A Summer of New Beginnings | Completed |

Chapter 6

Standing there amidst my friends in the barely lit tent, Gavin clears his throat loudly. We all turn to face him. He's holding his soda can high. "A toast. To a summer of new beginnings." He smiles at me, lovestruck. Butterflies ripple through me as everyone echoes his toast, holding their soda cans high. We all take a sip as Gavin walks over to me. He stops in front of me. He smiles, looking me straight in the eyes. "I've loved you since the minute I met you. And when we started writing back and forth, I loved you more than I ever thought possible."

He pauses, waiting for my reaction. A smile spreads across my face. "I love you too, Firefly."

We both smile shyly at each other and his lips are on mine, his arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me close. It's one of the happiest moments of my life. But it doesn't last.

AD storms over to us, pulling us apart. I glare at him. His eyes are blazing, as he glares at Gavin. AD pushes him away from me. "What are you doing? That's my sister! I won't let her be another of your three-day flings!"

Gavin looks upset, ready to say something he'll probably regret. I step in between them, wrapping my hand in Gavin's. I turn to my brother. "I like Gavin, and he likes me too. He makes me happy." I turn to Gavin and he nods, wrapping his other hand around my shoulder. I lean my head against his shoulder.

This makes AD madder, as he stares at us, his mouth open in shock. He closes it, a scowl taking over his face. "No. I can't take this. I won't accept this." He storms off. I watch him go until he disappears from sight.

I turn to Gavin. He looks upset. I smile at him. "He just needs time."

He shrugs. "I guess."

The rest of the party stares at us, dead silent. Then slowly, the whispers start rippling through the crowd, starting off slow, spreading little by little until the whole party's staring and whispering.

I squeeze Gavin's hand. "Let's go." He nods and we push through the crowd, making our escape.

We run off to the beach, sitting down next to each other.

He smiles. "Can I ask you a very serious question?"

I nod. "Sure."

"How do you take your toast butter or no butter?" I laugh. "How you take your toast is very serious."

I nod. "Butter of course." He gasps, a smile playing on his lips.

"I can't do this then. Butter is disgusting. Spreads are so much better."

I turn to him, struggling to keep a straight face. "I'm so insulted."

He glances at me and we're both laughing hysterically, tears running down our faces.

"This is nice." I wipe the tears off my face.

He nods, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. "It is." Somewhere across the beach, a beautiful, slow song starts blaring. Gavin stands up, offering me his hand. "May I have this dance?" I nod. I brush sand off my dress as I stand up, moving towards him. He wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me close. I rest my arms on his shoulder as we sway back and forth. I lean my head on his shoulder, his breath on my neck. "I've wanted to do this forever."

I smile. "This is perfect."

He nods. "You are so beautiful."

The song slows down, coming to an end. We stand there, holding each other close, not wanting to let go. "I love you, Gavin."

He smiles, his eyes glowing. "I love you, Aspen. I always have."

He grabs my hand, leading me into the forest. He stops in front of a tree, pulling out a swiss army knife. "Want to?"

I nod as I grab the knife, pressing it into the tree. He wraps his hands around mine, gently guiding it as we carve our initials into the tree, forever marking this moment into history.