Sweet Lantern

Chapter 13

Darry

When we get to the water, Alice turns to me and says, "Wanna go for a swim?", a great big grin across her beautiful lips.

"I don't even have any trunks", I try to protest.

"You have boxers, Darry.", she says as she rolls her eyes at me.

Alice is fearless. Something that I have always loved about her. If the girl wants something, she usually gets it. When she wants to do something, she does it. She's definitely an "Ask forgiveness, not permission" kind of girl. But in a good way. She knows her limits and would never push the boundaries to hurt anyone. She just likes to have fun and she's sort of a free spirit.

I'm more reserved when it comes to stuff like this.

Alice is already at the dock. She takes off her shorts and jumps into the dark water, wearing only her t-shirt. Her head pops back up above the water and she surveys the area trying to find me. When our eyes meet, she smiles, wiping the water from her face, she tells me to come in, the water feels wonderful.

I can't help but smile back at her. Her wild little self. I take off my jeans and boots, tossing my t-shirt over them, I run down the dock and do a cannonball into the water below. When I come back to the surface, Alice is laughing and wiping water from her face again. I swim over to her, "You're crazy, do you know that?", I ask, laughing. She laughs and splashes water at me and makes a break for it.

When I catch up to her, I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her closer to me, "Uh, uh, young lady, you're not getting away with that!", I tell her and push her under the water. When she comes back up, she's fully prepared to jump on my head, but I stop her by catching her wrists in my hands and pull her into me, kissing her lips. I feel her body go limp in my arms and she just melts into my kiss. It's the greatest feeling in the world. I open my eyes and see her eyes closed as she's kissing me back, her arms now wrapped around my neck.

"I love you, you crazy girl", I say when I break our lip lock. She looks at me and turning her head sideways, she says, "You know, I think I might like you too." And she swims away from me, splashing me with her feet kicking the water, smiling back at me the whole way.

Back at her house, her family is sitting down to dinner. I walk her to the door and tell her that I need to get home to check in with my own family. She hugs my neck and kisses me before I can say bye. "Thank you for such a wonderful day, Darry. I had so much fun", and she turns to go inside, closing the door behind her. I stare at the screen door for a minute, trying to convince myself that I'm not dreaming, the girls of my dreams, is in fact my girl. I look down at the ground and feel the grin spreading across my lips. I shake my head at how lucky I am and walk to my car. Just as I'm opening the driver's door, I hear the screen door open and close. Before I realize what's happening, Alice's arms are around my neck, she's kissing me. I pick her up and she wraps her legs around my waist. We now in a full embrace. She pulls back, and says, "I missed you", and runs back into her house.

She is too much. She's totally adorable. She missed me? I think and chuckle to myself. Crazy girl. The smile on my face hurts. But it's a good pain.

I'm lost in my thoughts the whole way back to my house. A grin plastered to my face. When I pull into my driveway, I'm thankful that the car seems to know the way because I was in a daydream the entire time. The porch light is on, so I know they're awake and probably having dinner too.

I walk inside and see mom bringing a platter of food to the table. "Hello, Mr." she says to me, cheerful as ever. Dad and Beth are already sitting at the table, so I join them. "Hello. How was everyone's..." I start, but they all interrupt me. "Oh no!" they all say in unison. "How was your day, Daryl Williams?" I laugh at their nosiness and tell them about our day. I don't tell them exactly where we went because that's just for me and Alice. I've never told anyone about my secret place, only her. I tell them how much I love her and how she loves me and watch as their expressions tell me how happy they are for the both of us.

"Darry, we are so happy for you and Alice", Mom tells me, beaming with joy.

"You guys are definitely a match made in heaven, Darry", dad says in between bites.

"Are y'all getting married?" Beth asks, very serious and unashamed.

Everyone stops eating and looks at me. "No!" I say, louder and more forcefully than I intended. When the shock wears off from her question, I tell her, "We just started dating, Beth. I think I will give her a little more time before I ask her to marry me."

I realize my mistake too late. Their eyes are wide, and they are all staring at me in silence. "I mean if I ask her to marry me, it'll be later. C'mon, guys." I beg them to give me a break here. My mom looks down at her plate with a small grin on her face. My dad takes another bite through a subtle smile, and Beth, God love her, says, "Suuuuuure", and takes another bite.

"May I be excused?" I ask as I finish my dinner, but don't wait for a reply. I leave the table and take care of my dishes. I can't help but feel reassurance from everyone's obvious support of us as a couple. Our families love each other. It's kind of like two countries coming together in one of those old kingdom movies. If we get married, IF we get married, we would be bringing our countries together to make one. It's a cool thought. I make it to my room and fall back onto my bed as I pull my phone out of my pocket. Pulling up her name in my messages, I text missing you to Alice. A few minutes later I get a text back, miss you too.

I fall asleep thinking of our time together in the lake earlier. How playful she was, and so happy. I want her to stay that way forever. Happy. It's the only thing that keeps me moving... that keeps me looking forward to each day, wondering how I will get to make her smile. I do want to marry her, but I can't tell her or anyone else, not yet.