She shot him a glare. “You don’t know me that well.” She stared down at her hands. “You’re not wrong. The past three weeks, I’ve been … waiting. I didn’t think you’d want to wait around all that long, and well, I’m me, and you’re you. You can have anyone you want. I never really understood why you’d want to pick someone like me.”
“When we were kids at kindergarten, you came and played in the sandpit with me, even though you’d get it in your socks, and you hate it rubbing between your toes. You took the peas from my plate, and gave me your fries so I didn’t have to eat them, and you hate pe
as.”
Tears filled her eyes, and he wiped away each drop as it fell from her eyes. He held her face in both of her hands, staring down at the girl who had meant so much to him.
“I didn’t think you’d remember all that.”
“When I forgot my gloves, you shared yours. You’ve been part of my life for so long, Aria, I can’t imagine you out of it. I hate that I was away from you for one year, yet I’m grateful. That one year made me realize everything I’d been too blind to see.” He leaned down, and pressed a kiss to her lips. “It made me see that the girl I’ve been running from is the right girl for me.”
She wrapped her arms around him, pressing her body against him. When she made to move him toward the bed, he stopped her.
“What? Don’t you want to?” she asked.
“I want to more than anything but not until you’re ready, and not until I know I don’t have to stop with you.” He pressed another kiss to her lips.
“I’m sorry for being a bitch,” she said. “And for doubting you.”
“You’re a woman. You can be wrong every now and again.”
She tapped his chest. “No fair.”
He silenced her with a kiss.
****
“I don’t want to play in the sandpit. I’ve got one at home,” Chris said. “Tag, you’re it.”
“Hey, no fair,” Rachel said.
While Rachel, Mary, and Branson went to play tag, Aria stared at Eli. He was pouring sand into the bucket, and getting a lot of it in his hair.
Glancing back at her friends, who were running around the playground, she hated leaving someone behind. She was wearing her pretty red dress with the black bow at the side, and if she got it dirty her mom was going to kill her. Still, Eli looked so lonely.
Ew, she was going to get sand into her socks, and that was going to be gross. She walked toward the sandpit, to Eli.
“Hey, Eli, can I play with you?”
He looked up, frowning. “You can play chase with the others.”
“And leave you all alone? Nope.” She climbed into the sandpit, hating as the sand got into her socks. Sitting down, she smiled at him, grabbing a spade. “We building a princess castle?”
“No. We’re building a prince’s castle, and don’t worry, Aria, I’ll protect you from the deadly dragon.”
“Sweetie, isn’t that right?” Lisa said.
Aria pulled out of the memory as her mother gave her arm a shake. “I’m sorry. What?”
“Your father was just talking about your college applications.”
“Oh, yes, I’ve applied to three.” She hadn’t thought about the time in the sandpit in such a long time. Eli had looked so sad being all alone. She hadn’t been able to leave him alone. Picking up her glass of water, she took a sip.
It was another dinner with Wayne and his father, and she was trying to deal with the sickness that was threatening to claim her at being stuck by Wayne once again.
She hated peas. Did Eli know that? She had traded in her fries for his peas to make him feel better. During a class, he’d gotten told off for something, and she had wanted to see him smile again.
“What colleges have you applied to?” Wayne asked.