“How…?”
Her mom laughed and took hold of her hand. She led her down the stairs. “I’m not blind. I’ve seen the way he looks at you—like you’re the most precious thing in the world. Susie and I tried to figure out what happened between you in middle school, but neither of you would tell us. We tried everything but locking you two in a room together until…”
“The Scoop.” Lila laughed as they stopped at the front door. “That’s why she made him work with me?”
“It was a last attempt, and I’m so glad to see it worked.” Her mom held open the door, and they looked out at the gray gloomy day.
Stepping out onto the front porch, Lila smiled as she thought about Gavin holding her in the rain of that faraway parking lot. “Yeah, it worked. But he ran out of here yesterday.”
“He’s scared,” her mom said. “Give him this one.”
“Thank you.” Lila hugged her.
“Go to him.” Her mom squeezed her once, then she grabbed her shoulders and turned her in the direction of Gavin’s house. Before letting go, she leaned closer to say, “Just don’t do anything that will make your father want to kill him.”
Lila’s cheeks flared. She shook off her mother’s hands and ran down the stairs, calling over her shoulder, “Bye, Mom.”
She heard her mom chuckle as she went back inside, and Lila ran toward the Millers’ house. She stopped in front of the door with her fist raised to knock. As children, they’d always barged into one another’s homes. She’d just gone inside and made her way to Gavin’s room.
Then, everything changed.
Biting on her lip, she lowered her hand to the doorknob. She slowly opened it, wondering if she’d made the wrong decision. With a deep breath, she stepped inside, closed the door behind her, and walked toward the staircase.
“Lila?”
She whirled around. “Hi, Mrs. Miller. I was told to come over. I’m sorry, I should’ve knocked. I—”
Mrs. Miller rushed forward, interrupting her with a hug. “You’re always welcome here.” She leaned away to look at her. “I was just surprised. It’s good to see you willingly in this house again. We missed having you around.”
Lila nodded with a smile. “I’ve missed being here too.”
“Gavin is in the garage.” Mrs. Miller led her away from the stairs. At the door, she said, “Have fun.”
Lila thanked her. She’d passed their car in the driveway, so she wasn’t surprised to see the space cleared out. What did surprise her was the four-foot canvas hanging against the large door with balloons pinned to it. She let out a gasp, and Gavin turned to face her.
“I came to get you, but your dad said you were in bed. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said as she approached.
“I’m sorry,” they said at the same time. For years, she’d waited for an apology while refusing to give one herself. They weren’t wasting time anymore, and she couldn’t keep her smile from widening. When he grinned at her, she stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him. He didn’t hesitate to do the same.
He pushed her back and placed a hand on her cheek. “I shouldn’t have run out like that. I was just so overwhelmed.”
“I know,” she said, looking around the room. “So, what are we doing today?”
He walked to the workbench along one wall and grabbed a cup and clear sheets of plastic. When he sat the former on the ground beside her, she looked inside.
“You didn’t.” She picked out a dart and laughed. “How do you remember this? It’s not even on the list.”
Plucking the dart from her hand and tossing it back in the cup, he said, “I remember everything you say.”
She bit the inside of her cheek and took the clear poncho from him. After pulling it over her head, she reached for a dart again, but he stopped her.
“If we’re doing this, we’re not half-assing it.” He pulled a hair tie she hadn’t noticed from his wrist. When she looked at him in confusion, he said, “This is not going to look pretty but turn around.”
Gavin’s fingers threaded through Lila’s soft, red hair. He’d asked his mom how to do it and watched a YouTube video, but the braid was still not turning out right. Lila sucked in a breath as a strand of hair tangled and he pulled.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. He reached the end and tied it off.
She lifted a hand to feel it while turning to face him. He could see the smile she fought. As she let go, she said, “Perfect.”
To keep from pulling her back into his arms, he took out his phone and played the soundtrack he’d already queued up. She laughed, shaking her head, then grabbed up a couple darts. Gavin laid his phone down beside the cup.
“Shall we?” Lila asked, handing him a blue dart.
He took it and stepped up beside her. “We shall.”
They both missed the first few throws, and the laughter floating through the room filled his soul with happiness. As Lila grabbed a couple more, she asked, “Shouldn’t you be good at this? You’ve played baseball for how many years now?”
“Throwing darts at balloons is completely different from throwing a baseball.” He threw the dart and cursed when it struck the white board beneath.
A red balloon burst near the center, and Lila screamed, thrusting her hands into the air. “I did it!”
Deciding he could no longer resist, he reached for her. He hugged her up against him and twirled around, reveling in the celebration. It was going to kill him if she couldn’t remember him the following week, but his mother was right. They still had a few days, and he wasn’t going to spend their remaining time fighting what they’d built up in the last week.
He set her down and kissed the
