Rae of Sunshine (Light in the Dark 1)

“What? Why not?” I gasped, astonished.

He shrugged. “Look at you, you’re beautiful, and smart, and amazing.”

“You’re all those things too,” I countered.

He grinned crookedly and lowered his head so that his hair brushed his forehead. “Not like you,” he chuckled, starting the car.

It didn’t take us long to get to the theater. He took me to the old one in town. Most people preferred the fancy new one attached to the mall, but not me, and Brett knew that. There was something so real about this one and it reminded me of a time when I believed people were happier—when life was simple.

“Is this okay?” Brett asked.

“It’s perfect,” I smiled. Our date had barely started and it was already better than I imagined.

Inside we ordered popcorn and soda.

The theater was pretty empty. Most people didn’t come to this one. I liked that it allowed us to have a little more privacy.

We took our seats towards the back.

The lights dimmed and I swore my heart sped up even more, if that was possible.

When Brett reached to hold my hand halfway through the movie I thought I stopped breathing.

Once the movie ended and he still didn’t let go of my hand I thought I might burst from happiness.

We walked out of the theater and Brett looked at his watch. “We still have an hour before you have to go home, do you want to walk around town for a while?”

“Sure,” I smiled. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.

We hadn’t walked very far when Brett pointed to a diner lit up down the street. “They have the best pancakes I’ve ever had. Are you hungry?”

I wasn’t, but I nodded, because if Brett wanted pancakes then we were going to have pancakes.

He grinned and pulled me into the diner. His smile was wide as he looked at me across the table. We placed our order and as soon as the waitress was gone Brett started asking me questions.

We spent the next forty minutes laughing about random things that happened in school and stories from our past.

Brett paid for our meal and we headed back to his car.

On the drive home he kept a tight hold on my hand. His was warm and soft. Comforting.

“I want to do this again…if you’d like that.” He bowed his head, as if he seemed unsure of what my reaction would be.

“I’d love it.” I probably agreed a little too eagerly, but it was too late to take my words back.

He grinned. “Good.” He parked in my driveway and I started to get out of the car, but his hold on my hand tightened and he wouldn’t let go.

“Rachael?”

“Yeah?” I turned back around to face him and our faces were only inches apart. In the dim light I could see his pupils dilate.

He tilted his head to the side and closed his eyes.

I did the same and when our lips connected I felt like a fireworks explosion had gone off in my body. Kissing a guy had never felt this…magical. I melted against his touch. I grasped his shirt in my hand, moving my lips with his. When his tongue nudged my lips they parted with a gasp.

He pulled away and placed a tender kiss on my cheek.

“See you later, Rachael.”