From Georgia to Montana

Chapter 18

Emerald's POV

It's been a week and a half since Xavier told me about my dad getting out of jail and I am starting to wonder if he really is coming. I had finally started to relax.

I was cleaning up the house when I get a call from Luca. His ring tone, that I currently have as 'Made In America' by Toby Keith, starts playing from in the kitchen table.

"Hey." I say picking up the phone and continue washing the dirty dishes.

"Hey. Are you busy today?" Luca asks, and I can hear the smile in his voice.

"I'm just finishing the dishes and then I am free for the day. Irene told me to take the day off today and tomorrow." I say skeptically.

"Alright. I am coming over I will be there in a minute." He says before shutting off the phone. I look down at my grungy boyfriend jeans and messy, grey crop top that has gotten wet, thanks to the dishes.

I quickly change into dark blue jean shorts, a black tank top, and a red and black plaid shirt that I tie around my waist. I put a thin amount of eyeliner and mascara on before slipping on some black socks. I decide to leave my messy curls alone. Right as I am grabbing my black converse the door bell rings.

I open the door to see Luca, baseball hat, jeans, and a blue t-shirt that pronounces his muscles just enough and makes his bright blue-grey eyes appear more blue. I advert my eyes after realizing I was staring.

"Where are we going? Is Lila coming?" I ask as I pull on my shoes.

"We are going to the zoo. And no Lila had some project and she told me to go away. So I called you." He says with a big, goofy smile.

"Well then what are we waiting for?" I say locking the door behind me and heading to his four door Duly Dodge Cummins.

We drive to the zoo with the country music station cranked up. When 'Heart of Dixie' by Danielle Bradberry  comes on the radio I start to sing along, forgetting where I was for a moment. When the song ends I notice Luca smiling at me and I blush a fierce red, I let my hair fall forward to cover my face and I am thankful I decided to leave my hair down.

"Do you like to sing?" Luca asks, glancing over at me from the drivers seat.

"I use to sing with my mom all the time. We would laugh and make jokes about how bad we sound, mostly just playing around. Its actually Lennon and Maisy that are the real singers in the family. They got it from both Mom and Dad." I say, smiling at the memory.

"Your mom sounds like she was a fun person to hang out with."

"She was. Nothing could get her down as long as she had God and her family. She had a strong faith. She would pray for anything, big or small. And she always had a bible verse for any problems we had. Whether it was a problem of forgiveness or patience. She always new what to say. She didn't have it all together. In fact she had a hard life, but she just keep her faith even when I questioned it."

"I would have liked to meet her."

"She would have loved you. And especially Lila. The two of them would be cooking and party planning all the time. My mom liked to throw these hug surprise parties, even if it was just for getting all A's that semester."

"That sounds like Lila. When we were seven she threw me a birthday part and obviously she new it wasn't my birthday. And when I asked her why, she said she wanted to let me have my own birthday party since we always shared ours." Luca says with a chuckle.

"So what are we going to see first when we get to the zoo?" I ask excitedly.

"I don't know. What do you want to see."

"Hmm. I like the bears and the big cats."

"Alright we can start with the cats then the bears and then we can see the seals and penguins. Okay?"

"Sounds good to me. Oh and we have to go to the petting zoo as well!" I say with a huge smile.

After we park and get out of the truck I am so excited that I start to bounce on the balls of my feet.

Finally we make it to the big cats. We see the tigers, lions, leopards, cheetahs, and the pumas before we head to the bears. After about an hour we head to the petting zoo where we see snakes, rabbits, and a variety of other animals. I take pictures of everything with my phone. When I hold the lizard, that one of workers got out, Luca takes a picture of me.

Finally, after we pet the stingrays and sharks, my stomach starts to make noises and we head to get something to eat. As we walk to the Board Walk Cafe I slip my hand into his. I glance at Luca to see him looking at me with a big grin on his face, and I just roll my eyes at him, trying to mask the blush coming on. Man I hate it when he makes me blush. And it seems like anytime he looks at me I can't help but do so.

Finally we end the day with some fries and milkshakes; which Luca insists on paying for like everything else today.

When we get home he walks me to the door.

I give him a goodnight kiss on the cheek like I have been doing recently. But this time when I go to walk away he grabs my hand and pulls me back towards him. Pulling me into him he presses his lips to mine. It was brief and sweet but in those few seconds it felt like a thousand butterflies were released inside of me and I realize that I have already fallen for him. This kiss was nothing like those I had with Xavier. This kiss was soft yet filled with passion. It was everything I had wanted and then some.

I pull back, looking into his bright eyes and bite my lower lip.

"Goodnight Em." He whispers, leaning his forehead against mine.

"Goodnight. And thank you. I had a lot of fun today."

"Me to." He says before he heads back to his car and I head into the house. I check on the kids and say goodnight to Lennon before heading to my own bed, and I fall asleep still thinking of that kiss.

(Heart of Dixie by Danielle Bradberry)