mouth and looked up at me. Astonishment grew in her eyes. “You did all this?” she half whispered as she dropped to her knees before the raft and began to pick up the wildflowers. Looking over her shoulder she grinned, “It’s amazing!”
“For you,” I gestured, moving my hand above the spread. “Shall we?”
We sat at our small clearing on the beach and ate our lunch on the raft before the maiden voyage. As we ate, we plotted on how to get to the other side of the peninsula, the side you could see from our spot on the beach but couldn’t get to by foot. When our picnic was done, we knew the time had come to find out if our raft would float. I had faith we had built a strong, sturdy vessel. We were excited to jump on and discover the adventure that was waiting for us offshore.
Gingerly, we pushed the raft to the edge of the water, easing it in until we were waist deep. It was a beauty, glistening in the sun, adorned with our treasures and colorful wildflowers. As Ava climbed on and turned to face me, I continued to push until I was brave enough to join her. When the time was right, I eased my way onto the raft beside her. We both took a deep breath as it plunged slightly and rocked her into me. Though it quickly popped back to the surface, the swift movement had left us touching. The slight pressure of her shoulder next to mine sent a shiver through my cold, wet skin. When she traced the goosebumps on my arm and looked up at me with a grin, I knew she was onto me. I couldn’t hide the way she made my body react.
We were so close now, I could feel her soft breath against my lips. Slowly, I scanned the outline of her face, her round, brown eyes, her dainty nose, the fullness of her lips. I had studied them before, all those days on the beach. I’d also studied them in my dreams. Sitting beside her now, they were like a magnet, pulling me in. I couldn’t help but lean into her. Her nervous glance tracked my face as I drew in closer. I paused for a moment, but she didn’t back away. Before I knew it, my forehead was resting against hers.
Taking a moment to gather my thoughts, I finally came up with the right words. “You ever kissed a boy?” I whispered.
The words didn’t leave her mouth, but the way her forehead turned against mine, I could tell she was answering me with a no.
Hesitating a moment, I added, “Do you want to?”
I could hear her swallow as her forehead moved up and down against mine. The tingling heat I had grown to know so well when we were together, found its way back to my chest, exploding as I tilted my head to take her lips into mine. In all honesty, I’d never kissed a girl before, and I wondered if I was even doing it right. It sure felt right. The soft brush of her sweet tongue against mine, the way our lips moved together like they were dancing to a sweet country song. Everything came together perfectly, only better than I could’ve imagined. It took everything in me to pull back and check to see if she was okay. Judging from the smile on her face, she was just fine.
As the water carried us past the reef, I took her hand in mine and pulled her in closer. With her now resting against my chest, we both looked toward the high afternoon sun and shyly back toward each other. We’d never been that quiet before, but our continuous ping-pong game of staring, looking away, and smiling said all it needed to. We were okay with what we’d done and I was sure we would do it again before I left in the morning. With a reassuring squeeze of my hand, she laid her head against me and drifted off to sleep on my shoulder.
• • •
After traveling for what must’ve been an hour, the rolling tide finally pushed us onto the opposite shoreline of the peninsula. Uncurling my fingers from hers, I nudged her awake. “We’re here,” I exclaimed. Excitedly, she crawled out of my arms. We slid from the raft and pulled it onto the sandy beach. Then, grabbing our treasures, we ventured toward what looked to be a