The Road That Leads to Us Page 14

  This was the part where I should’ve said something meaningful and insightful back. Instead, I poked his side and said, “What the fuck are you? Yoda?”

  Way to ruin the moment, Willow.

  Dean chuckled and let go of the piece of my hair. “Just me, Willow. Just me.”

  “I’m sorry.” I frowned. “What you said was really beautiful and then I had to go and ruin it.”

  He shook his head. “You didn’t ruin it. You were being your typical, silly self.” He bent and kissed me quickly. “Serious declarations aside, we need to get moving.”

  At his words I was reminded of the fact that were stopped in the middle of the festival and people had to keep parting around us.

  “Oh, right. I forgot.”

  Dean guided me forward and we scanned the booths we passed.

  There were so many.

  One held handmade crocheted items. Another had wind chimes. There were even stain glass windows for sale. Several booths boasted antiques and jewelry.

  One of the jewelry booths caught my eye and I barreled forward, dragging Dean behind me.

  I fingered the displays of necklaces, bracelets, and rings.

  “These are beautiful,” I gasped in awe.

  “Thank you.” The woman working the booth smiled pleasantly. She had wild curly blonde hair that cascaded down her back like a waterfall, and kind brown eyes. “They’re all handmade.”

  “Wow.” I touched a bracelet reverently. “I want them all,” I whispered to myself.

  Dean fingered a necklace on one of the displays while I tried on a few rings.

  I picked out three rings and a simple bracelet with a delicate inset triangle and handed them to the woman. “I’d like these please.”

  She grabbed a purple box and set the rings inside and then the bracelet inside a blue box. She rang me up and I handed her cash before taking the small bag she’d tucked them in.

  I started to walk away, but I noticed Dean wasn’t following me, so I quickly turned around to find him handing the woman some cash and he now held his own bag.

  “What’s that?” I asked, narrowing my eyes on the bag.

  “Something for you.” He grinned, clearly pleased with whatever he’d found.

  “For me?” I reached for the bag greedily. “Lemme see.”

  “I don’t know.” He hedged with a shrug. “Maybe I should save it for Christmas.”

  “Dean Wentworth,” I gasped. “That’s cruel.”

  He chuckled and handed me the bag. “I hope you like it.” He smiled shyly.

  I reached down and plucked out the small pink box. Lifting the lid off I inhaled a surprised breath and slapped a hand over my mouth.

  “Dean, this is…this is perfect.” Tears pricked my eyes and I felt stupid for getting emotional over a necklace, but it was perfect. I was pretty sure it had been made for me.

  It was simple and girly, with a thin silver chain and a tiny silver lollipop charm hanging on the end.

  “I can’t believe this.” I took the necklace out of the box, admiring it up close. I stuffed the now empty box back in the bag and handed the necklace to Dean. “Put it on me, please.”

  I turned around and pulled my hair over my shoulder.

  Dean slipped the necklace around my neck and fumbled with the clasp.

  “Shit, I think I cut myself.” He cursed and let go, sucking his thumb into his mouth.

  “Don’t be a baby,” I admonished. “It’s just a necklace.’

  “’Just a necklace.’” He mimicked. “I think you mean devil rope.”

  I snorted. Only Dean would call it that.

  He tried again and managed to secure it this time.

  “I don’t know why you girls wear jewelry if you have to go through that to get it on. It’s practically torture.” He waved his hands dramatically through the air as he spoke.

  “We think pretty things are worth it,” I reasoned.

  He shook his head. “Y’all are crazy.”

  We headed deeper into the festival and my eye caught a stand selling cotton candy.

  Sugar rush? Much needed.

  I ran forward and Dean lengthened his stride to keep up.

  “Are you sure you need that?” He asked, looking a bit fearful.

  “Yes,” I answered without a second of thought.

  “You’re going to rot all your teeth by the time we get home and then your dad will have yet another reason to kill me,” he mumbled under his breath.

