He frowned as he tugged harder on the corkscrew. Then he said, "Summer, I guess," just as the cork popped out. The bottle teetered and some juices dribbled down the side of his finger. He licked the droplets off. My stomach dropped as I watched his tongue lap up the excess. He glanced over at me, seeming unaware of how much I'd been gawking. "It reminds me of summertime and picnics." 142
The Stillburrow Crush
by Linda Kage
I reached inside the bag, wanting more than anything to impress him. "You're getting close," I said, and came up with a fistful of the fireworks I'd nabbed. I waved them back and forth like a flag. "Now what does it remind you of?" Luke took a wad of sparklers out of my hand and stared at them as if he'd never seen them before. "The Fourth of July," he said, his voice full of awe.
"Ever celebrated the Fourth in November?" He shook his head. "I think I'm about to, though." I grinned, opened my door and got out of the car. I could hear him still inside, groaning and muttering about the temperature before I shut him in. Finally he got out too, carrying the opened bottle.
It was freezing. There was a bit of a wind too, which made matters worse. I pulled the collar of my coat up over my neck and huddled deep inside. I watched Luke's silhouette as he passed the headlights. The lights caught him perfectly. He shivered and rubbed his arms.
"How'd you talk me into doing this again?" I set the tablecloth, fireworks and watermelon on the hood of his Mustang. When I looked up at him, I knew my cheeks and nose were red with cold.
"I want you to write a poem about this," I said. Luke glanced around him at the night. He rubbed his arms and a cloud of white fog exited his mouth. "About what?" I nodded toward the hood where my supplies lay strewn like an Independence Day hood ornament. "About all that."
"The Fourth of July?"
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The Stillburrow Crush
by Linda Kage
I grinned at his bewildered tone. "That's why I planned this. I love the Fourth of July...the lights, the food, the festivities. And I want words to describe how it always makes me feel. Only...I can't write like that. Not like you can." I looked up and caught a side view of his face as he studied the tablecloth. I saw that overbite of his and my stomach dropped.
For moment, he said nothing. Then he whispered, "OK." The air rushed out of my lungs. I hadn't realized I'd been holding my breath, waiting for his response. I hadn't realized his answer would be so important either, until he'd given it and I felt the relief. Suddenly, I wanted to hug him and thank him profusely. But then I caught myself.