"Whoa, you actually sent the letter?" Zeke asked that night as she rested in his arms after dinner, the two of them staring up at the night sky together watching for shooting stars in her backyard. She nodded her head against him, and she could almost feel him smile. Could practically see his glittering blue eyes in her mind. He slid his palm over her hair, smoothing it down so he could rest his chin on top of her head. "I'm proud of you, Em. That took a lot of courage. I hope it works out for you."

She nodded her head, even though she was certain it probably wouldn't. Her mom wouldn't care. She doubted her mom would even read the letter. It would most likely go straight in the trash. But at least Emersyn could say she tried. It was what her dad would've wanted anyway, and her grandparents too. And sure, maybe she wouldn't get the kind of closure she actually needed, but at least it was a start.

"Thank you," she replied to him. "And I'm sorry about this morning. It was stupid. I just had that letter in my pocket for so long, and I was feeling... I don't know. I guess I was just taking my stress about it out on you. I'm so sorry. I hope we're okay."

He lifted his chin from her head and raised hers with his fingers so he could look directly into her eyes. "We are absolutely okay." She smiled at him, and he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. They were so soft and warm as they moved against hers, always in tune with each other. Like the best kind of dance. She slid her fingers through his blond curls, eliciting a little gasp from his mouth that made her shudder. He pulled away from her slightly, his eyes now heavy and full of something new. Desire? Her face burned, but she didn't dare take her eyes from his. It was like they were tiny suns, scorching her flesh. Her stomach flipped, and she wondered, not for the first time, where the night would take them.

But the lust in his eyes faded away quickly, and she was surprised to feel a rush of disappointment wash over her. "So I've been thinking. You know what we haven't done yet?" he asked, a slow smile creeping up onto his lips.

She knew what she was thinking, but she wanted to know where he was going with this line of questioning. "No?" she asked, hoping he was going to voice her own thoughts aloud. "What haven't we done yet, Zeke?"

He quivered slightly at the sound of his own name on her lips. But he recovered quickly as he said, "We haven't gone on an official date yet."

Whatever she was expecting him to say, it wasn't that. But she liked the idea all the same. "Hm. You're right. Unless you count the bonfire as a date?"

He shook his head. "I don't. That was just me wanting to be around you but refusing to admit to myself why. But I want to take you on an actual date. Something fun and different. Not a hike or the beach. Or our houses. More, you know?"

She hadn't thought it about before, but he was right. They'd never gone on a real date. Even on the Fourth of July, they'd spent the day with Avery and Axel. Sure, they went hiking all the time, but it was never actually official. And now that she was thinking about it, she realized she really wanted to see what a date with Zeke Thatcher was like. Her lips quirked in a playful grin as she whispered, "What do you have in mind?"

He bit his lip excitedly, and she loved when he was like this. It was like he was a ball of light, making everything around him glow. His happiness was infectious, and she didn't care what they did as long as she was with him. "What have you always wanted to do?" he asked her, his eyes alight. "Like, when you were younger and thinking about your dream date, what did you think about?"

She smirked. "Oh, Zeke, do you want to be the man of my dreams?" she asked teasingly.

He smiled and leaned closer to her ear. "I want to be more," he whispered, and her heart fluttered in her chest like a hummingbird. "Tell me what you dream about, Emersyn Collins."

This man. He affected her like no one else ever had. Like no one else ever could. She felt it from that first meeting in the graveyard. From the way he greeted her with that sweet southern accent. Everything about him was right. But he was still watching her, waiting for an answer. So she considered for a moment, and then said, "If I'm being honest, I never really thought about it before. To me, it was never about what the date itself was. It was about who I was with." His lips turned up into a sweet smile, and his callused fingers brushed her face softly. "What about you? What's your dream date?"

He chuckled to himself and shook his head. "You're going to think it's stupid."

"Okay, now you have to tell me," she said, giggling. He groaned, and she laughed. "Come on. I promise you I won't make fun. Please tell me?" She swelled up her green eyes and looked directly at him, puffing out her bottom lip in a playful pout.

He sighed. "Okay fine. When I was a kid, and I was dreaming about taking a girl out on a date, I always thought it was be super romantic and different to fly a kite in the middle of the night." He was full of surprises. She let out a tiny chuckle, and he groaned again. "I know, I know. Stupid. That's something dad's do with their kids, not something you do with your girlfriend."

But there it was. The reason it sounded so appealing, not just to him, but to her as well. Something dad's do with their kids. She thought back, wondering if she'd ever flown a kite before. But as hard as she tried, she couldn't remember ever doing it. And now that he mentioned it, she thought it sounded perfect. "I don't think that's stupid at all," she said, grinning from ear to ear. He eyed her suspiciously, and she knew he thought she was making fun of him somehow. "I don't. I love it. Let's do it. Let's go to the store and get one, and then fly it on the beach."

"Right now?" he asked as she hopped off his lap and made her way to the front yard where her car was waiting in the driveway. "Wait! Emersyn, it's almost twelve at night. Don't you think it's a little late?" But in that moment, the time of night didn't matter. The only thing that mattered to her was flying a kite. It was an experience she'd never had, and one she suddenly desperately needed. And she needed to do it with him.

