Early June 2000

Mornings in Sweet Haven are the best; I love how quiet and calm it is. I smile as I ride my bike past the beautiful flowering cherry blossoms, the grasshoppers are buzzing, and it's like music to my ears. It's quiet and calm this morning as I glide down the road on my bike, my long hair flying behind me from the wind.

As I bike through town, I see Chucky sweeping sideways outside the bar. He waves at me, and I smile back, my silver braces glinting in the sun. I can't wait to get these darn things off, six more months, the dentist said at my last visit.

I'm riding my bike over to Olly's new house, his mom is getting married this summer, eloping, and going on a road trip, how romantic is that? The only downside is she's going to be gone all summer long. Their road trip will go until late August, and Kris saw it as a great chance for Olly to bond with his dad this summer. I'm going to miss him like crazy it's the longest we have ever been apart.

They just moved in with Olly's soon-to-be stepdad, David, in a new house. It's just a few blocks away from his old one on the same block as Brandi's house. The houses on this block are all pretty, they're older styled Victorian homes mostly. Brandi's is yellow with a big white front porch and Olly's is a dark shade of blue with a wood trim.

As I reach Olly's driveway his two good friends from his math club, Nate and Jermone look to be leaving.

"Where's Olly?" I ask as I glance at them.

"He came back from lunch with his mom and told us he had to go. Ran over there," Nate explains, his own silver braces glinting in the sun as he speaks. He and I bond over our hatred of all the annoyances that come with braces. He's pointing towards Brandi's house and I frown, confused.

Why would Olly go to Brandi's? What if Billy does something to him? Grated he's pretty much left Olly alone all school year, but still...

I ditch my bike in Olly's driveway and worriedly start waling over to the Benson's.

I haven't talked to Brandi in months, not since the whole thing with Mary Beth, and she never talks to me either, but at least she leaves me alone. I knock once, and Billy answers before I knock a second time, his phone tucked between his ear and shoulder.

"Where is—"

I'm cut off as Billy is already talking to someone on the phone. "I need you now, Gabe. Meet me at the diner, as many guys as you can get," he says into the phone and then looks at me. "What do you want?"

"Where's Olly!" I push past him. "Billy, if you hurt him, I swear to—"

"I didn't hurt Olly," Billy rolls his eyes. "No, Gabe, this is not about Olly. I was talking to Bucky, she thinks — What? Fuck off, I'll call her whatever I want. Hurry the hell up and meet me at the diner."

"What?" I'm stunned as he hangs up. Did Gabe just defend me?

No...

"Where's Hunter?" Billy asks impatiently.

"At work, why?" I am getting more confused by the moment.

"Damn it," he curses as he slips his shoes on. "I need as many guys as I can get. I got to run. Olly's in Brandi's room. Tell her I'm taking care of it."

"Why? What do you mean?" I ask, but Billy ducks out before he answers.

"Kinsey?"

"Olly?" I whirl around just as he's stepping into the entry. "What the heck is going on?"

"I'm glad you're here. I was just going to call you to come over here. You need to go talk to Brandi," Olly says quietly.

"What happened? It's Wade, right? What did he do?"

"I saw him making out with some girl at the diner," Olly says.

***

I find myself nervous as I knock gently on Brandi's bedroom door.

"Olly, is that you?" she asks in a trembling voice. "Did you talk to Kinz?"

"It's me, Brandi." I open the door and walk in, and she looks up at me with puffy red eyes and teary cheeks. Any leftover anger melts away when I see her so upset, and I run to the bed to embrace her.

She doesn't pull back; she buries her face into my shoulder and starts to sob so hard her body shakes. "Shh, it's okay, I'm here," I whisper soothing words and let her cry until she finally calms down.

"You told me so," she sniffles.

"I didn't want to be right."

"But you were," she says in such a soft and trembly voice it's hard to believe it's Brandi. "I am such an idiot."

"No, you're not. Wade is," I say. "He's a complete and total moron to cheat on you."

"That's the thing, Kinz; he says it isn't cheating because he doesn't do labels." She holds her fingers up to quote labels. "It isn't the first time. Sometimes at parties, he ditches me for a prettier or older girl. The first time he did that I got so upset and ran out, and he came out and..." she trails off.

"And what?" I push.

".. and that's when he was like, what'd you think you were my girlfriend or something? We're just having fun. He was so cold about it. It made me feel so gross, so I left. I was never going to talk to him again after that, but he kept calling, and—I don't even know why I went to the next party, but I did."

"Why didn't you tell me this was going on? I would've made sure you didn't go back over there."

"I don't know," she mutters. "I think maybe part of it is I knew you would, and my other friends go along with it when I lie to myself about him. But also, maybe I didn't think you'd care; you told me not to come to you when he hurt me."