  “It’ll be worth it.”

  I asked for two cones of cotton candy and Dean groaned. “I don’t want any.”

  I narrowed my eyes on him. “I know you, Dean. You’ll try to steal mine and then I’ll bite you and then I’ll end up arrested for assault. So just take it.”

  His lips twitched with the threat of laughter. “Assault? Really?”

  I took my cotton candy from the man and handed Dean his. “Yes, really. There would be witnesses and they’d report me. They might even think I have rabies, which would lead to me being put down like a wild animal and then what would you do without me?”

  He snorted and shoved a handful of cotton candy into his mouth. I knew he’d want some. Slinging an arm around my shoulders he pulled me close to his side and kissed the top of my head with his sticky lips.

  “When you talk like that it makes me realize how much I’ve missed you.”

  I leaned into him and closed my eyes, soaking in the feel of him.

  When I straightened he dropped his arm from my shoulders and took my hand instead.

  I smiled down at our joined hands.

  I never knew something so simple could be so profound.

  “I wanna go there next.” I pointed to the Ferris wheel.

  Dean groaned.

  He wasn’t afraid of much, but heights were one thing that always made him queasy.

  “I don’t know,” he hedged, looking a bit green as he looked up at the lit-up Ferris wheel.

  “I’ll hold your hand,” I jested and squeezed his hand to reassure him.

  His frown deepened until two lines zigzagged across his forehead.

  “Please,” I begged. “It’ll be fun. You’ll see.”

  He still looked doubtful, but giving my hand a light squeeze back he finally nodded.

  I squealed with delight.

  I loved getting up high and seeing the world from a different vantage point.

  When I was little I used to climb trees as high as I could go. It drove my parents nuts with worry, but in the end they realized I was exactly like them.

  Afraid of nothing.

  Except maybe being a complete and utter failure at life.

  Yep, that was definitely my biggest fear.

  Dean and I stepped into line and I pushed all of my negative thoughts aside.

  I smiled up at him, marveling at how the sun haloed behind him as if it too knew he was special.

  He felt the weight of my gaze and his eyes lowered to mine.

  We probably looked like two goofballs standing there staring at each other with the crazy childish face paint we wore, but I didn’t care.

  I was happy and that’s all that mattered.

  Judging by the huge grin Dean wore, he was happy too.

  I laid my head on his shoulder and smiled.

  We moved up in line and Dean’s hand began to tremble in mine.

  “Do you trust me?” I lifted my head from his shoulder and peered up at him.

  He looked down at me and was quiet for a moment, as if weighing his words. “You’re one of the craziest, bravest people I know, and you do things I’d never dream of doing. Sometimes I think you’re insane,” he chuckled, “but I’ve always trusted you.”

  “Then believe me when I say it’ll be worth it.” I stood on my tiptoes to kiss his paint-covered cheek.

  He grinned and the white of his teeth was a stark contrast against the green face paint.

  A few minutes later we took our seats and were strapped in.

 
; I held on to his hand and tried not to laugh at the fact that for once the roles were reversed and a girl was comforting the guy.

  We began to go up and the wheel jerked.

  Dean cursed under his breath and he released my hand so he could grab the bar across our waists.

  He closed his eyes and began to count.

  “Why are you counting?” I giggled—I tried really hard not to laugh at him, but it was futile.

  “Because,” he hissed through clenched teeth, “it takes my mind off the fact that I’m dangling hundreds of feet in the air in a device that’s probably twice my age.”

  “You better open your eyes when we get to the top.”

  “No promises,” he muttered. The Ferris wheel rose a bit higher and Dean groaned. “This is all my dad’s fault.”

  “And how is that?” I asked, looking out at the festival. The grounds were huge. From here it looked as if it spanned for miles, although I was sure it wasn’t that big.

  “He’s afraid of heights,” Dean groaned.

  “Ah, I see.” I nodded. “Although, I’m not sure that’s an inherited trait, but whatever.”

