Our Kind of Love (33 page)

I don’t see who it is when Mom opens the door,
and I don’t peer around either. I’m only waiting. When her eyes narrow and she
throws her head back, surprised, I figure it isn’t Micah after all. Then she
steps aside and Nate enters, obliterating the little hope I had.

“Happy birthday,” he says, reaching a small gift
out to me.

Nate inches closer when I don’t take it. He
glides his eyes over my body and gasps. “You look lovely.”

“I’ll leave you two alone,” says Mom, closing
the door and walking past us into the living room.

I look up at him, confused. “What are you doing
here? Did my mom invite you?”

He shakes his head. “No. Of course I remembered
your birthday and I had to get you something.”

“But why?”

“You know why, Reign.”

Nate fills the distance between us and places a
hand at my elbow. I step away from him. “You have to go, Micah—”

“Isn’t even here,” he cuts me off. “By the way,
I looked him up. He’s been in juvie you know, for school vandalism and for
hitting someone. He’s obviously violent.”

“He’s not,” I hiss. “I know who he is and he’s
nothing like that.”

Nate stiffens his jaw. His eyes get cloudy with
tears fighting to come out. “You know this about him? You know and you still
want to be with him and not me? I gave you weeks to think it over, to think
about what you’re doing, and you still haven’t come to your senses?”

Even though he’s clearly upset with me, he keeps
his voice low.

“I’m sorry,” I tell him. “I can’t help the way I
feel.”

Nate drops his hands to his side, clutching the
gift. His lips shake as he searches for his next words. Finally he manages to
speak again. “You’ve really hurt me, you know that?”

I stay quiet, not sure how to respond.

He laughs short, sarcastically. “I didn’t even
realize I loved you this much until I lost you.” He lowers his eyes to the
hardwood for a moment,
then
he looks at me one more time,
and starts for the door.

“I’m sorry,” I breathe at his back. “I’m really
sorry.”

Opening the door, he stalls in the doorway and
places his gift on the table next to it. “I know,” he says. “You can’t help the
way you feel.” Nate steps outside and closes the door behind him, leaving me
with guilt, and at the same time, I’m contented. Because I think now more than
ever, he’ll move on.

Thirty
-
Seven

Micah

WHEN I RIDE up to the house I see Nate
hop
in his car and drive off. He seems upset. Why was he at
Reign’s birthday party, anyway? I slip off my bike and take her gift out of my
pants pocket, walking up the entrance. As I approach the door, I glimpse her in
the window of the living room.

She’s laughing, cutting her beachy looking
birthday cake—which has flip flops and a dolphin on top of it—as everyone
cheers on. Her parents embrace her with pride. She’s beautiful.
Happy without me.
Then the thought occurs, maybe someone
like me shouldn’t be with a girl like Reign, a girl so innocent and untainted.

Suddenly I’m afraid to face her; fearful I might
ruin her night. She’s probably upset with me for not coming back when I say I
would, and now I show up and want to pick up where we left off. How
presumptuous of me. Maybe she doesn’t want to be with a guy so indecisive.
Maybe I don’t deserve her. Maybe I’m just not good enough for Reign.

Doubt clouds my mind so much I start to back
away from the house, walking down the concrete towards my bike. I glance at her
small gift in my hand, a necklace with our initials, and stick it back inside
my pocket, towing my bike away from her house.

I reach only a few steps before I hear her sweet
voice call my name.
“Micah?”

I freeze in my tracks and peer back nervously.
My God, she’s stunning. In fact, it’s frightening just how gorgeous this girl
is.

Reign slowly walks up to me. I park my bike and
meet her halfway. She glances over me as if to make sure I’m really here, then
sucks in a deep breath before saying, “I didn’t even know you were coming back,
yet you were just gonna leave again without saying a word. I don’t understand.
Why were you leaving? Why didn’t you come inside?”

“I thought you didn’t want to see me,” I tell
her, feeling like a complete ass. “I thought that…you were happy without me.”

“Happy?” she repeats, sounding insulted. “I’ve
been anything but happy for the last couple of days without you, Micah.”

“I’m sorry, that’s my fault I know, and I’m
truly sorry—”

“I love you!” she blurts out, her body shivers
as she penetrates me with those killer eyes of hers. “I’ve been wondering for a
while, what exactly this is, but I’m sure of it now. I love you, and I…” She
stops talking as tears trickle down her cheeks. “I hope you can love me too
because—”

Her words are muffled by my kiss. I couldn’t
hold back any longer, especially when she says she loves me.

