The night Brody and I spent in the tent made our relationship even stronger. We knew we loved each other and belonged together.

We were nearly inseparable. We spent every free second together. It didn’t matter what we did, as long as we were together. I’d even started going with him to work at his aunt’s bar. Aunt Bess joked that she was going to put me on the payroll.

“No, being with Brody is enough,” I told her.

“Oh, girlie, you’ve got it bad for him, don’tcha?” she asked, hugging me. “Good thing he’s a good kid and he loves you, too. I see it in the way he looks at you when you aren’t looking. He can’t keep his eyes to himself, that one.” She smiled and kissed my cheek.

Each week after that, there was always an envelope in the payroll bin with my name on it. Inside was a check. On the bottom, she’d write the same thing: This is for all the work you do here and all the happiness you bring. Thank you.

I opened a savings account and deposited my paychecks each week. I didn’t spend a cent of the money. It wasn’t because I was going to give it back. That would’ve offended Aunt Bess. No, I was creating a travel fund. If Brody and I were going to live apart throughout college, I wanted to see him as often as possible. The money I earned working at Bess’s was for Brody to travel to California. I didn’t know how long it would last, but it would be good for at least a couple of trips and that was better than none. It had to be.

“I want to do something for Aunt Bess.”

We were at Bess’s rinsing dishes off before loading them in the washer. Brody looked at me. “Like what?” He flicked his finger, sending soap bubbles through the air at me.

“Stop playing or I’ll make you do this alone.” I tried to give him a stern look, but laughed when he shot more soap at me. “I don’t know. What does she like?”

“White chocolate and almond candy bars, but she never buys them because they cost three dollars and she says that’s too much money for a stinkin’ candy bar.” He mimicked her voice, and I laughed.

Magically, a white chocolate and almond candy bar appeared on her desk each Monday. If she knew it was me who put them there, she never said. But she’d always break off a square and hand it to me. There was only one problem. I’d become addicted to the candy bars too.

Brody’s mother was another constant in our relationship. I’d grown to love her. Anne was the type of mother every teenager wished for. She respected Brody’s need for privacy, but still had firm boundaries in place.

Most of all, she accepted me as part of her family, calling me the daughter she knew she’d have one day.

My mom and Ralph still didn’t know about Brody. It bothered him that he wouldn’t be accepted into my family like his had accepted me. It broke my heart and I wanted to scream at Ralph and my mother, but knew I was better off keeping my mouth shut.

If they’d found out about Brody and me, they would’ve done everything in their power to end our relationship. Jaden was their pick. He always would be.

Brody and I had just finished Sunday dinner with Anne. I put the last of the dishes in the dishwasher when Brody asked if I wanted to take a drive with him.

“Sure. Where are we going?”

He shrugged a shoulder and grinned at me.

I knew where he wanted to go. Our spot. The one on his aunt’s property to look at the stars together. We went there at least once a week. The tent and generator were long gone, so we took a blanket to lie on. The night sky calmed him, whether from a long week of exams, too much homework, or the stress of constantly seeing Jaden in the halls at school. He’d go to the little spot on the field and watch the night sky. I’d been the only one he’d ever taken with him. He said, “You get it,” and he was right. I understood.

Some nights we’d go and lie on the blanket, holding hands and talking quietly, and sometimes we’d go and not say anything at all, just hold hands and look at the sparkling sky. That night, I had something I needed to talk to him about.

“Brody? I need to tell you something.” I rolled on to my side so I could look at him. “You know how Ralph owns the car lot?”

“Yeah.” He turned his head toward me.

“Well, he’s been out of town a lot the past month, and he’ll probably be out of town most of next month, too. He wants to add on to his business, so he’s spending time researching and visiting different car lots and looking at properties where he might build one.”

“Okay, what does that have to do with us?” Brody rolled to his side and laid his hand on my hip.

“I told my mom I broke up with Jaden and that I’ve been dating someone else,” I said in a rush.

Brody tensed. “What’d she say?”

“Not much. She said if it made me happy, she’s okay with it.” Brody’s hand tightened on my hip. “She never liked Jaden quite as much as Ralph. I think she saw his domineering side one too many times, even though he tried to hide it. She wants to meet you.”

Brody stiffened next to me. “What about Ralph?”

“We’ll do it on a day he’s out of town. She agrees that we shouldn’t tell him for a while. He’s still hung up on Jaden. They act like they’re the ones dating.” I rolled my eyes.

Brody laughed. “When does she want to meet?”

“Tomorrow. Dinner at my house.”

“I’ll be there.” He smiled at me before pulling me toward him for a kiss, and then another, and another, and another. My head spun and my stomach filled with butterflies. It was intoxicating.

Brody rang the doorbell at precisely five o’clock the next afternoon. I’d warned him not to come early. My mother hated that. I couldn’t count the number of times I’d heard her complain, “If I invite someone over at five, I don’t want them showing up at four.” So when Brody was neither early, nor late, he’d automatically earned a gold star.

I’d been looking out the window, waiting for him to arrive, and answered the door as soon as the bell chimed. It wasn’t like I was nervous for him to meet my mother. I was petrified. Brody smiled his crooked smile as soon as he saw me and my insides melted and, along with them, some of my nervousness. After all, who could look at that face and not like him? Then he opened his mouth, all the sweet nuthin’s came spewing out, and most people were hooked. You had to have a heart made of stone not to be affected by Brody’s charm. Or maybe I was biased.

I looked at the flowers he was holding and raised an eyebrow.

“These aren’t for you,” he said with a grin. “This is for you.” He lowered his head and touched his lips lightly to mine. I breathed him in. His subtle scent filled my nose and peppermint filled my mouth.

Flowers or a kiss? The kiss was definitely the better deal.

When he lifted his head, I ran my tongue over my lips. His eyes followed the motion. I gave him a small smile and looked up at him out of the corner of my eye. His gaze traveled over me. “You taste good,” I whispered. He smirked. “I want a piece of gum.” I stuck out my hand.

He laughed. “How do you know I have gum?”

“Because you taste like peppermint. Your toothpaste is spearmint.” I smiled, waiting for my stick of gum.

“How do you know what kind of toothpaste I brush with?” He gave me a funny look, and I laughed.

I leaned close to him, and he lowered his head so I could whisper in his ear. “Because you’ve had your tongue in my mouth enough times I’ve learned your taste. And it’s spearmint.”

“Huh.” He reached in the pocket of his buttery soft, leather jacket and pulled out a piece of gum.