The Summer I Learned to Dive - By Shannon McCrimmon Page 0,56

many random facts, things that most people couldn’t even begin to know or understand.

Our drive back was too quick. I wanted to spend more time with him, to get to know him even better. Every moment we spent together felt exciting, electric, and new. It felt like I was alive for the first time. I had never felt this way for someone before, but I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to grab a hold of it and cherish it.

We arrived at my grandparents’ house. The air was thick and humid. He parked his car in their driveway and turned the engine off. I started to unlock my door. “Wait,” he said placing his hand on my shoulder. Goosebumps instantly formed on my entire arm. Every touch from him gave me the shivers. I gave him a questioning look. “Finn,” he said. He cleared his throat. “I had a good time today. I really like you,” he said, his tanned cheeks showing hints of red.

“I like you a lot, too,” I said. I reached over toward him and quickly kissed him on the lips. He ran his fingers through my hair. We stopped kissing and looked at each other. My face felt hot. I blushed at the thought.

“Your hair is really soft,” he said still rubbing his fingers through it.

I couldn’t say anything. Just his touch alone made me dizzy. He got out of the car and opened my door. We walked toward the front porch holding hands, enjoying the silence. The night was quiet. The glow of the moon allowed me to see the outline of his body. His hand held on tightly to mine. I wanted to tell him that this was the most perfect day that I had ever had, that I couldn’t imagine having a better day. But all I could muster was, “I had a lot of fun today. Dixon Park is beautiful,” I said staring at him, seeing the outline of his perfect face.

He put his arms around me and hugged me tightly. He kissed me for a sweet and long minute, then released me. “It was a great day,” he said grabbing my hand walking with me toward the front door. We said goodnight. He told me he would call me tomorrow. I opened the door and walked inside, instantly feeling full of dread at what I saw standing before me.

Chapter 15

I didn’t see the car. I was too focused on Jesse and failed to notice anything within distance. If fireworks had been going off, I would have missed them, too. My eyes were only on him; my thoughts were only focused on him. If I had noticed that the car was parked in the front of my grandparents’ lawn, it would have given me a warning, a heads up, that she was there. So, when I opened the door and found her sitting inside, I was more shocked, more surprised than I should have been. She had warned me. She had told me that she would come to get me, that it was time for me to come home. I just didn’t believe she would actually drive all the way to Graceville especially since she seemed to hate my grandparents so much.

“Finn,” she said standing up, her voice hoarse. Her eyes were puffy and red. She looked like she had been crying. My grandparents sat on the couch and didn’t say a word. There had been words between them, that I could see. I could feel the tension. Nana looked at me and attempted to smile. She looked worn out. My grandfather’s face looked strained. He was perspiring heavily.

I looked at my grandparents and then at her. “What do you want?” I asked her, almost with contempt. I was still too angry with her.

“I came to talk to you, to see if you’d come home with me,” she said walking toward me. She reached her hand out to touch my shoulder. I instantly flinched and moved inches away from her.

“I don’t have anything to say to you. I told you to give me space,” I said indignantly.

“I know you did and I’ve respected that. I gave you over six weeks to think things over…” she said not finishing her sentence. She fidgeted and looked at me almost desperately. “I hoped that we could talk things out. I don’t like the way we left things.”

I wanted to laugh out loud but didn’t. It was a nervous reaction I suppose. I was confused