Page 37 of The Sun and Her Star

She slaps my shoulder and rolls her eyes. “Oh my God, Graham. Don’t be gross. Of course not. I was just saying that I don’t really spend time with anyone else. Besides, I wantyouto be my first kiss.” I turn and stare at her wide-eyed. She blinks back at me innocently like she didn’t just drop a bomb in my lap.

This girl is going to be the death of me.

The honk of a horn beside me gets my attention, and I look up to see the light is green. I wave in apology as I pull away.

“You shouldn’t say stuff like that, Apollo,” I admonish her.

“Why not? You’re my best friend. It should be you.”

“You’re too young.”

“I’m not!” she snaps.

I nearly sag with relief when I pull into the parking lot of Vons. I can’t get out of the car fast enough. I run around and open the door for her.

“Let’s go,” I say with a bow as I offer her my hand.

She slips her small hand into mine and slides down from the truck’s cab.

When I force myself to let go of her hand and walk beside her into the grocery store, I can still feel the heat of her palm against mine.

Promises

Graham

Two years later

LONDON, England

“So, what did you think?” I ask as we step out of the London Eye capsule we’ve spent the last hour in.

“It was amazing,” she sings in a dreamy voice.

This trip is an early eighteenth birthday present for Apollo. It’s still a couple of months away, but when school starts again, I know I won’t have the time to bring her.

“Whoa,” I nearly lose my balance when Apollo spins around and throws her arms around my waist, all without breaking her stride. “Sunshine, you’re gonna fall and take me with you.” I wrap my arms around her and move my feet so they’re outside of hers and try to keep us upright.

“Not a chance you’d ever let me fall,” she says giddily.

I mutter apologies left and right while Apollo twirls us around like we’re on the dance floor by ourselves.

“Why did I give you my champagne?” I mutter.

“Because.” She smirks mischievously and gives a coy glance. “I’m your favorite.”

She snuggles her head against my chest and laughs. She’s so carefree and … sofuckingpretty. And, as always, she’s right. Sheismy favorite person. But it’s not just because she’s amazing. It’s how she makes me feel. Her faith in me. The way she trusts me to keep her safe. The rest of my life feels like a fucking struggle, but when I’m with Apollo, Ialwaysfeel like I’m the king of the world.

My scholarship only pays half my tuition. And that means on top of room and board and helping my mom, I’ve got to come up with a lot of money each month. So, I work a lot and had to save every penny I could to afford this trip. Even then, I was only able to afford it because Dave’s brother, Jacob, lives here and is letting us stay with him. But, I’ve been wanting to give her this trip for a long time. And looking down at the smile of pure happiness on her face makes all of the sacrifice feel like nothing.

Once we’re on the walkway in front of the giant Ferris wheel, I force us to come to a stop.

“Why aren’t we walking anymore?” She pouts and wrinkles her nose at me.

“Because we’re going to fall, Sunshine.” I tug at her arms

“No, we won’t. I’m your cape, remember?” She smiles cheekily and only holds on tighter.

“Right.” I look over my shoulder and raise a mockingly skeptical eyebrow. “I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you’re on backward.”

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