“Yeah?”
She met his gaze. “Yes. It’s almost exactly what I had in mind.” Butterflies filled her stomach as he beamed across the small space at her. The color was too light for her brown hair. She’d need to bleach it to turn out anywhere near the color in the picture, but she couldn’t tell him that. For once, she wanted to keep the happy mood. And it would still redden her hair some. “Will you help me?”
“Of course,” he said, pulling the grocery bag open to put everything back inside. He squeezed in close to her to lift the door up and then dropped down to the ground. “Come on.”
Laughing, she turned to use the ladder. She stopped to grab the lantern and passed it down to him before closing the door. When her feet hit the grass, she took the light back. “I didn’t mean right this second.”
“Why not?” He led the way back to their yards. Night had fallen, encompassing them in darkness. She lifted the lantern higher, willing the panic to subside. Gavin slowed to walk beside her. “Your house or mine?”
Lila stopped. “Um… actually, can we go to yours? My mom is out for the evening, and I don’t know how my dad is going to handle pink hair.”
“Fine, but if he gets mad, I was not involved.”
She laughed. Neither of her parents would truly care, but of the two, her dad was the strict one. “Deal.”
They made their way into his empty house, as familiar as her own. Flicking on a kitchen light, he grabbed two Cokes before leading her upstairs. She turned off the lantern and sat it on his nightstand. As he placed the bag of candy beside it, she looked around his room.
All of the movie posters of superheroes and cartoons had been replaced with bands. A solid blue comforter covered his bed, and a desk took up the place where a bin of toys once sat in the corner. She stepped closer to look at the collage of photos on the wall above it.
Dozens of pictures showed Gavin smiling and having fun with Dylan and other kids from school. At the lake, in a field, at baseball games. A pit formed in her stomach. She had pictures with Beth Ann, but most had been taken from one of their houses or at the Scoop. She never went to any of the games or participated in extra curriculars, so she didn’t have any mementos from such activities. In the corner, an older photo caught her attention. With huge grins, Lila and Gavin stood hand in hand behind their shared eighth birthday cake.
Gavin watched as Lila lifted a hand to the photo on the wall. He didn’t need to move closer to know which one, but he walked up next to her anyway. When he reached her, she dropped her hand.
“This is why I made that list.” Her quiet voice made him lean closer. She turned, and he saw the tears brimming her eyes. He fought the need to wrap his arms around her. “I don’t have photos like this. I want to create memories like these, so I have something to look back on.”
“Screw it,” he muttered under his breath before pulling her into a hug.
She stood stiff as a board in his arms. He smiled when she finally relaxed into him and returned the embrace. After a moment, she said, “I spent so much time focused on school and the future that I forgot to enjoy the present.”
He reluctantly let go. “Let’s do this then.”
Smiling, she went to grab the box of hair dye. She tore it open and dumped the contents onto his bed. “Okay, we need to mix the color first.”
“Don’t you need to wash your hair?”
Lila shook her head. “No, it works better unwashed.”
Gavin shrugged and sat on the bed, looking at the different items from the box. Lila pulled on the gloves and poured the color into the developer. At least that’s what the directions he briefly looked through said.
“You know how to do this?” His phone dinged, and he dug it out of his pocket.
“I used to help Beth Ann dye hers all the time,” she replied.
Gavin read the text from Dylan.
Dylan: What are you up to? Wanna hit the cages?
Gavin: Can’t tonight. Busy…
Dylan: Oh?
Gavin: Hanging out with Lila.
Dylan sent a GIF of a man pulling out popcorn, and Gavin laughed.
“What?” Lila asked, shaking the bottle of color.
Gavin shot off a quick message saying he’d explain later then turned on some music before tossing his phone on the bed beside him. “What do you need me to do?”
Lila set the bottle on the nightstand. “I need a towel. Something your mom won’t mind getting ruined.”
He got up and walked to the bathroom attached to his room. He left the light on when he returned, knowing they’d use it soon. Draping the towel over a shoulder, he pulled open a dresser drawer and grabbed an old t-shirt.
When he handed both over, she looked surprised. “I didn’t think about my clothes. Thanks.”
As she changed in the bathroom, he read through the instructions again. It seemed pretty straightforward if she planned to do all her hair the same color. The door opened, and the sight of her in his old baseball shirt stirred feelings he’d fought off for so long. Clearing his throat, he grabbed the pink bottle and stood.
She wrapped the towel over her shoulders, pulling her long hair out, then took the bottle and used the mirror above his sink to start at her roots. He leaned against the door with crossed arms as he watched her soak piece by piece with the dye. After getting the front and sides, she met his gaze in the mirror. “Help me with the back?
Pushing off the doorframe, he moved to stand behind her. He took the bottle and
