Chapter 9: New age, same life

  "Do you have any Apple Bottom Jeans?" My eyes drift to the car stereo, watching the text scroll from Flo Rida's Low back to the FM dispy.

  "Nah, my hips aren't wide enough, so I never bothered." Luna shrugs, brushing it off with practiced indifference, though I know she's being modest. Her hips are more than enough to pull it off, along with that slim waist of hers. A lot of girls would kill for a body like hers.

  "Hey! Eyes up here." I realize I've been staring a little too long, but she's not actually mad—the smile and teasing lilt in her voice give her away.

  "Better yet, watch the road. Do you want to get us killed?"

  There isn't much to watch, though. The blue headlights slice through the darkness, illuminating nothing but the wet glimmer of water ahead. Nobody in their right mind would come to the beach at one in the morning.

  Then there's us.

  "I'm curi-ous for you, caught my attention!" Luna tries to stifle her ughter as my off-pitch singing joins Katy Perry's.

  "I kissed a girl and I liked it! The taste of cherry chapstick!" I belt out, gripping my pretend microphone while my left hand rests on the wheel.

  "I kissed a girl just to try it!" My eyes drift back toward Luna, my index finger following. My microphone, now turned gun, points at her.

  "I hope my girlfriend don't mind it!"

  "Did you change the lyrics—" She raises an eyebrow, grinning, but I nod emphatically, denying her the chance to interrupt my concert.

  Turns out we had a surprise feature joining us.

  "It felt so wrong, it felt so right! Don't mean I'm in love tonight!" Her voice joins mine, smooth and perfectly on key—a total contrast to mine. She's always had good vocals, even when she was a kid.

  "I kissed a girl and I liked it! I liked it!"

  I think about our childhood memories, even recent ones like our karaoke trip a couple months ago. I push my hand out the window, letting it glide with the wind. Luna's inspired to open her window too, sending the napkins from our earlier burger stop into a typhoon. She's…so happy. Sparkling eyes, innocent smile, angelic voice, hair whipping wild across her face.

  Late night drives don't mean anything if Luna's not in the passenger seat.

  "Hard to obey…" She taps my arm to the beat, and I throw my head back, drumming against the steering wheel.

  "I kissed a girl and I liked it!" Our voices echo through the car, blending with the stereo's booming speakers.

  "The taste of her cherry chapstick!" Life's great.

  "I kissed a girl just to try it!" I love Luna.

  "I hope my boyfriend/girlfriend don't mind it!" She leans into me, singing into her own pretend mic.

  "It felt so wrong, it felt so right! Don't mean I'm in love tonight." I don't want this to end. Ever.

  "I kissed a girl and I liked it…I liked it!"

  I stop singing once Luna turns the stereo's dial down. We're close to the beach now, rain starting to pour. I gnce past her, watching the raindrops pelt the ocean's surface. It's beautiful.

  "Hey, don't look yet!" Before I can react, Luna's hands cover my eyes, soft but firm.

  "I'm driving!"

  Freed from the darkness, I'm met with her suspicious smile.

  "So who'd you kiss? You're singing pretty passionately. Was it Trisha?" She paints a smile on my face as Katy Perry hums in the background.

  "Oh yeah, Trisha and I really went at it during gym today. We slipped into the girls' locker room and…"

  She stares at me in mock shock, nodding along.

  "Yeah…? Did she have cherry chapstick on too?"

  I nod, backing into the parking spot.

  "Hm…maybe? I don't really remember, I was too busy—"

  "Did it taste like this?" Like a dagger, her baby lips—cherry lip balm and all—pierce through the air. Lucky for me, I have unnatural reflexes. Shifting the car into park, I grab her wrist. The lip balm only grazes my lips.

  "This is lip balm, not chapstick."

  Her seatbelt clicks, and suddenly the taste of strawberries floods my mouth.

  "That's my mouth!" She presses me against the door, smearing lip balm over more than just my lips. She's too childish for her age, but thoughtful. I bought her that strawberry lip balm—guess her cherry one finally ran out.

  "You leave me no choice…" I pull the door handle, dropping the two of us out of the car. The sand's soft as I hit the ground, but Luna's weight drives me down further. My head hits the sand, her stomach pressing against mine.

  "Wearing strawberry now? Who's that for, Starr?"

