Mallory
Before we knew it, summer was upon us. The sun was burning at its brightest, and Kennedy was forced to wear pounds of sun-cream to make sure her pale skin didn't burn. Our graduation ceremony was short but sweet, and the last day of high school felt like it was just the beginning of something new.
"Guys, we did it." Kennedy said in wonder, tears sparkling in her eyes as the headteacher walked up to deliver their concluding speech. "I'm never going to do an inch of Biology ever again."
Cleo and I laughed at her joy. I held hands with my best friends, watching as our graduation ended with fanfare and a storm of applause. I squeezed Kennedy and Cleo into hugs. "Promise me that we'll go on a trip in the summer somewhere. Even if it's just to the beach."
"We're going somewhere." Cleo swore. We stayed in the hug for at least a minute; I sensed that Cleo and Kennedy felt the same loss as I did. It didn't help that Cleo, Reid and I were going to Collard University together. Kennedy chose to take up an engineering internship on the other side of the country.
I gave Kennedy an extra hug, and we clung to each other. "I'm going to miss you so much next year."
"We'll meet up. I'll sneak into your dorm in the mornings if I have to." Kennedy declared, holding me by the shoulders. I had no doubt that she'd act on her words.
I laughed, brushing away my tears. "I swear I'll do the same for you. I love you, Kennedy."
"I love you." Kennedy echoed. Our friendship was unbreakable. We looked at each other for a few seconds, then I turned to smile at Cleo.
"I'm going to go meet Reid outside now. Are you guys going to be okay?" I asked, as Cleo hugged Kennedy one last time.
"More than okay." Cleo said with a thumbs up. I nodded, then I gathered my stuff to go outside. My heart was broken by Kennedy's impending withdrawal from my life. She was one of the people I loved most, and I was losing her.
But when I saw Reid waiting outside in his car, the pangs in my heart dissolved into nothing. All I could see was the summer, bright and renewing with the heat and sunshine. An endless summer of Reid.
I got into Reid's car, and my boyfriend looked over at me with a grin. "How was your last day?"
"How was yours?" I quipped. We looked at each other for a few seconds before bursting into laughter, even though nothing was really funny. But we both understood why.
We spent the whole of yesterday's evening cooking together. We kissed a lot more than we actually cooked, but an evening with Reid was something to be treasured.
"Not as amazing as it could have been. I missed you." Reid told me, kissing me on the cheek. His eyes drew in at the corners as he smiled, his gaze warm and sweet in the sunlight.
I leaned back into my seat, sighing happily. "I missed you more."
"Trust me, I feel it more than you do." Reid replied with a wry smile. He looked at me for a second before he leaned in for one last tiny kiss.
I smiled as he pulled away. "What was that for?"
Reid smiled, his eyes bright. "Something for a rainy day. Can I take you somewhere?"
I raised my eyebrows. "Depends on where it is."
"Mallory, can I keep some secrecy for once?" Reid complained.
I undid my high ponytail, fingers working to release my hair into soft waves. Reid's eyes watched my hair spill onto my shoulders, and I hid my smile. "You know I don't like secrets." I told him.
Reid smiled mysteriously. "This is why I'm showing you my only secret."
I grinned. "Okay."
The air flowing into the car cast a cool breeze over my skin. I sighed contentedly and leaned my head against the seat, tipping up my chin and closing my eyes.
I smoothed down my dress and opened my eyes to look at Reid, taking in his relaxed posture and natural grasp at driving. He only just got his licence; how was he so good at everything he tried?
"Where are we going?" I asked Reid again. I could be insufferable sometimes.
"You'll see," Reid replied patiently, keeping his hand on the wheel as he briefly gave me a once-over. "Have I ever told you that blue is your color? You look gorgeous."
"Keep your eyes on the road." I replied. Reid laughed softly as he saw the secret smile on my face.
When we reached the Lake, I slipped out of the car after trading my heels for sneakers. I walked hand in hand with Reid through the woods, enjoying the peaceful quiet that encircled us. I loved to anticipate the sudden change in scenery that would soon appear, and on cue, the woods revealed a small clearing, which Reid and I called the Lake.
I turned to Reid, frowning. "The Lake was never a secret."
Reid shrugged, a grin curving his lips. "I wanted to do something special for us."
He took my hand, leading me to the middle. I gasped, staring at the surprise. Reid laid out a picnic blanket in the centre of the open space, laid with a variety of foods that I liked. Strawberries, apple juice, sandwiches, mini donuts, to name a few.
I hugged my boyfriend, staring up into his face. "You know I don't deserve you?"
Reid smiled. "That's funny. I think the exact same thing about you."
