Playlist

19. "Riptide" - Vance Joy

I don't know what is the weirdest part about the whole Luke situation: the fact he's my boss, or the fact that everyone saw it coming. Even Elera picked up on it. Not the fact we had sex, but the fact something was going on between me and Luke. I don't mind it, though. With Luke, I'm not embarrassed to be places with him. I don't feel like I have to try and impress him or cater to his interests. He's just Luke, I'm just Dakota, and that's all it is. It's nice. When Lune asked if we were dating, I told her no - because we aren't - and she wasn't convinced. "You're practically dating," she had said, and I had laughed. She's not wrong, but then again, neither am I.

Luke and I are locking up for the day. It's Wednesday, so Elera is at dance until Mrs. Fields brings her home tonight. Since school has started, Elera spends most of her days at dance. In the afternoons, Mrs. Fields will bring Elera and Mrs. Fields daughter, Shelby, to the Fields' residence where the girls will do schoolwork. Sometimes Elera spends the night with them; other times Mrs. Fields will bring Elera home. Either way, Luke ends up having whole afternoons to himself. He never knows what to do. It's been over a week since "the night." As he turns the key to the front door, he clears his throat. "So, how about that dinner I asked you about?"

I raise my eyebrows, my cheeks heating up a bit. "I was at your house for dinner a couple nights ago."

He turns to me, sliding his hands in his pockets. "I want to take you out for dinner, not order take out for dinner."

I smile and bite my lip. "I like take out."

"Dakota. Let me. Really."

I take a deep breath and let out a sigh. He knows how I feel about people paying for me, but I guess letting him actually take me out wouldn't hurt. "Okay, okay. We don't have to do anything fancy."

A smile brightens his features, and he nods to himself. "Okay. Uh, there is... something I want to do first. Well, if you're okay with it. It's kind of weird, thinking about it, but..."

"What's up?"

He digs the toe of his boot into the dirt. His eyes go to the sky before falling on me. His cheeks and ears are pink. He's nervous. "I want to go see my parents. I haven't been in a while."

That's why he's nervous.

"I-it's totally okay i-if you're not comfortable with it. I can go another time."

"Why wouldn't I be comfortable?"

He scratches the back of his head and shrugs. I slip my hand in his and smile. "Come on."

❧

I may not understand first hand what this has been like for Luke, but I can definitely understand cognitively. Luke doesn't say much during the drive other than how his parents are buried in the mountains. It must be awkward, wanting someone to meet your parents - even a friend - and you have take them to a burial site. We drive for a while, and I don't make him talk. We smoke, we listen to music, we hold hands. We come upon a small cottage on the edge of the mountain. No words can describe the view. The air is cold, crisp at this elevation. There sun is nearing the horizon, the sky a mixture of colors. I follow Luke around the back of the cottage. "This was Mom and Dad's vacation home," he said, his voice soft, almost as if not to disturb the area. "They'd bring us up here for a weekend, just to get away. We'd go horseback riding, fishing."

As we walk around the back, there's a massive pacific dogwood in full bloom. It's rare that they're still this full of color and blossoms at this time of year. I don't feel alone out here, but I feel at peace. There are two stones placed underneath the dogwood tree, and I follow Luke as far as he walks. With his hands in his pockets, he stops just short of where a casket would end. The wind wraps around us, carrying dogwood blossoms through the air, fairies dancing in the wind. They're here, his parents. I can feel them even though I've never met them.