"I didn't mean it," I say as my eyes start to well with tears for her, and I feel so awful for saying that. "I would've been there, Brandi. I swear. I'm sorry I said that."

"No, I am. I'm so sorry for what I did. That was a really messed up thing to do."

"I know you're sorry, it was messed up, but I forgive you," I assure her as I squeeze her arm.

She grabs a tissue and blows her nose as her sobs are finally lessening. "I know how stupid I sound, but Wade is different, when we're together. He's always so sweet when it's just me and him, you know? Especially before we did it. He even said he loved me."

I sit quietly and take her hand as she talks, my heart aching that her first time turned out like this.

"He's always been so good to me in the bedroom; he's loving and stuff, and after, he's all cuddly and says all these nice things. That's why it hurt so much when he said I wasn't his girlfriend. I should have stayed away, but he kept telling me how he was addicted to me and calling all the time. When he says all the stuff I want to hear, I want to believe him so bad, so I do."

"And then?" I ask as she lets out a shaky breath.

"Then the next day at school and around his friends, he acts like I'm just some girl he parties with. He gets mad if I get clingy in public. I keep telling myself that Wade in private and is the real him, and he just does all that stuff for his friends. You know to show off and stuff."

"Brandi, I guess we don't know if the real him is the one with you or the one with his friends, but it doesn't matter. He should treat you well all the time, in public and alone, and he doesn't. He is a bad guy, and he doesn't deserve you." My words bring on a fresh bout of tears, and I hug her again as she cries it out.

"That's very close to what Olly said," she sniffles as we part.

"You told Olly all this?" I ask.

"Yeah, I've been keeping it all in so long, and once I started talking Olly just sat and listened, made it so easy to keep going, and so I did. I just blurted it all out." She wipes her eyes and takes a breath, calming herself again.

That must've been weird for him. I'm the only one that unloads emotional drama on him, although I try not to do it too much. My unrequited crush on Hunter makes Olly uncomfortable, even though he is a good comforter about it. I get why though; it puts him in a weird spot with me and Hunter.

"Billy heard and came in and said, Wade's been playin' you? I had to say yeah and Kinz, he looked so mad. I think he's going to go fight Wade."

"He is," I tell her. "Billy does love you, and you know what? I'm glad he's going to beat Wade up. I should've gone with him."

Where does he even get off? Playing with her emotions like that? There's plenty of girls that would just want fun, girls his age too, why not mess with them instead of a fifteen-year-old girl?

"Oh, Kinsey," she laughs shortly.

She's laughing and I may be short and skinny but I'm pretty mad right now. I think I could take that pretty boy.

"But I wish Hunter had. Wade's going to be a senior, and he has a ton of jock friends," Brandi worries. "What if Billy gets hurt?"

"He was calling Gabe and telling him to get others too."

"Why does that make me all worried about him," she sighs miserably.

"Billy?"

"No Wade," she spits out. "It sucks, Kinsey, love sucks. It makes you so stupid. I have to get over him, but I don't know how."

"If I knew how to get over a guy, I'd tell you, believe me," I say with a sigh and she gives me a knowing smile.

"Still into Hunter?" she guesses.

"Yeah," I sigh."

"He never got another girl after Mary Beth dumped him," Brandi points out.

He really hasn't, hasn't even hung out with anyone or gone on dates. He skipped the spring dance this year too, so Olly and I went as friends. "It makes me think he's probably not over her," I comment.

"We'll see about that," Brandi muses in a sing song voice. "You two have a whole summer together."

***

4th Of July

Why are we going to your house?" I ask as we head towards Hunter's duplex.

"You'll see."

He pulls me around to the side of his house instead of the driveway. It's just been me and Hunter hanging out almost every day when he' s done working on the farm. For now, anyway, soon he'll be back to working on the house with Judd. We walk past the little backyard area where Shar sits and smokes to the other side of the house, where a big oak tree sits.

"We can climb this tree and get on the roof," Hunter explains.

"Is it safe?" I ask nervously.

"Course it is! I go up here all the time," Hunter says. "I'll help you; come here."

I walk over, and he shows me the easiest part to climb the huge old tree with several knots that work as footholds. I quickly climb up the first part and look back nervously at Hunter on the ground.

"I'm right behind you," he assures me as he climbs. "I'd never let you fall, Darlin."

That's all I need to hear, and with more confidence, I continue to pull myself up the large tree. Hunter is right. As I get farther up, I see the roof, and the tree is so close to it it'll be easy to step right onto it. I feel Hunter right behind me like he promised as I step over. Still, I'm relieved as I safely make it onto the roof. Hunter steps up next, a big grin on his face.

"Look, Kinz," he points out at the horizon.