  We reached the top and I took Dean’s face in my hands.

  He jerked but didn’t open his eyes. “What are you doing?” He asked.

  I didn’t answer, at least not with words.

  I tilted his head down to mine and pressed my lips to his.

  His body jerked at first and then when he realized what I was doing he relaxed.

  All the tension that had bound his muscles on the way up melted away.

  He kissed me back like his life depended on it, and maybe, in this moment, it did.

  I pulled away with a gasp, whispering, “Open your eyes,” so my lips brushed his.

  Ever so slowly his eyes blinked open, revealing the pretty green color.

  “Look around,” I whispered. “If you let fear rule you you’ll miss the beautiful things right in front of you.”

  “I don’t need to look anywhere else,” he whispered, cupping my cheek. “This is the only view I want to look at.”

  It was cheesy, but I blushed anyway.

  “Please?” I begged, pointing out towards the festival. “I want you to see this.”

  His Adam’s apple bobbed and he nodded once.

  He slowly turned his head and I watched as his lips parted with awe.

  “I can’t believe I was going to miss this,” he confessed.

  “I told you to trust me.” I lay my hand over top of his where he grasped the metal bar.

  We began to descend and his hands tightened on the bar.

  I laid my head on his shoulder, a silent reminder that I was there and I wasn’t going anywhere. Not ever.

  Dean

  It was early evening when we returned to the hotel. I wanted to fall into bed and sleep for three years, but that wasn’t an option. There was something of utmost importance waiting for us.

  Laundry.

  Willow grumbled when I told her we needed to head to a Laundromat—the hotel was old and didn’t have any washing machines or dryers.

  “My clothes don’t smell that bad do they?” She whined.

  My lips quirked into a smile and she glared.

  “Never mind. Don’t answer that,” she grumbled.

  I grabbed my duffle bag and removed the miscellaneous items.

  “We’ll put all our dirty clothes in here so we don’t have to drag around two bags.”

  She nodded in agreement and started dumping her rumpled clothes in my bag. I had to laugh, because even my dirty clothes were folded neatly.

  “That everything?” I asked her before I zipped up the bag.

  She nodded and grabbed her backpack. She didn’t seem to go anywhere without it.

  We stopped in the lobby for directions to the nearest Laundromat and this time we were greeted by a new receptionist.

  Willow didn’t act like a crazy person when this one talked to me.

  But the receptionist now was also a guy, so there was that little detail to account for.

  “I’m so tired,” Willow groaned when we got into the car and she stretched the seatbelt across her chest. “I never knew a road trip could be so exhausting.”

  I chuckled. “And we haven’t even traveled today.”

  She made a face. “I hope we don’t have to sleep in the car again.”

  I pretended to glare at her. “You mean, sleeping on top of me wasn’t worth it?”

  She rolled her pretty blue eyes. “You wish.”

  Her lips lifted into a smile and she reached up to touch the necklace now dangling around her neck. I hoped she never took it off.

  “Thank you again for this.”

  I shrugged, smiling sheepishly as I backed out of the parking space. “It was too perfect to pass up. I had to get it for you.”

  Braking at the stop sign I reached over and wiped away a bit of the face paint she’d missed with the back of my thumb. It was also an excuse to touch her.

  The way she looked up at me from beneath her thick black lashes I knew she knew it too.

  My feelings for Willow already far surpassed anything I’d felt for a past girlfriend. The logical part of my brain thought that it was because we’d been friends for so long, but my gut knew it was more than that.

  “Do you believe in soul mates?” I asked her.

  She turned her face towards me, the setting sun bathing her in a warm glow. “I believe in dragons.”

  My brows furrowed in confusion. “What does that mean?”

  She shrugged. “It means I believe in the possibility of things greater than we are, but it doesn’t mean they’re real.”

  I mulled over her words and nodded. It made sense, even if her answer was a bit funny.

