Count On Me

See You Later

SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014 | 2 PM | BEATRICE

"Okay, what do you see in that one?" I ask with a small smile, pointing at an oddly shaped cloud in the sky. The ground beneath our blanket is hard, but with my head on Tobias's shoulder and his arm wrapped around me, I couldn't care less. I could lay here with him forever. I twist a bit to glance at his face.

"Hmm." He narrows his eyes and taps his chin as he thinks. Then he grins. "A wheel... kind of like a ferris wheel."

"Mmhmm," I hum as I twist further, rolling partway on top of him. Our first kiss was on a ferris wheel; that kiss led to us both admitting that we wanted more than a friendship with one another. I was fourteen at the time and he, sixteen; nearly two years later, and we're still together and closer than ever.

I press my lips to his and we kiss slowly, tenderly... leisurely, as though we have all the time in the world, because really, we do. I could be happy spending the rest of my life with him. We may be young, but we're in love, and we've talked about a future together. I pull away and smile at him.

"I love summer," I murmur. "The freedom of it... no school..." I sigh. "It's half over. Only one more month and Caleb will be leaving, and we'll be going back to school." I pout. "It's gonna suck being there without you."

Tobias runs his thumb over my lower lip that's sticking out. "You'll be alright," he says softly.

Tobias graduated in May, along with my brother Caleb. While Caleb will be going away to Boston for school― he's going to Harvard University, he's always been the overachiever of the family― Tobias is staying in town. He applied to a few other schools, mostly local, and was accepted to most, but ultimately his dad wanted him to stay here: live at home, attend junior college to get some of his credits out of the way. I feel like there's something more than money involved in that plan on Mr. Eaton's part, but I can't put my finger on it. But to me, it seems really strange that Mr. Eaton would pay for his son to attend a prestigious private high school, then insist that he attend junior college instead of a respected university.

Either way, I'm over the moon happy that Tobias will be staying close to me.

Tobias sighs and smiles at me. His fingers lightly brush my cheek and his touch makes me close my eyes in contentment. "You know I love you more than anything, right?" he says quietly. I open my eyes to see him looking at me with intensity, his face serious.

"Of course," I answer, turning my head to press a gentle kiss to his fingertips.

"You're the best person I've ever known, Beatrice," he whispers. I smile. Only two people have ever been able to make me feel this way. To everyone else, I am just plain, small, ordinary Beatrice, hardly worth noticing at all. Only my mom and Tobias make me feel like I really am someone beautiful, someone worthwhile, someone who can do amazing things.

"I love you too, Tobias," I murmur. "More than I knew was possible."

Tobias smiles, but the corners of his eyes don't crinkle like they usually do. He takes me in slowly, as if he is memorizing every detail about me. "I wish I could freeze this moment and live in it forever."

"I could spend forever here with you," I agree, smiling. "Good thing we have forever to spend together."

In answer, Tobias cups the back of my head in his hand and kisses me. It starts out heated and desperate and slowly becomes sweet and lingering. I rest my head on his chest. We stay that way, talking about nothing important, until late afternoon.

"You're sure you can't hang out tonight?" His chest vibrates under my cheek as he speaks, his voice deep and rumbling.

I sigh into his shirt. "No, I can't. My dad flew back in sometime this afternoon. Mom is insisting on 'family time' tonight."

"Will he be here long?"

My dad is away on business as much as he is home; I prefer it when he's gone. My mom is loving and nurturing, but my father has never hidden what a disappointment I am to him. It's not like I'm a trouble maker, and I am smart enough and do okay in school... but I'm not the perfect child Caleb is, and at school, I'm just not that interested in what they teach. I'm not Valedictorian material like my brother is. And my father never lets me forget it for a moment.

"I don't know," I say, shrugging my shoulders a little. "They haven't told me anything about his plans yet. I know Mom misses him, and it seems like managing everything alone has been overwhelming for her lately, or something. She seems... tired."

"Yeah, I noticed," Tobias admits. He pauses. "Beatrice, he's wrong about you. Don't listen to him."

"I know," I smile, lying through my teeth. It's easier to just agree with Tobias on this point. But I don't know how to make my dad's words stop mattering to me, stop hurting. I can usually see his point, anyway.

I glance at my watch; it's a quarter to five. "I have to go now, Tobias," I groan.

Tobias walks me to my car, and I turn to kiss him goodbye when we reach the driver's door. He surprises me with a kiss that takes my breath away; his left hand tangles in my hair and his right runs down my back before taking purchase on my hip. We pull away, breathless, and I bury my face in his neck as he holds me close.

With a long exhale he pulls back and searches my eyes with his. "I love you, Beatrice," he whispers.

"I love you, too," I say, reaching for my door handle. "I'll see you later."

Tobias steps back so I can open my door. "Goodbye, Beatrice."

I raise my hand in a little wave before I close my door, fasten my seatbelt, and back out of the parking space. As I drive away from the park we have spent so much time at together, I look in my rear view mirror and see him staring after me.