  We both rise to our feet, her face flushing red.

  "That was one time and it was by accident!"

  I chuckle, locking the Camaro with a beep.

  "Yeah, yeah, I've been told. Why are you forcing lip balm onto me anyway?" I lift my arm, wiping away whatever lip balm she managed to get on me.

  "'Cause your lips are dry as hell, that's why. Plus you hate it."

  "They're not even dry!" I lick my lips without thinking—probably should have waited until she wasn't looking. Now I get an infuriating smirk in return.

  "Hurry up!" We both kick our shoes off, and I'm dragged toward the water. We are so gonna get sick tomorrow morning. She throws her head back, ughing and spinning as she looks up at the sky.

  "Happy Birthday, Micheal!"

  The allure of the ocean breeze enraptures me. I love the rain. Each drop sends a rippling shiver across the water's surface, shimmering briefly as streaks of moonlight break through the clouds, glinting off raindrops like scattered stars before sinking into the waves. The soft patter of rain mingles with the steady rhythm of the tide, forming a gentle lulby in the empty night. It's beautiful, almost indescribable.

  Innocent ughter breaks through the ocean's song. A voice like honey calls to me.

  "So…what do you think?"

  I'm speechless. I couldn't have asked for a better gift. Being here, with her, is all I want. Her hand finds mine, and she pulls me into her rhythm. My feet begin to follow hers, and my hand finds its way to her hip. I don't know how long we've been dancing, and I don't care how much longer we stay. The sky is cloudy, yet there are stars littered in her eyes. She twirls effortlessly, her smile almost eternal. Her hair is down, and two stray bangs frame her face, now tousled and damp. She's completely soaked.

  "Hey…you know you're just as soaked as I am, right?" I shake my hair out, running a hand through it.

  Someone's mind-reading again.

  "Thank you."

  She's about to scoff at my remark, but pauses when she sees the sincerity in my smile.

  "You don't get to thank me, dummy."

  Hand in hand, we walk to the water and dip our feet in. It's cold but warming at the same time.

  "Luna, there's no possible way I can thank you."

  She tucks her knees in, eyes fixed on the ocean. I lean back, stretching my legs out and gazing up at the sky.

  "Don't get yourself killed. That's good enough for me."

  I let a ugh slip despite the slight cracking in her voice.

  "I won't die anytime soon, I promise. There's still too much for me to do."

  "Yeah…" I gnce over, and she pulls her knees in closer, burying her face against them. I smile softly.

  "What's wrong?"

  "I… I don't want things to end, Micheal. I'm having so much fun. I feel alive with you. Like I'm living a life worth living…because of you."

  Her words touch my heart…but they aren't true. She loves me, but she's strong enough to stand on her own. She doesn't realize it, but she's the sun—brighter than she could ever know. She doesn't need me, not the way I need her.

  "Seventeen years," I say quietly. "So…you moved in next door ten years ago?"

  A small smile crosses her face.

  "Yeah…it'll be ten years in a couple of months."

  "Ten years, Luna. So much has changed since then. We went from hanging out at the park, to video games in your basement, to the basketball court, to working at the 7/11, and now we're living together. We watched each other grow up and we didn't even realize it! You know what the constant was through it all? We were together."

  She stammers, looking at me as her tears glint under the moonlight, only to be washed away by the rain.

  "What if—what if we'd never met? What if something happens to you—"

  "Then I die."

  My words catch her off guard, leaving her in silence.

  "I'll die and you'll keep on living. Then once your time's up, you'll die, and I'll see you again." I reach out, brushing her cheek with my thumb, wiping away a tear. A smile breaks through her sadness.

  "We're together in every universe, Luna. Our fates are intertwined. I'm not complete without you."

  A faint blush warms her cheeks as she gently pats her face, taking deep breaths.

  "Sorry," she says, her voice small. "I turned your birthday into a sobfest."

  I grab her hand, pulling her to her feet.

  "Yeah, if I have to listen to you cry all year, I'm going to be pissed."

  She giggles as we head back to the car.

  "So, did you like—"

  I stop, catching sight of something in the Camaro's reflection. Instinct takes over, and I spin, pushing Luna behind me.

  "Try something," I say, my voice low and fierce. "And the pattering of rain will be the st thing you feel."