Clutching to her for dear life, I kiss her some
more, satisfying the wait we’ve both had to endure. Man I’ve missed the sugary
taste of her mouth and the addictive smell of her body.

Her voracious grip on me sends lightening
through my veins. All I want to do is kiss her and make love to her until I have
nothing left, because clearly, I feel the same way and I need to get over
feeling like I don’t deserve something this good.

Easing her out of my arms, I catch my breath and
say, “I love you, too.”

She smiles from ear to ear and shakes her head
slowly. “You do?”

“Of course I do.”

I kiss her again, this time we move without
haste, only to break apart when her Dad calls out.
“Reign,
you all right, honey?”

Mrs. Aldridge walks down the entrance. She slows
in her steps once she sees me. “Well, I’ll be…” She smiles. “I’m glad you’re
back, Micah.”

“Hey, Mrs. Aldridge,” I wave awkwardly at her
because from Reign’s smeared lips, I’m sure her lipstick is all over my mouth.

She slants and starts to head back inside.
“Well, you two come inside then. We’re about to play some games.”

I look at the door, Mr. Aldridge nods at me then
slip back into the house.

“Is your dad mad at me?” I ask Reign, bringing
my gaze back to her.

“No,” she smiles and wipes off my mouth with the
palm of her hand. “Why, are you scared of facing him?”

“I kind of am,” I admit.

She takes my hand and tows me toward the house.
“It’ll be fine.”

“Oh, wait,” I stop her, taking her gift out of
my pocket. “This is for you.
Happy birthday, baby.”

A broad grin stretches across her face as she
opens the box and takes out the necklace with our initials. “Aw, thanks, Micah.”

I shake my head as I put it on for her. “No,
thank you.”

She meets me halfway for another sweet kiss.
Then we start walking again.

When we approach the concrete entrance and make
our way up to the front door, she asks me, “How was it meeting your mom for the
first time?”

I slide my arm around her waist as we step
inside, answering after a long breath, “It was…good. I’ll tell you all about it
later.”

Reign kisses me on the cheek before we walk into
the living room and join everyone else.

Now more than ever, I feel at ease and welcomed
into her circle of family and friends. I feel as if I’m right where I belong.

EPILOGUE

Reign

THERE AREN’T too many changes when Claudia and I
return from Florida two weeks later.
Captain’s Choice
still has its
name, Aislin decided to stay on board, since John and Clark are going to keep
working there, including Micah. Dean’s letting him stay after summer onward.

They did change the interior to orange and made
the outside dark though, but they decided to leave the cedar bar and mural
alone. Dean’s worked with Clark in adding a few more options to the menu, and
they’ve added a little platform for live acoustic performances. I think that’s
the best move because now artists like Allysen Callery can stop by. I can see
the benefit in doing that because the place has certainly gotten busier.

Mom finally decided to go back to working as an
advisor for teens. She’ll be joining the youth center in Newport this fall. She
seems more relaxed these days without the stress of owning a restaurant. And
she’s taken up a new hobby with Dad: Yoga. Mom enjoys it. Dad’s still getting a
hang of stretching his body so much.

As for me, I’m a few days away from starting my
freshman year in college and I’m roiling in anticipation. It’s a new chapter of
my life that I’m happy to take on, and even more thrilled that Micah is there
with me.

He’s been talking about his dreams more openly,
sharing things with me he was cautious about before. Like how he’s thinking
about being a fitness expert and even considering going to college next year.

He talks about his family a lot more too,
telling me about his sister back home, and how he’ll travel to Haxtun now and
then to visit her and his parents.

I feel like so much has happened between the two
of us and in our own individual lives over this summer alone.

For instance, I never imagined ever getting over
my fear of going into the ocean or stop feeling guilty over Mary’s death. But
there I am now, spending the radiant Sunday morning sailing around Newport
harbor on Aster with Micah. Claudia and Ryan are with us, they finally had a
talk and Ryan realized she was the girl he truly wanted to be with. John made
that step as well, confessing his feelings to Aislin and finally putting her
nerves at ease. They’re sailing with us too. Who knew life could turn out so
great?

The emotions I have are indescribable. There’s
no word that could possibly sum up just how happy I am and I feel I owe that a
great deal to Micah.

He glances at me with a huge grin on his
gorgeous face, as if he can read my mind. I don’t doubt it, because the love we
have is magical. In a sense, it’s like no other. It sparks a burst of
electricity in my tummy. It strengthens me, empowers me to take on my
challenges.

This kind of feeling is undeniable.
Incomparable.

It’s real.

This is our kind of love.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT