In Between ➣ Cash Baker ✔️

12. Cash

"Hey, man you skipping practice today?" Sam asked through the phone. I continued walking down the street, adjusting my phone so I could hear him better.

"I have plans," I responded simply. It was true, I did have plans. Important ones to be exact.

"We all know you're going to hang with Luna," Sam stated plainly.

"I'm going to be with her. For better or worse," I answered.

"It'll probably be for worse," Sam spoke in a teasing tone. I rolled my eyes, thankful he couldn't see me.

"I knew that the day I met her," I responded. The sun was setting quickly when I approached Luna's house. Earlier I wanted to ask her if she wanted to hang out but she went to the spot with Ashley instead. So I did what Luna would do. Show up at someone's house unannounced to hang out with them.

"Well I'll be damned," I snapped my head up when the front door opened. I saw Jen, Luna's aunt, standing there.

"Hi, is Luna here?" I asked, trying to speak without stuttering. Jen nodded and moved out of the way to let me into the house.

"Upstairs. First door on the right." I followed Jen's words and made my way up the stairs. I knocked on the closed door, knowing it was better than just barging in.

The door swung open a second later and there stood a shocked Luna. She recomposed herself before tilting her head slightly in confusion. I took in her attire; plaid pajama pants, a white tank top, and her hair was a mess tied up on her head in a bun.

"Hi," my mouth was dry as I dragged my eyes up to meet hers. "I'm- I'm sorry I should've called first or something—"

"No, it's okay," Luna smiled and opened her door fully to let me in. "I'm glad you're here." She added as I made my way inside the room. I let my eyes linger on her walls and up to her ceiling which held 35 glow in the dark stars on it.

"I actually want to show you something," Luna tugged on the sleeve of my sweatshirt slightly to bring me over to her window. She swung the glass open and stepped onto the ledge, hauling herself up and onto the roof. I stood in awe, my mouth open as she leaned down to peek her head through the window.

"You coming?" She asked with a smile. I hesitated before nodding, repeating the steps Luna took to haul herself onto the roof. I carefully followed her over to a safe and secure place where we could sit calmly on the black tiles.

"What are we doing up here?" I dumbly asked. Luna sat close to me and leaned back on her hands.

"The stars on my ceiling are cool but I like these ones better," I followed Luna's gaze to where she was staring up at the sky and soon enough, stars appeared in the dark sky. We stayed in awkward silence for a few minutes until I gazed over at Luna.

I stared at her and I was sure I could do so for so much longer. "You're not looking at the stars." She said softly, keeping her voice to a whisper. I shrugged my shoulders, but the action didn't feel like it belonged to me. "Don't need to," I told her.

I was looking at my own right now.

We continued to sit on the roof as the illuminated night sky encircled us and made me feel tiny. I noticed Luna looking at me and locked my eyes with hers. She leaned in the slightest bit, making me do the same but I stopped right as our lips were about to meet.

"I'm afraid," I said suddenly.

"Of what? Kissing isn't scary," Luna joked.

"No no, it's not that," I answered. "I'm afraid of falling."

"You're not going to fall, silly," she assured me.

"Yes I will. If we kiss again, I'm a goner. I can't help falling in love with you." My words were sweet on my tongue and I was also afraid of Luna's reaction.

"People talk about love at first sight and feeing sparks fly. They say that if you love someone, you know right away. But I think that's a load of bullshit." I spoke out, looking back up at the sky. "I didn't love you at first sight. I didn't know you, and I don't believe that you can love someone you don't know. Sparks didn't fly when I first laid eyes on you."

I think back to when I saw Luna at her mom's funeral. "You were just a girl, and I was just a boy. I thought we might be friends. I didn't know that i would fall so hopelessly in love with you. You see, loving you crept up on me. At some point, I knew that I wanted to be with you. There wasn't a big, romantic moment like there is in the movies, because love isn't like the movies. Love doesn't happen at first sight. Love, like most good things, occurs when you least expect it."

I looked back down at Luna who's eyes were searching my face. Her hands came up and gently held my head in her hands, thumbs brushing over my cheeks. Her eyes were glossy and her lips were rolled inside her mouth.

"I'm scared," she spoke in the softest voice. She leaned forward so her forehead was against mine. Her skin was heated and I felt like I was on cloud nine.

"I know," I assured her. "You're scared of the way I make you feel because you don't want to feel anything," I added in a whisper. I felt Luna nod against me and she dropped her hands to hold mine.

She peeled her forehead away from mine when we saw blinding lights. We looked down to see a car pull into Luna's driveway. I heard her sigh as I shrieked my eyes from the headlights. Luna mumbled something that sounded like a cuss word and I pulled her closer to me.

"Luna, who's that?" I asked her. She looked up at me and licked her lips.

"It's my dad," Luna spoke like the words were poison on her tongue. "My dad showed up at my house last night."

"Your dad? But Luna I thought that he was—"

"Across the country? Yeah me too," Luna sighed and let her head rest on my shoulder. "I don't exactly know what he wants but I know it's not good."

"So the one person that could ruin everything—"

"Is here? Yeah," Luna bit down on her bottom lip. I noticed her face was flushed when she picked her head up from my shoulder. "You should go."

My eyebrows shot up. "Go? Luna, don't do this," I almost pleaded.

"Cash, I just need l sort this out." Luna took hold on my cold hands and held them in her warm ones. "I'm not trying to end whatever we have going on between us. I just-" she sighed deeply. "I need to figure the situation with my dad out first."

"Okay," I whispered. I followed Luna down and back into her bedroom through the window. Without warning, she wrapped her arms around me tightly. I froze but didn't waste another second to snake my arms around her waist. I pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before she nuzzled her head into my chest.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she spoke softly. Luna took my hand and led me downstairs quietly. Her luck must've been bad because both her aunt and dad were right at the bottom of the stairs.

"Well Mr. Cash Baker as I live and breathe," Luna's dad, Eric, spoke. He laughed loudly and I felt Luna lean into my subconsciously.

"Yes, sir that's me," I nodded firmly.

"He actually has to go," Luna answered. She took a hold of my wrist and led me to the door. She opened it and let me walk out onto the front porch. She gave me one last smile before shutting the wood and leaving me outside to walk home.

—-

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