“Aurora borealis,” I finished his words for him as I stared up at my ceiling in wonder.
“I know it’s not the real thing and we’re not in glass igloos,” he began softly as he looked over at me, “but I really wanted to—”
“Jax,” I cut him off with a whisper as I blinked away the hot tears that blinded my eyes. “It’s amazing. It’s better than the real thing.” Our eyes met and I hoped that he could see how grateful I was for this moment—how grateful I was for him in my life.
“I’m glad you like it, Clo. I wanted to do something that would make you smile.” He spoke in a soft whisper, as if talking louder would make this moment go away.
“Do you know why I love the sky and the stars?” I looked up at the rich glows of reds, blues, and greens dancing across the off-white ceiling filled with stars.
“Why?”
“It’s always been amazing to me to know that the magic of the sky and the stars happens every day. It’s just beautiful and all around us. Sometimes we just have to take the time to notice something to see how amazing it is.”
“You’re right.” His voice was warm and tender, and from the corner of my eye, I noticed he had turned to look at me. “Once you take notice of that something, you don’t know how you’d ever lived without it.”
I don’t know why, but I felt my cheeks flush at his words.
I turned to look at him, and we shared a smile that caused my heart to skip a beat.
“Thank you, Jax. This was exactly what I needed tonight. I was really lonely.”
“Clo, you never have to feel lonely because I’m here for you.”
His words touched me in a way I didn’t know was possible. “I hope so, Jax. My mom died alone.”
“You don’t have to hope. I promise.”
“Promises can be broken,” I whispered as my thoughts went to all the broken promises my mom had made me.
“Not mine, Clo,” he said firmly.
I smiled, wanting to believe his every word.
He could tell I was not convinced.
“Clo?”
“Yes?”
“Do you want to make a pact?”
“A pact? What kind of pact?”
He grinned. “How about when we get old, like when we turn thirty or something, and we’re still single and not married, we can marry each other? That way, you’ll never have to worry about being lonely again.”
“Really?” I wasn’t sure if he was joking, but the idea of being with Jackson forever made me really happy.
“Yeah, really. We are best friends. We love each other and care about each other.”
His words caused my heart to pound against my chest so violently, I wondered if he could hear it.
“Okay,” I whispered as we inched closer to each other. “If we’re both single when we turn thirty, I’ll marry you.”
“Deal,” he whispered softly. His hand reached for my face and he gently brushed through my hair as he gazed into my eyes. His face sparkled with the myriad of lights that moved across his face, making him look more beautiful than I’d remembered.
I wasn’t sure how it happened, but his mouth brushed against mine, and our lips met in a warm, sweet kiss that seemed to melt my insides. It was my first kiss. It was our first kiss. And it was perfect.
CHAPTE R TEN
Present Day
On my flight from Los Angeles to Philadelphia for Clara’s wedding, I realized that I had no real friends left in Los Angeles. Carly was the first friend I’d met when I moved to Los Angeles years ago. Then she introduced me to the three other girls in our circle of five girlfriends. After two years, I thought they were as much my friend as they were Carly’s. But I was wrong. After I caught Jeff cheating with Carly, none of the girls reached out to me. There were no calls, no emails, no texts. Not even a Google instant message. I had even kept a browser opened to my Gmail account just so I’d always be online and available to chat on Google Talk so they could see me. And I’d seen them online. But no one reached out. It had been radio silence.
It was after the Jeff and Carly incident that I knew for the first time where I stood with them. Apparently it hadn’t mattered to them who was in the wrong. Those girls were obviously more Carly’s friends than mine.
So, Clara and Sam’s wedding couldn’t have come at a better time. I needed to get out of Los Angeles and see if I wanted to move back home.
“I’m home,” I cried out into the empty hallway from the front doorway of the house.
“We’re back here, Co-co,” I heard Uncle Tom’s voice call out his nickname for me.
I headed in the direction of the kitchen where Uncle Tom’s voice had come from.
“Hi!” I greeted them both with hugs and kisses on the cheek. “How are you guys?”
“We’re good. Pretty boring now that we’ve retired,” Aunt Betty said with a smile.
I beamed at them. “You guys deserve to relax now.”
“So how’s everything with you? How’s that Jeff guy treating you?”
“We broke up,” I said in a matter-of-fact tone. “I’m totally okay with it,” I quickly added when I saw the looks of concern on their faces. “He was a jerk.”
“Well, I’m sorry that didn’t work out for you, honey.” Aunt Betty pulled me in for another hug to console me.
“No. Really. It’s okay. It happened almost three months ago. Sorry I forgot to mention it during our conversations. I really just didn’t want to talk about him.”
Aunt Betty nodded in understanding.
“So, what are your plans for your stay here?” Uncle Tom asked, changing the subject. “I hear from your aunt that you’re planning on staying for a few months.”
“Yeah. I’m thinking about moving back to the area and finding a job in Philly.”
“Oh, that’s great, honey,” Aunt Betty said. “You didn’t mention that before.”
I smiled, realizing I hadn’t told them much about my life since high school. “Sorry I hadn’t mentioned it. I actually just decided on it. I only bought a one-way ticket for Clara’s wedding because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.” I wasn’t about to tell them that I also wanted to see if I could reconnect with Jackson. In fact, I’d never told them that we stopped being friends, and from the way they occasionally brought up Jackson, it didn’t seem like he’d mentioned it to them, either.
“So what about Los Angeles?” There was a worried look on Uncle Tom’s face.
“I think it’s just not my scene. I subleased my apartment and took three weeks off of work. I figure if I find a job in Philly, I can just quit my job and stay here with you guys for a little while?” I ended my statement in a question and looked over at them sheepishly.
They laughed. “Of course, sweetie,” Aunt Betty said right away. “This is your home. You can stay as long as you want.”
“Thanks.”
“So have you talked to Jackson yet?” Uncle Tom asked.
The mention of his name caused my body to stiffen with a mixture of anxiety and excitement.
“No. Why?”
“Looks like he just got into town last night for the wedding. Did you go over to say hi before coming home?”
I shook my head. “I’ll stop by later.”
“You should invite him over for dinner sometime,” Aunt Betty suggested. “Since his father passed away two years ago, he rarely comes home anymore. It’d be nice to see him. If I remember correctly, he used to love my cooking.”
“He really did love your cooking, Aunt Betty. He used to tell me that all the time.”
Aunt Betty beamed with pride. “He’s a good kid.”
“How come you guys never had anything?” Uncle Tom cut in.
“Tom!” Aunt Betty shot him a meaningful look.