Ari put her hand up to get me to stop talking. She looked at all three of us, just now noticing our wet clothes. Her mouth fell open as she glared at Jeff. “You let Matt swim in the freezing cold lake? Have you gone insane, Jefferson Johnson?”
“No! I didn’t let him swim. He just kind of…well, he just…he kind of saw the three of us in the water, and…well, I guess he wanted to join the boys. ”
The look on Ari’s face caused me to start laughing. Then, Gunner and Jeff started laughing. By now, Ellie and Heather had come out. Ellie was laughing, and Heather was just standing there, smiling. The moment her eyes caught mine, her smile faded. It was quickly replaced by a panicked look. She almost seemed like she was about to get sick. She threw her hand up to her mouth, turned, and ran back inside.
I took off running up the stairs to the house and went in after her. I watched as she bolted into a bathroom and slammed the door shut.
I knocked lightly on the door. “Heather, are you okay?”
“I’m okay, Josh. Thanks. I just feel sick. I’ll be out in a few minutes,” she said in such a sweet, soft voice.
Leaning my head on the door, I just stood there for a few minutes. I swore I could hear her crying. I’m hurting her. By not remembering…I’m hurting her.
I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Jeff with Luke in his arms. When Luke reached out for me, I looked at Jeff, confused.
“Dude, he wants you to hold him,” Jeff said with a smile.
I held out my hands, and Luke came right to me. He wrapped his little arms around my neck and put his head down on my shoulder.
Oh. My. God. My knees felt like they were about to give out. When I put my hand on his little back, I could feel him breathing. He smelled so damn good. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
God, please…please just give me my life back. I just want to remember all of this. I want to remember Heather.
I wasn’t sure how long I’d been standing there, just taking in this sweet little man, but neither one of us moved.
“You feeling better, Heather?” Jeff asked.
I slowly turned around and saw Heather leaning against the doorjamb. She had the sweetest smile on her face.
“He always did love you so much,” she said.
I smiled back at her. I didn’t even know what to say. Her beauty left me speechless. As I looked her up and down, my heartbeat started racing. I handed Luke back to Jeff. When I turned back around, she was looking at Luke in Jeff’s arms.
I walked up to her and reached my hand behind her neck, pulling her to me. I leaned down and captured her lips with mine. She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me back with so much passion that I thought I would explode. I’d never in my life experienced this type of kiss, this type of emotion.
Barely pulling away from her lips, I whispered, “I want that to be my last first kiss. ”
She smiled, and then she let out a giggle. “That wasn’t our first kiss though. ”
“It was for me. I’ve never before experienced so much emotion in just one kiss. Everything I experience with you is new, beautiful, and breathtaking. ”
She pulled back from me and looked into my eyes. I saw the tears forming in her eyes, and the last thing I wanted to do was hurt her more. I reached down and gently kissed her on the lips again. The low moan that came from her mouth moved through my whole body.
I love this girl. I love her. I need to tell her right now. “Heather, I—”
“Sorry, y’all, but Luke’s getting fussy, and we need to head home,” Ari said from behind me.
Heather looked at me with pleading eyes.
I smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. “Tonight?”
She gave me a sweet smile and nodded.
I turned and saw Luke trying with all his might to get out of Ari’s arms. I laughed as I reached for him, and then I started to fly him around like an airplane. My fucking side was killing me but I’d never felt so damn happy in my life.
By the time I made it back to my parents’ house, my ribs were killing me. I showered and took some pain medicine since my little romp in the lake and then playing with Luke were doing me in now.
When I walked down the stairs, I heard my mother talking to someone. I looked at my watch and wondered where Heather was. She’d said she had to stop at Party City to pick up supplies for my birthday party tomorrow.