I looked at the natural beauty surrounding us. "This is gorgeous, Reid."
"You're gorgeous. Before we eat, how about a diving contest?" Reid challenged me.
I smirked. "Bring it on. I can already taste my victory."
Reid tapped his chin in mock thought. "Does that mean I would owe you a victory kiss? Hypothetically, of course."
"Maybe you would." I quipped, loving the idea.
"Now I need to lose." Reid replied, grinning.
I pulled off my dress and climbed the rock pile. The smooth edge served as a natural diving board, overlooking the deep lake that ran through Capricorn Woods. While I expected Reid to stare unashamedly at me, he blushed and turned away instead. Maybe Reid thought I wouldn't want him to look at me, but I wouldn't have minded.
I smiled softly. He's cute.
Despite my perfect swallow dive into the lake, Reid easily won. He executed a backflip from the tallest tree around us, which sent fear spiking into my heart once I realised what he was attempting. Reid told me ages ago that he wanted to go skydiving one day. There was no end to the adventurous activities on his bucket list.
Reid eventually convinced me to try out the trick, and when I did, I realised it was worth the fear. The brief rush of terror as I fell into the lake was eclipsed by the bright joy afterwards. Reid convinced me it was safe. This was worth the initial fear.
That was what I loved about Reid. He always pushed me to test the limits of my strength. And I hoped that I did the same for him in return.
"So do I get a kiss?" Reid asked hopefully.
I waded over to him and put my mouth to Reid's ear. I felt him tense slightly, and I smirked against his wet skin. I loved the effect I had on him.
"You'll have to catch me first." I whispered. Before he could respond, I climbed out of the pool and sprinted as fast as I could to the edge of the clearing, laughing. Even though I was on the track team at high school for two years before joining cheerleading, Reid caught up to me and threw me over his shoulder.
"Reid! Put me down." I protested, unable to stop grinning as Reid walked over to the pool. But he quickly wiped the smile from my face as he tossed me into the lake without warning. I stayed still for a second and pushed up to the surface, running my hands through my messy hair as I evil-eyed Reid. "I swear I'm going to throw you in here too."
"Good luck with that," Reid said confidently. Too confidently. He held out his hand to me; a rookie mistake. I quickly grabbed his hand, wasting no time, and pulled Reid into the freezing cold water. The consequent outpouring of water onto the banks caused the remaining birds on the banks to fly away with squawks of protest. Reid emerged coughing, brushing a hand over his hair as he glared at me.
"I gave you a warning," I asserted fairly. Despite Reid's obvious annoyance, his eyes showed amusement. We loved playing these sorts of games with each other, because we were both quite competitive.
Before I could register it, Reid's irritation vanished, and he was moving closer to me in the water. I focused on his hair, the color significantly darkened to near-black because of the water.
"But I won." Reid murmured. His eyes flitted to my lips. "Twice. So what's my reward?"
I decided to play along, inching towards Reid steadily. "I don't know. What do you want it to be?"
He smirked, tilting my chin up with his hand. "I know exactly what I want. Or should I say who?"
"You're going to have to enlighten me," I said innocently. We were close enough now that his mouth was inches away from mine.
Reid's eyes darkened as he moved his hands to my waist. "Do I still need to?"
"Okay, maybe not." I said as I closed the distance between us. I wrapped my arms around Reid's neck, pulling myself up to meet his lips with mine. The kiss was soft at first, purely enchanting. Then it became more demanding, as Reid lifted my legs up to wrap around his waist. I smiled against his lips, feeling more content than ever. The way he kissed me felt almost spiritual, like an out of body experience. It felt like this was where I belonged, in his arms forever.
It ended all too soon, and we had to climb out of the pool to get the towels out of the car.
As soon as Reid had lifted the pair of towels out, I immediately snatched the fluffiest towel and smirked at my boyfriend, wrapping it around myself. "You snooze, you lose."
"I'm sure there's plenty enough for the two of us." he replied. I felt my cheeks redden as Reid moved next to me, pressing his lean but muscular body against mine. "Comfortable?"
He was looking at me way too suggestively. He knew exactly what he was doing. "If you keep on doing that, Reid."
"Doing what?" Reid said innocently. "And for research purposes, what's going to happen if I keep on doing it?"
"That's it." I said, hauling Reid against me by the towel wrapped around his neck and kissing him. Reid equalled my fervour easily.
A few hours later, the sky was already starting to darken. Reid covered us with the towels, lying next to me. I felt an indescribable sense of peace. I turned my head to look at Reid, who had placed his hands underneath his head languidly, looking at me with a tender look in his eyes. He was the only person who ever looked at me like that, like I was the center of his world.