I relax enough to look, and my eyes widen; we can see so much from here! The view of the lake is fantastic as the waves lap the shore and the sun sets into it. The orange, pinks and purples fading with it as the sky starts to darken.

"Whoa, it's amazing," I murmur.

"Told you so," he says in a cocky tone. "Come on, let's go sit."

We go to the center of the roof and sit beside each other; the roof shingles are a little rough on my bare legs. I went with jean shorts and an American flag tee shirt today and now I wish I chose pants.

"You come to sit up here a lot?" I ask.

"Yeah, it's a good spot to think."

"Think about what?"

"I don't know, stuff," he shrugs off the question.

A wind comes through, and I pull my knees up and wrap my arms around myself as a slight chill runs through me.

"You cold?" Hunter asks.

"Just a little, it's—"

Before I finish saying fine, he's climbing down the tree.

"Be right back!" he calls.

I sit quietly, looking out at the horizon as I wait, the sky is growing darker, and the fireworks should start soon, but my mind keeps going back to the way Hunter grabbed my hand today. There's this buzz in the air and it's not just from my belly butterflies. It's between both of us I'm sure of it.

I hear Hunter climb back up and glance over as he easily hops onto the roof. His arms are full as he motions for me to stand up.

"Sorry, Kinz, I didn't realize it would be cold up here."

"It's okay," I say as he tosses me a black hoodie with The Undertaker's image on it. His favorite, he was so excited when he bought this with his first paycheck.

I slip it over my head, and it's huge, it hangs down past my jean shorts. I don't care, though; it's so warm and so Hunter. It even smells like him, I mean, when he's not all sweaty and stinky like he was the other day. He normally has a piney scent that's mixed with something, that's just Hunter, something I can't quite define with a word.

He spreads out a big quilt for us to sit on, and then he laughs when he looks at me. "You're swimming in that thing."

"It's comfy," I plop back down in the blanket, which is much easier on my legs than the roof tiles were. Hunter drops down next to me, closer than he was before.

"Are you warmer now?"

"Yeah, much, thanks," I reply.

"Anytime, pretty Darlin."

Oh my... I'm used to the word little and sometimes sweet but never pretty before the Darlin. My cheeks burn at the compliment.

A high-pitched whizzing sound of the first firework shooting up to the sky gets our attention. Once it reaches high in the sky, it explodes into a burst of blue sparkles, and I watch, mesmerized by it. As it explodes, another firework shoots up, this one red and then another white one right behind that. All the red, white, and blue lights fall like little raindrops.

"Wow," I whisper in awe as another one shoots up and explodes into a frenzy of purple colors. Being up here makes it look so close, like I could reach out and touch them. A bunch of little ones go off next, shaped like hearts and stars.

"Cool!"

"These are my favorite," Hunter comments. "I like the shapes."

An American flag one goes off, and I smile.

"Yeah, these are cool, but not my favorite."

"Which is your favorite?" Hunter asks as a series of pink and yellow ones go off next. "These?"

"Nope..." I say softly, and then finally, I see it. "It's this one! It looks like a willow tree, see."

The yellow firework shoots high up into the sky, then it rains down like a big, long willow tree leaves reaching down to grab us, slowly and steadily.

"I always called this one the spider one," Hunter remarks. "It does look like a willow tree."

"These are amazing too!" I gush as several sparkly ones shoot up and then go off simultaneously, filling the black sky with explosions of color.

A soft smile takes over my face as I watch in awe. "So beautiful."

"Yeah, sure is."

I look over to see if Hunter is as enchanted as I am, but I find him looking at me, not the sky. As our eyes lock, he gives me a sweet boyish smile that makes my heart sing.

More loud explosions from the sky above pull our gazes away from each other. As the night bursts into color, he puts his arm around me. It feels so natural as if he's done it a dozen times, but at the same time, it's making my heart explode like the sky above us.

I let my head rest on his shoulder, and he starts stroking my hair. Every nerve in my body comes to life as a warm feeling takes over.

He's had his arm around me before; I've even rested my head on his shoulder.

But... this moment right now.

It feels different.

This doesn't feel like a friendly thing. Not the way his hand slowly and so gently strokes my hair, or the way my entire body reacts to being so close to him. Something is happening here. I'm not imagining this. I can't be.

We stay silent as we watch the show in the sky continue. My heart is about to burst out of my chest, but I don't dare move a muscle. I'd stay here tucked under Hunter's arm forever if I could.

The fireworks start coming fast and furious, filling the sky with so many colors it's incredible. Yet it makes me sad as it's the grand finale, and that means it's almost over.

Hunter's arm tightens some, and I wonder if he's sad too. Normally I'd be oohing and awing. But all I can do is stare at the sky as I cling desperately to this moment.

