Page 17 of Grounds for Love

We leave our shoes by the truck and, hand in hand, we walk down to the water. I never realized how much I missed holding hands. Jenni’s hand in mine feels right.

The area where we’re at is not populated with houses, so no outdoor lights. The moonlight bouncing off the dark water is our only guide. Had we walked the opposite direction, we would have come to my house, but this isn’t the right time for that.

We’ve been walking for half an hour, talking about everything yet nothing, while lost in our own thoughts, when she stops.

“The stars are so bright tonight,” she says with her head tilted upward. “Look!” she shouts and points towards the sky.

I look up just in time to see the end of a falling star. We watch until it disappears and then our gazes connect. I tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear. My fingertips gently brush again her cheek. “What did you wish for?”

She grins and touches my face with her palm. “Probably the same thing you did.”

“Then let’s see if my wish is going to come true.” I clear my throat dramatically and ask, “Jenni, would you go out with me tomorrow night?”

She snorts and then laughs softly. “So not what I thought you were going to say. Tomorrow night is the book club meeting with the girls.”

I start to frown because I know how those meetings get out of hand. Then she adds, “But Sunday, I’m yours all day long.”

My heart races and the joy coursing through me is a heady sensation. I’ll take it. “Then be ready Sunday morning at ten and tell Joy not to wait up.”

She raises a brow and gives me a pointed look. “Awfully sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

“It was a very powerful falling star,” I explain, taking her hand in mine and we head back to the truck. As far as nights go, this one rates pretty high. It doesn’t end the way I hoped it would, but it ends the way it’s supposed to. I feel both our walls tumbling down just a smidgen and I consider that a success.

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