Page 33 of Finding Us

Just as we kiss I hear a crackling noise followed by a loud boom. It startles me and I jerk up, hitting Garret in the head.

“Jade, what the hell?” He rubs his forehead, laughing.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.” I lean up and kiss his forehead. “There. You’re all better now.”

“I don’t think so. I think you just cracked my skull open.”

“I did not.” I watch as he continues to rub his forehead. “Shit! Did I really hurt you? Maybe we should go inside.”

“I’m fine. But you could kiss me again and make it better.”

I give his forehead another kiss, then lie back on the sleeping bag.

“That’s it? It’s going to take a lot more than that to feel better.”

The sky booms again, raining sparks of color over us. “We’ll kiss later. I don’t want to miss the fireworks.”

“That’s true.” He lies down beside me. “You don’t want to miss this.”

Fireworks continue to shoot off and as Garret promised, they’re spectacular. Garret says this is his dad’s favorite holiday so he goes all out on the fireworks every year.

“What do you think?” Garret holds my hand as we gaze up at the colorful sky.

“This is amazing! I’ve never seen fireworks this close up before. As a kid, I just went outside and tried to see if I could spot some in the sky, but I never actually went to see fireworks.”

“Well, now you get your very own show.”

Two big blue and red ones shoot off, followed by a white one that’s in the shape of a star.

“How is your dad able to do this? Aren’t fireworks illegal in this state?”

“My dad has an arrangement with the cops.”

“What kind of—”

He squeezes my hand. “Don’t ask. Just enjoy the fireworks.”

Another Kensington secret that probably involves bribes or blackmail or other things I don’t want to know about.

As I watch the red, white, and blue explosions lighting up the dark sky, Garret turns on his side and kisses my cheek. “I love doing this.”

I keep my eyes on the fireworks. “Doing what?”

“Lying next to a beautiful girl on a warm summer night watching fireworks. I’ve never done this before.”

I flip on my side to face him. “You’ve never watched fireworks with a girl?”

“No. I usually just stand by the pool and watch.”

“Why haven’t you ever brought a girl over?”

“Because normally we have like two hundred people here for the Kensington Fourth of July.”

I glance around at the woods surrounding us. “You could’ve taken her out here and got some privacy.”

“I guess.” He runs his hand down the side of my face, his eyes on mine. “But I didn’t have the right girl to do this with.”

“What do you mean?”

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