  We arrived at the Laundromat a few minutes later and I carried the duffle bag inside.

  Willow trailed behind me, dragging her feet.

  “It won’t be that bad,” I promised her, holding open the door so she could step inside first.

  She narrowed her eyes. “It’s a Laundromat.”

  Inside the place was pretty empty. As far as a Laundromat went it was pretty nice. The machines were fairly new and the white linoleum floors were shiny and clean with no dust bunnies swirling around.

  We chose an empty machine in the back corner and began the process of sorting our clothes in piles of color and whites.

  “We don’t have detergent,” Willow groaned.

  “Surely they have some.” I blinked dumbly at her.

  “You’re supposed to bring your own.”

  “Oh,” I sighed, pausing my sorting and sticking my hands on my hips. “That might be a bit of a problem.”

  “Ya think?” She said sarcastically.

  Some people might be hurt by her flippant tone, but that was Willow. I knew she was only trying to be funny.

  She looked around, her blonde hair swishing around her shoulders as she spun.

  She spotted an elderly man doing his laundry by the entrance.

  “Excuse me, sir!” She waved her hand and scurried towards him.

  He hadn’t heard her approach and jumped when she stopped beside him.

  “Hi,” she said, and even though I could only see her back I knew she was smiling brightly at him. “We forgot detergent. Would it be okay if we used some of yours?”

  He stared up at her from his hunched position and nodded. “Sure.” His voice was as shaky as the hands that held his laundry.

  “Thank you so much.” She bent and kissed his cheek. His face flamed a brilliant red and he watched in awe as she grabbed the detergent and hurried back to me.

  I knew how he felt. There was something about Willow that you couldn’t resist. She was brilliant like the sun.

  I finished sorting and we started machines for both sets of clothing.

  Willow returned the detergent to the man and I saw her try to hand him some money, but he refused.

  “Please, sir,” she said softly, “I feel awful
to use your stuff and not reimburse you for it.”

  He shook his head again and said something in a hushed tone that I couldn’t hear.

  Willow’s face scrunched with emotion and she nodded. “We can do that.” She opened her arms and hugged the man.

  He was surprised by the gesture and slow to hug her back, but once he did it was like he didn’t want to let go.

  After a moment Willow returned to our corner rubbing at her face. Her eyes were rimmed with red.

  I sat down on the floor and she sunk down beside me and laid her head on my shoulder.

  “That guy, his name is Frank and his wife died a few months ago. He’s all alone.” She sniffled and I reached over, smoothing my fingers over her cheek and wiping away a few tears. “He wouldn’t take my money, but he said there was one thing he did want.”

  “And what’s that?” I asked, pressing my lips to her forehead, unable to help myself.

  “He wanted us to have dinner with him. That’s it, Dean. He didn’t want money, just company. In a world that’s ruled by monetary things…it really touched me.”

  “I’m glad we can do that for him then.”

  I felt her nod against my chest, the scent of her shampoo tickling my nose.

  Sometimes the media portrayed Willow as a stuck up brat, and it made me mad, because if they saw her here like this they’d know she was the furthest thing from it. She had the kindest heart of anyone I knew.

  Idly, a thought occurred to me. “Willow?”

  “Yeah?” She lifted her head so she could look at me.

  “How come the media hasn’t followed us on our trip?”

  Don’t get me wrong, I was glad, especially now because I didn’t want anything getting back to her dad before we could tell him we were together, but it was weird. I’d seen photos of her on the covers of gossip magazines and online while she’d been living in New York City.

  She shrugged against me. “I guess they haven’t figured it out yet. Besides, I think they were getting pretty bored of me since I never do anything interesting.”

  I snorted at that. Willow was always getting into trouble.

  “Never do anything interesting, huh?” I played with the soft ends of her hair.

  Her twinkling laughter echoed around us. “Well, by their standards I guess. Skydiving doesn’t compare to going to a club and getting photographed with a random one night stand.”