I moved closer to Reid and tapped his nose softly. "Stop staring without saying anything."
"I can't help it," Reid said with a shrug, his muscles moving underneath the towel. "You look like a painting."
I sighed dramatically. "I'm just that amazing."
"Hey, I'm supposed to be the egoist in this relationship," Reid complained.
"I'm compensating for both of us. Do you want to stay over at mine?"
Reid smiled. "Don't worry about it, I'll see you tomorrow anyway. What are we going to do, then?"
"Watch movies together at mine?"
"More sexy time? I'm in."
My phone buzzed, and I opened the notification, frowning. "Cleo's having a party at hers. Should we stop by for a while?"
Reid leaned over to hug me, resting his hand in my hair. "Sure, we have an hour until your curfew."
We walked to Cleo's house, which took forty minutes. But forty minutes felt like ten minutes with Reid, as we talked together. He was the only person in my life who could make everything seem brighter in the world.
On the first day of summer, I sat outside Cleo's house on her brick porch. My ankles were crossed, and I was staring into my empty red solo cup as the streetlights came to life. It wasn't dark yet, but the evening was approaching.
Reid was picking me up for a date, and he was never late. Our tradition was that he'd get me makeup, rather than chocolate or flowers. Mainly because I was allergic to flowers and I didn't like chocolate. Tonight, Reid chose to remain mysterious with our date location even though I didn't like surprises. But I trusted him.
Our dates were never overly spectacular, because I enjoyed the quiet most, though I loved people. Our favourite pastime was nights spent in blankets, watching horror movies together. Maybe it was boring or predictable, but those dates were untouchable.
A loud clattering noise stirred me from my thoughts. A young boy was sprawled alone on the road beside his fallen bike, knees bright red with bloody gashes. Silent tears streamed down his face as he clutched the sides of his legs in agony.
I gasped and rushed over, ignoring the dangerous twists of my heels on the uneven pavement. The latter was most likely why he fell off. I knelt on the pavement so I was eye level with the boy. He stared up at me, shocked and worried by my sudden appearance.
"You can't ride back in this state. Can I take you to your house? Where do you live?" I asked him carefully. It was nearing dark, so he must have been on his way home.
The boy's eyes snapped to mine and his brow creased with wariness. I made sure I kept some distance so he didn't feel cornered. I didn't move my gaze from him, opening my clutch and taking out a few plasters, showing them to him.
"It's okay. I just want to make sure you get home safely." I said softly. The child's eyes were still anxious, but eventually he gave a slow nod.
I moved closer and ripped two big square plasters open from my bag, bending down to carefully seal the cuts on the boy's knees. I didn't have disinfectant, and my wet wipes were in a bag at home. So plasters would have to do until I could find his house. Once I was satisfied, I helped him up carefully and walked him across the road, settling him on Cleo's porch. I brought his bike over and approached him hesitantly.
"Would it be better if I walked you to your street instead? You can find your own way from there." I asked him, knowing he would feel more comfortable with the idea.
The boy considered my compromise and nodded. He appeared to not want to talk, but he was most probably in shock. I let him direct us as I walked his bike. I followed his unsteady step patterns carefully to know when he wanted to turn left or right.
When we found the street at last, the boy thanked me and hobbled off with his bike, at his request. I stared after him, concerned that he wouldn't be able to recognise his house in the darkness. But the streetlights were on, the numbers on each house were easily identifiable. But if that was my brother, I would be worried out of my mind.
Left with no alternative, I walked back to Cleo's house. Reid picked me up, and I enjoyed our date- as always. Reid's sense of humor always had me laughing and smiling, and my wit had the same effect on him. Our personalities worked together, but it was no surprise. We were both chatty, outgoing people.
The next day, Reid and I were walking to Cleo's house when we were intercepted by a woman. She smiled at us. "Hello. Do you remember my George?"
She was referring to the boy hidden behind her, who I recognised as the boy from last night. I smiled and gave him a little wave, which he returned shyly.
"He told me what you did for him yesterday, and I wanted to thank you." George's mother continued, dabbing at her eyes. "It's not every day I meet good people like you."
I smiled and assured her that it was nothing, but the lady wouldn't acquiesce. She gave her thanks again, then left. I asked George to make sure he didn't fall again, to which the boy just gave an embarrassed smile.
Reid looked at me with admiration, taking my hand and staring at me like I should be put onto a pedestal. "See? Everyone loves you."
I rolled my eyes, kissing him on the cheek. "I just need you to love me, Reid. That's more than enough." I replied affectionately. He laughed, assuring me that he did love me and would continue to. We continued walking down the street.
When we got our acceptance letters from Collard University that summer, life never felt sweeter for us.
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