“It’s our date,” I said grabbing onto her hips and pulling her back to me. I dove into her neck and kissed all over it. “Movie night,” I mumbled then licked. She tilted her head and her arms wrapped around my waist. “Ten Things.” I nibbled under her ear making her groan. “Popcorn.” She rose on her toes and leaned herself into my dick. “Scratch that. We’re just going to christen the place.”

I squatted down and picked her up. She wrapped her legs around my waist and tossed her head back in a laugh. I spun around with her in my arms frantically looking for where to take her. Wall? Floor? Lawn chair? All the while, she laughed and laughed covering the whole place in her smiles. Fuckin’ perfect.

“We can’t skip our date. You went through all this trouble.” She pointed over to where I’d set up two lawn chairs, some movie snack goodness, and a tiny projector borrowed from my neighbor hooked to my cell to play the movie on the wall.

“I’d skip anything to be buried in you,” I said completely serious.

“Don’t say things like that,” she whispered. “I want to go on this date with you and talk like that is bound to leave me begging for you up against a wall.”

“Holy fuck. That didn’t help.” I let her slide back down to the ground and dropped my chin to my chest. Be still my beating heart. One movie and our boy down there will make it happen.

“Are you talking to your penis?” She scrunched her nose at me.

“My heart. Let’s date, baby.” I tapped the tip of her nose and went to set up her favorite movie.

I had to give her credit. This date thing was pretty tight. We abandoned the lawn chairs almost immediately because we couldn’t sit as close as we’d wanted to. We ended up propped up against the back wall with a blanket. I had Capri snuggled up in the crook of one arm, and a bowl of popcorn with Raisinets in the other. Happy man.

Immediately following the end of the movie, I pulled her on top of me. We spent the rest of our date christening the floor, the wall, and the sawhorse in the corner. Date nights ruled. Happy chick. Happy dick.

Wes was nervous about something. That much was obvious. After rolling over to his cooled spot in the bed at three a.m. this morning, I found him in his living room organizing his video games by color. Not able to fall back asleep, I stayed up and made us breakfast. He barely ate a bite before we left for SYC.

I reached over and touched my hand to his knee, stilling the bounce of his thigh as we drove to the youth center. He flinched like I’d woken him from a shallow sleep. “You okay over there?” I asked watching him closely for any signs of him trying to hide his nerves from me.

“I’m freakin’ out, C.” He shook his head, and I smiled at the honesty I’d earned over the last few months.

“Why?” I ran my hand through his hair. He leaned into my touch and sighed.

“After today, it’s done.” He looked at me with his eyebrows pinched in the middle of his forehead.

“It is,” I agreed, “and it looks so amazing.” A few more touch-ups and outlines, and we would put the finishing touches on the mural today.

“I hate endings, Capri.” Wes’ knee began bopping again. I set my hand on his thigh and rubbed softly. “I don’t like ‘em. I get this sinking feeling right here.” He touched his hand to his stomach.

I nodded at him in understanding. He’d had so many endings over the course of his life; friendships, routines, blessings, and nightmares. “This is different, Wes. The only thing that will change is not going to SYC a few times a week to paint. Everything else is the same. You still have the same people, you still have tattooing, and you can even show up at the youth center anytime you want.”

The shaking of his knee settled some, and when he looked at me again, the pinch in his forehead had loosened. “It’s still sad though, yeah?” he asked.

“It is.” I smiled softly. “I’ll miss painting with the boys and painting with you. It’s exciting too though, you know? Now, we go forward.” I thought about how far we’d come since we started. “You annoyed the crap out of me.” I shoved his leg with my hand making him laugh.

“Only ‘cause you wanted me.” He winked. I shook my head looking out the window. That’s so true. “Now you like me.” He smiled.

“But you still annoy me,” I added.

“And you still want me.” He waggled his eyebrows making the turn into SYC.

“More.” I watched him park the car then turn to me with a smile of wonderment on his face.

“Somehow. I still don’t get it,” he said taking my hand in his.

“When we started on the mural, I hadn’t painted outside of the tiny space I had in my room for years. I was so scared of being rejected as an artist, both by others and myself. In the last few months, I’ve discovered how to be proud of what I’m passionate about and proud of who I am. I don’t feel like hiding anymore.” I turned to face him completely. “I called the art gallery in La Jolla yesterday about displaying some of my work.” I held my breath at the last word.

“Are you serious?” He jumped forward in his seat and squeezed my hand. “That’s amazing.” I let out a whoosh of air in a laugh. “Baby.” His voice softened along with his face. “Really. That’s huge.” He leaned in to kiss me, which I allowed but only a simple peck before pulling back.

“You said you don’t get it. You don’t get how I could possibly want you more, but that’s why. In the short time that I’ve been lucky enough to get close to you, I’ve become closer to who I really am. You’ve helped me find my meaning.”

He shook his head. “It’s always been there.”

“Kinda like you,” I whispered and leaned into him. His hands cupped my face, and he slipped his tongue between my lips. Our kiss was slow but no less powerful. I felt like he was trying to pull the words I’d spoken from my mouth and absorb them into his own disbelief.

“No glove, no love,” Ridge’s muffled voice came outside of the car window, sending Wes and me immediately into our places as far away from each other as possible.

Wes rolled down his window while I pulled out my compact. “Real funny, dude.”

“Good morning, Miss Capri.” Ridge ignored Wes and stuck his head into the car.

“Good morning, Ridge.” I smiled zipping up my purse.

“Go inside. We’ll be there in a few.” Wes put his hand flat on Ridge’s face and pushed him out of the car.

“I can’t,” Ridge muffled, and Wes dropped his hand. “August and Miss Kensie are in there making out, too.”

“We’re awful role models,” I grumbled to Wes, who tossed his head back in a laugh.

“When I grow up, I want to work here, too.” Ridge waggled his eyebrows at us. Clearly, he’d spent too much time with Wes.

“Inside,” Wes said, rolling his window up. “Just cover your eyes.”

“I repeat. We’re awful role models.” I laughed, opening my door.

“Me, yes. You? You’re the kind of woman every girl should aspire to become, and the kind of lady every boy should hope to bone.” He leaned over giving me a quick kiss before he climbed out. What a romantic.

“Can you believe it’s done?” Kensie asked. She’d come by after her dance class was over to check out the nearly finished wall. Ridge, Jordan, and Wes were just doing a few extra highlights and lowlights on the mural. “It turned out beautifully.”

I couldn’t agree more. Everything about that huge gym wall from the smears of paint creating a representation of the kids who find a niche in this place, to the stories hidden within the brushstrokes permanently etching the turns our lives have taken while creating the mural. It was beautiful.