"Nothing better than a late-night kite flying adventure," she said as she jumped in her car with the intention of heading to the nearest Walmart. He slid in the passenger seat, still seeming unsure. But she reached over and grabbed his hand, forcing him to look up at her. And in that moment, she could see all his worries melt away. The fear of breaking any weird curfew rules by flying a kite, and anything else he may have been worried about, washed away with the intense stare she was giving him. "This is my dream, Zeke. Be my dream."

She knew he would do anything to be that for her, and so he decided to go along with it. Yes, it was nearing midnight. But what did that matter? All that mattered in that moment was being with him at the beach. Feeling his arm around her as they watched a brightly colored kite disappear amongst the stars. In a way, it was what she'd always wanted too. All those nights staring up at the dark, star strewn sky, watching their lights twinkle and never able to reach them. Maybe this was her way of finally joining them. Of leaving her own mark in that pitch black sky. Her own constellation. No. Their own constellation. It was, she thought to herself, as they pulled into the Walmart twenty minutes later, the absolute perfect first date for them.

***

The selection of kites was pretty slim at Walmart, which surprised both of them. Guess it wasn't as popular a pass time anymore. There were a handful of cartoon kites for kids, but she was hoping to find something a little less grade school. Finally, just as she was about to give up, Zeke found the perfect tie-dye kite with pinks and purples swirling around the soft cloth, a twinkling LED light placed right in the center. It was about triple the price of one of the kid kites, but he didn't seem to mind. He paid for it, and the two of them drove back to Coupeville, looking for a quiet spot on the beach, away from any powerlines, to unleash their new toy.

Emersyn knew the beaches had been closed for hours, and so they were technically breaking the law by being out on them so late at night. But she had a feeling the police wouldn't bother them. They weren't harming anyone. Weren't doing anything wrong. They just wanted to fly a kite together. The two of them sat on the sand, gently building their new flying machine according to the directions in the plastic wrapper. Then, once it was built, it was time to launch it into the sky.

The only problem was neither one of them knew how to actually fly the thing. She tried tossing it in the air as he held onto the reel, but it just fell pathetically to the ground with a little thwack. Then he tried but was met with the same result. Emersyn worried there might not be enough wind to catch it and take it to the heavens. But after trying different methods, and watching a YouTube tutorial on the best way to fly a kite, they finally got it to lift off the ground. Emersyn loved the way Zeke's eyes lit up, the lights from the stars glittering in his light blue pools, as the kite rose into the sky, the LED light twinkling with the stars.

Her heart was racing, and once he got it floating in the air, he reached for her and pulled her closer to him. She took the reel in her hands as he slid his arms around her waist. It was nearly two in the morning, and it felt like they were the only two people awake in the entire world. They didn't say anything as they looked up at the sky, watching their kite disappear further and further into the dark mass above them.

"I wish I could fly," she whispered, surprising even herself at her admission. He squeezed her tighter, holding her against him. And suddenly it was all too much. The late hour. The kite. His warm arms around her. It was too peaceful. Too perfect. And she began to cry. Soft, silent tears slid down her cheeks, and she couldn't explain why she was crying in the moment. It was just that, in all her life, she couldn't remember ever being so incredibly happy.

"I feel like I'm flying every moment I'm with you," he whispered into her ear, and he didn't need to ask why she was crying, even though there was no way he hadn't noticed. It was the moment. The magic of it all. She turned to look at him and saw he wasn't watching the kite anymore. His eyes were glued to her, and never in her life had she been looked at like that. Like his life began when she entered it. He slid his fingers through her hair, and then pressed his hand against the back of her head, pulling her to him. His lips found hers in the dark. And in that moment, she was flying. She was the kite, and he was the string allowing her to float without care in the wind.

They stayed like that for hours, until the sun began to break through the darkness. He yawned behind her, and it was then that she decided they should probably head back to the house. Soon their peace would be interrupted by strangers. And she didn't want to taint the memory with anyone else. She wanted those hours to stay theirs forever. So they pulled the kite back to the ground, wrapped it up carefully, and made their way back to her house. But even though she'd been up for almost twenty-four hours, she didn't feel tired yet. There was an itch in her fingers. A desire to release all her emotions onto a blank canvas.

He was tired, but he didn't want to leave her. So he settled with sitting on an old couch in the studio, where he watched her paint until his eyes closed and his breathing evened out. And the sounds of him sleeping were her only music as she brushed the dark blue paint against the white canvas, sprinkling it with stars. It was hours later by the time she started to feel tired, and by then the painting was almost finished. Usually it would take her much longer to finish a project, but this one was something special. It was more than a painting. It was a memory.

She curled up on the couch next to him and stared at her work. They were surrounded by gravestones blanketed in flowers and other gifts, but right in front of her was a painting of a young couple flying a kite, staring up as it danced with the twinkling stars. She closed her eyes, and allowed her dreams to overtake her, his arms holding her closer to him, his breath warming her up from the inside out as it hit the back of her neck. This, she was sure, was what her dreams were made of. And she never wanted to wake up.

Chapter Thirty

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