As it ends, I can hear the faint hum of all the voices on the beach, and I can smell the burnt smell the fireworks leave behind. The sky eventually goes dark but remains smoky, giving it a cool grayish look. We stay right where are, for what feels like forever. I don't think either of us wants to move.

Finally, I lift my head and look up at the same time as Hunter looks down at me. Our faces are close. So close, merely inches apart. I realize I'm staring right at his lips, but when I look back up, I see he's staring at mine too.

My heart freezes, the noise all fades away, and all I can hear is my heartbeat as it throbs in my ears.

He leans in, and my breath catches in my throat.

Is he going to...

His lips meet my cheek, and as he presses a soft kiss there, it renders me thoughtless. He lets his lips linger for a long moment. I close my eyes and savor it.

It may not be the lips, and I guess it could be called a friendly little cheek kiss. But it doesn't feel like that; it feels like something bigger. Much bigger.

It's over far too soon as my cheek tingles from where his lips were. The moment, however, hadn't passed, and our eyes are locked wordlessly on each other. There are so many things I want to say, but words are lost in this whirlpool of emotions that's taken over my body. His lips part, and yet no words escape him either.

That cobalt of his gaze is full of intensity. Even though I'm warm in his thick sweatshirt, my skin is covered in goosebumps as I wait. For what? I'm not sure, and I don't know if he is, either.

It feels kind of like a balloon right before it's about to pop...

"What the hell!? Are you two up on the roof!" Shar's voice from below startles us both.

"Damn it," Hunter mutters under his breath.

...and just like that, the air changes. My heart is still beating hard, but the moment is gone, leaving a hollow and disappointed feeling behind.

"Yeah, Ma, we'll be right down," Hunter's voice is slightly strained, and I hope maybe he's disappointed too.

"Well, hurry up. Kinz's folks are looking for you two, now get down and be careful. Everyone's too drunk to drive you to the hospital."

**

My dad thoroughly embarrasses me by drunkenly singing the entire car ride home and then he just leaves my mom for me to handle, and she's drunker than him. Luckily Hunter took control.

"Come on, Betsy," Hunter says as he helps her out, she's waking up some but dizzy and clumsy. It's lucky that Hunter is so strong because he can keep hold of her as he walks inside her. I get in front and open the door, and then Hunter walks her in.

"Thank you, Hunter," she ruffles his hair and then stumbles up the stairs.

"Mama, do you need help?" I ask.

"I'm okay, sweet girl," she's clutching the railing, but she makes it up the stairs. Still, I watch her until she disappears, and I hear her bedroom door close.

My dad is sitting at the table where a bottle of whiskey is now open. "I'll be right up, Hon. One drink."

"She's already in her room, Dad." I say with a roll of the eyes.

"Come on over, Hunter. Have your first taste of whiskey," my dad motions for him to join him.

"Not tonight, Franky. I got to drive home yet."

My dad gets up and pats his head, still clutching the bottle. "Right, what a good old boy you are. I sure am glad for you. Sure am. You take real good care of my Kinsey Girl, don't ya?"

"I try, Franky," Hunter says sheepishly.

"Dad please stop," I beg. "You should go see Mama she's waiting for you."

"Don't pass out yet, Betsy!" Dad calls out as he races up there, nearly tripping at the top.

"They are so embarrassing," I moan.

"Not any more than my ma is," Hunter offers. "Speaking off, I better hurry. She wasn't joking about the search party."

"Thanks for driving and helping with my mama," I say as I walk him to the door.

"Of course." He turns to face me in the entryway.

"Do you want your sweatshirt back?"

"No, you keep it."

"But this is your favorite one," I protest.

"Yeah, and it looks better on you," Hunter says with a flicker in his eyes and a little grin tugging at his lips, and I blush for the thousandth time tonight.

"Thanks," I manage.

"I hope you had fun tonight," Hunter says quietly.

"I did. It was the best Fourth of July ever," I gush before I can stop myself. Crap, was that too much?

His smile gets bigger, so maybe not. "Yeah, it really was, Kinz."

We stand there for a long moment, and I wonder if he'll kiss my cheek again or maybe even actually kiss me, and I find myself getting nervous. He doesn't do either, though. Instead, he pulls me in for a hug, and as if on instinct, I wrap my arms around his midsection and press my face against his chest. I feel warmth and comfort, and I close my eyes and savor the moment.

"Sweet dreams, Darlin," he says as we part, but his lips are so close to my ear that it sends a shiver down my spine.

"Night, Hunter," I whisper.

He slips out the door, and as it closes behind him, I fall against it and slide down to the floor as I let out a dreamy sigh. I thought it was a crush, but I was wrong.

I am in love with Hunter Wilde.

*The summer of 2000 has a lot to cover so one more past chapter coming up!