Do You Ever Dream? - Delta Rae 

What I love about this song is some of the scenery (Reykjavik) is similar to what Allie encounters!

It was a cool spring night when we decided to go to an open-air concert out on the college green. With the band in the background readying for their next set, Logan took my hand and put us on a straight course down Gesner's Alley and toward Main Street. We were passing the entrance to Pentworth's greenhouse when he crouched beside the beveled glass door.

"What the hell are you doing?" I whispered, backtracking at the sound of a jiggled handle. The single light over the door buzzed and flickered on, illuminating his soon-to-be crime. "We're supposed to grab dinner, not forage for it."

"Don't be a chicken, Al. Give me a second."

"You've already had one," I said, turning my coat collar up to cover my cheeks. At least my peacoat blended into the shadows. Logan's baby blue pullover and mop of blonde hair made him the most conspicuous criminal in Boston. The longer we stood the more eyes I felt, until I couldn't take it anymore and reached for his arm like a security blanket. "Let's go. I was always nervous doing this with Josh. Please."

He wrenched himself free. Instead of harsh words I received an exasperated sigh and a short, "Wings Express closes at midnight. We've got three hours."

I dropped his arm.

There comes a point in time where every casual relationship blossoms into something more. I was waiting for that transformation, patiently dissecting long looks and stares with the precision of a surgeon. As I clung to the dark, it became clear to me that I would've been better off running a ten minute background check. Six months spent thinking I'd improved on Josh only to end up with another lock-picking boyfriend. I watched him struggle with the handle. And a shitty criminal at that.

It made sense, I supposed. He condoned turtle theft. Probably the first cue I'd be down for mischief. "What's your plan?" I asked. "What the hell are we doing here?"

"Can't say."

God, Mom was going to kill me. Hell, I'd agree with her for once.

"Two minutes," I decided, bouncing on my heels. Suspicion was a hard feeling to shake, but I was sure we were alone, eighty-percent sure anyway. College kids saw Friday night gigs through the bottoms of bottles; there was no need to station a cop this far away from the musical epicenter.

While I counted down from 120 and attempted melting into the wall, Logan fiddled like an amateur locksmith. "Relax," he insisted, smiling through the door's reflection. "I've almost got it."

"Says the guy without a criminal record to the girl who does." It was hard to relax, living one alarm away from jail time. "If the police blotter features my mugshot Monday morning, I'm dead."

"Am I that bad?"

"Hunny, I'd have the cash in hand already."

The door rumbled open. With a triumphant flourish Logan propped it with his elbow. A small brass key lay pinched between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand. He winked. 

"Where'd you get that?" I asked, unsure if his revelation helped or hindered the anxiety knotting my stomach.

He bowed. "After you."

Mere steps into the velvety darkness my feet ground to a halt and I stopped, overwhelmed by the hair-prickling sensation of an immense presence just out of sight. "I can't."

The warmth of his hand spread through my glove as his fingers clasped mine. Together we let the seconds tick away in stuffy silence until our eyes adjusted. A faint fog formed over the lower panes of the greenhouse, where the shadows of leaves and humid air made even the average person a little claustrophobic.

"Trespassing is illegal," I insisted. With a roof made of glass there were no lights overhead, only scattered moonbeams and glimpses of stars beyond the foliage.

"Good thing there aren't any cameras."

What if we'd tripped a silent alarm? In those uneasy minutes my palms had become so sweaty I yanked my gloves off and shoved them into a pocket. "Why are we here?"

"Do you remember your freshman RA, Ralph Monahan? Giant with the dreads? Always let me stay in the lounge while you were at practice? I interviewed him on greenhouse benefits for a bio paper and he lent me the key." He drummed pollen off a potted iris. "All we have to do is be careful."

"Answer my question."

"Soon."

Plants of all shapes and sizes stretched across narrow rows. Helix ivy tickled our hands and necks as we passed. With an amateur botanist's knowledge he guided me among varying plant species. "Liverwort. Lichen. Reindeer moss." What he said didn't matter as much as how he said it: in a warm, husky voice that soothed my last remaining fears of getting caught breaking and entering.

After some time we reached a section blocked off by a single aluminum door. Logan pushed it open. A blast of heat welcomed us.

"The Amazon," he announced with a dramatic sweep of his hand across the room's expanse. Muffled band songs drifted in through a cracked window. I detached one sticky hand from his and pulled my hair into a messy ponytail to save it from the oppressive humidity. Off came my coat and so did his, to be hung on the interior handle with the rest of our inhibitions.

"Walk straight."

"How far?" I asked, teasing the red lip of a pitcher plant. Speakers crackled on. I jumped. My head hit a low-hanging pot. A cloud of dust poured dead leaves and dirt over my mouth. Tarantulas lurked on the third floor of Blackwell behind sealed, crack-proofed doors, but that knowledge didn't prevent the sensation of hairy legs crawling along my arms.

To his credit, Logan swallowed most of his laughter while I itched away my fears. Recorded birds drowned out the alternative rock.

"They do this for biology classes, to give kids a better feel for the environment," he said, popping open a dated stereo and exchanging its CD for one in an unmarked case beside the player. The Drifter's 'Save the Last Dance' had me surprised.

I sputtered a brief, "Logan, this—" and then his arms were around mine. His belt pressed against my stomach and we were swaying in the dark. This was like a movie. I was in a movie.

"I love how your nose wrinkles when a stray mushroom finds its way onto your pizza," he said. He spun me around and as my knee faltered collected me back into his arms. An ensuing dip and my hair brushed dank cement. "And your stiff dance moves make me look better than I am."

He pretended to let go. My fingers reflexively dug into his shoulder as I held back a startled yelp. "You broke into a greenhouse to tell me that?"

He wagged a finger. "It's not breaking in if you have the key."

High on emotions, I swear to God I floated through the next minutes. His mouth moved, gentle words of praise, but my ears stopped listening. My feet found the ground when his rough hands slid up my arms. By the time we reached a standstill my heart was running a marathon. Using a single finger he tilted my chin and forced my eyes on his. "Point is you're perfect for me."

This was the culmination of everything I'd been waiting for. With a quiet smile he let me wait a few seconds more. The air thickened. My pulse flat-lined. The entire world disappeared but for his bright blue eyes.

"I love you."

For six months anticipation had lodged its knife deep within my heart. In that instant Logan wrenched it free. The music, the air, and the heat—it all returned to me on weak knees.

***

There, I halted.

Kasper rummaged for his lighter as though there was a cigarette's worth of more to come. There was some nonsense that made me blush but I'd read it all to him: about giddiness and bliss and dark memories brightened by future speculation.

Hindsight was 20/20.

In that sterling moment I should've pushed Logan aside and run screaming for the exit. I should've said, "This is too good to be true" or "You swiped this from a Disney movie, didn't you?" I should've listened to my old impatient self and escaped our relationship three months before the greenhouse incident.

If I had paid any attention at all in Ecology 1000 I would've known to tread with caution around pretty, brilliant things like Logan, but there beneath the moonlight in a makeshift jungle, all I cared about was how good he made me feel.