Where There's Light | ✔

43. Diary

One month in and Nolan and I were still neck deep in the honeymoon phase. That was unheard of for me. The thrill of a new relationship usually fizzled out in week two. Not with Nolan. Every day with him the spark felt new.

It was one month of sneaking off to the creek where we claimed to be studying and did everything but. One month of texting until the sun came up and meeting for coffee before school. One month of group dates with Bee and Gia and Candy and Justin to movies, bowling and go carts. One month of highly competitive games of Uno! with the Chambers and lounging on my couch because Mom refused to let Nolan upstairs.

One month of so many emotions bubbling inside me I had no choice but to let them out on a canvas. Paintings of sunsets and faces and dried up creeks were quickly piling up in the garage.

Each painting felt like a diary entry, filled with memories and secrets. Secrets I was too afraid to admit out loud. Secrets only I could decipher. And maybe Nolan if he looked hard enough.

I knew that Nolan was different from past guys I've date—none of them even compared. Still, I was amazed at how different he was. How different he made me feel. It was uncharted territory and I loved exploring every bit of it.

Now, we sat out in my front yard on a blanket to enjoy the unseasonably warm February weather and to bore ourselves with homework.

I was propped up against the tree with Nolan's head in my lap. He held Hamlet over his face, squinting at the text as he rambled on in old English.

"To die, to sleep. To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub, for in that sleep of death what dreams may come..." He dropped the book his chest, peering up at me. "Why did Shakespeare write in riddles? Better yet, why do I have to decipher them? When will it ever be relevant to my life?"

The frustration on his face was adorable. "When it's on the test Thursday."

"Okay, but after that?"

I picked up his blank worksheet, dangling it in his face. "When you repeat the twelfth grade and have to take the test again."

"And you'll be right there with me. Have you even started the reading?"

"No," I admitted. "But I'm not one bad grade away from flunking the class."

He playfully rolled his eyes. "You say that like you're a straight A student."

"I'm very happy with my B's, thank you," I declared proudly.

"So am I."

Confused, I looked down at him to see that he was staring at my chest with a smirk. I picked up his book and whacked him on the forehead with it.

"Why are you such a pervert?" I said, giggling.

"Side effect of having such a hot girlfriend."

Now I rolled my eyes. "I'm starting to miss the days when all you did was grunt and tell me to go away."

"I don't." The sincerity on his face, in his voice, took me by surprise.

I leaned down, catching his lips with mine. His hand slid behind my neck to pull me closer and deepen the kiss. We were interrupted by Ms. Coleman's yappy new puppy who stood at the edge of the yard, fighting with its leash to get to us. Ms. Coleman didn't even attempt to hide the fact that she was staring.

"Kids today have no shame. Groping each other in public," she grumbled loudly to herself. She continued talking to herself, or maybe to her dog as they resumed their walk to the mailbox. "My mama would've had my ass."