16. CODY

CODY

I picked her up twenty minutes ago and still haven’t said a word to her about where we’re going or what we’re doing. I can feel how nervous she is. She hates surprises almost as much as she hates sneaking out, but we were getting better at it. I’m so glad she found her rebellious side because it was hard to go those few hours after school without her.

She was wearing some adorable loose sweater that hung around her collarbone and showed off her shoulder. If I wasn’t driving, I would lean over and press my lips to the bare skin but I’d settle for being distracted because I had her in my truck, and life was good. My last paper was finished, sliding around on the dashboard as I took small corners. I finally found a memory to write about, getting over the fear that it had to be some grand childhood memory that shaped my entire life. I found my voice, picked a memory and just wrote.

It might not be good, but it’s finished, which was what mattered.

I had held up my side of the deal. I had finished all my missing assignments.

I could tell she was proud of me. She had read it quietly for the first half of the drive and asked me silly questions about certain moments, only to reward me with a small kiss at the only red light in town.

“Where are we going?” Lorraine asked as I finally pulled the truck off the highway toward one of the massive corn fields surrounding our town.

“You’re insanely impatient for a girl that only just started leaving her room on a regular basis,” I laughed and slowed the truck down to line up with the other cars.

I watched as she shifted in the seat, tucking her feet beneath her butt to raise up through the open window, her hair blowing around in the light breeze as her eyes twinkled.

“Is this the drive-in?” She asked me, sliding back down into her seat and I nodded at her as she closed the gap between us on the bench. “I’ve never been!” She squealed and kissed a peppered line of tiny kisses along my cheek to the corner of my mouth.

It was nearly impossible not to get distracted after that. The heat rose in my neck, and all I wanted to do was park the truck and kiss her back. But the line moved, and I put my hand out to push her gently back against the seat before I started to move again. The line moved at a creeping pace as people paid for their tickets.

Her body was pressed against the dashboard to peer out the front window at the giant screen. She wiggled the entire time we were in line and only settled down when I found a parking spot. “How are we supposed to watch a movie like this?” She asked when I backed the truck into the spot.

“Your excitement is clouding your sense,” I laughed and cut the engine. I hopped from the cab, moved to open her door, and helped her out. I led her around the back and popped the tailgate to show her the second part of my surprise. Blankets and a few pillows lined the bed.

She looked over at me with the stars in her eyes and smiled sweetly.

“Help me?” She asked, and without thought, I lifted her to the tailgate so she could get comfy, but not before wrapping my arms around her and tugging her impossibly close for a kiss. Her lips met mine with a slow and sweet smile. Rows of cars piled in around us, filling the parking lot with chatter and laughter until the movie started.

“The Outsiders?” Lorraine gasped as the movie started. “How did you know?”

“Your school-lent copy of it has seen better days, almost like you’ve read it a hundred times,” I said, proud of myself.

“I have,” she huffed and turned to me. “Thank you,” she said, “this is really nice.”

“Anything for you, Starlight,” I said without skipping a beat. “I’ll go grab us some snacks, stay here…” I reached around her and wrapped her in the blanket, tucking it into her hands to keep her warm.

The walk to the concession booth was quick, but the line was long. I spotted Landry standing a few people back from the window and skipped into the line with him, throwing my arm over his shoulder.

“Hey man,” he said, leaning into me with a smile. “You bring Lorraine out?”

I nodded, “I just came to grab her some popcorn. What are you doing here? You hate Patrick Swayze…” I looked him up and down.

“But little Cooper doesn’t,” Landry wiggled his eyebrows at me. “And what she wants, she gets.”

“I never thought I would see the day that a girl conquered Landry Matthews, let alone one as spacey and weird as Mary Cooper.” I laughed.

“I guess once you slow down and really take in your surroundings, you find things that have always been there,” Landry said in a tone I had never heard from him. It was quiet and genuine. I stared at him for a moment before pressing the back of my hand to his head.

“You sure you aren’t sick, buddy?” I teased as he pushed my hand away.

“I’m starting to think Coop has been keeping us away from his little sister for a good reason. She's funny , man, and honest…but in a way I can’t explain. She says shit, and it’s like it’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard. Even when it’s at my expense.”

“Sounds like you’re in love,” I told him as we approached the counter.

“Give me a week, and I’ll let you know when the fog clears,” Landry smiled and turned to the overly annoyed girl behind the counter. He ordered two of everything and paid. “My treat. Don’t tell Lorraine we’re here until the back half of the movie?” he asked me.

My brows furrowed in confusion.

“At least let me get in a makeout before this turns into a double date. Once Mary finds out she’s here, the conversation will never end.” Landry laughed and his usual irritation toward a girl isn’t there. It’s just a playful adoration.

“Alright,” I laughed and took my popcorn and the bottles of pop from him, awkwardly shoving them in my arms for the walk back to Lorraine. She was right where I left her, eyes wide, staring up at the big screen. The soft dialogue between Soda-pop and Darry floated through the open slide window of the cab.She looked so happy it clenched tightly in my chest. The sweet swoop of her nose and the delicate way her lips moved as she caught on to the writing that she recognized from the book. She was beloved and she had no clue.

“If I could spend the rest of my life watching you watch things you loved, I’d die a happy man, Rae,” I whispered to her over the hushed sounds of the movie as I climbed up into the bed. I handed her the popcorn and settled down behind her with my back against the cab before wrapping her up and pulling her against my chest.

She grumbled a little, her eyes' attention on the movie faltering as I got comfortable, but she relaxed against my chest, her fingers digging through the popcorn to find the buttered pieces.

“You know, Dally only ever wanted Johnny to succeed. He might have been a little rough and backward but they were family.” She said quietly with a few tears as Ponyboy read over Johnny’s last letter. “And he might have never seen one, but now he lives in the sunsets with Johnny. They’ll always be able to find them there. Robert Frost was wrong," she said.

"About what?" I asked her and kissed her shoulder.

"He said 'nothing gold can stay.' But he's wrong, gold can stay if we try hard enough to remember them being gold, they'll stay that way forever,” Her voice was choked up when she finished and I knew she was crying but instead of trying to make it better I just let her have the moment.

I couldn’t bear to tell her it was just a book; her words were so soft and she extended such a caring understanding to these fictional characters as if she was a part of their family. After reading a book so many times, I guess she believed she was heart and soul. A world where she was free… it would have made her laugh and cry like she had during the entire movie.

“One day, like Dally, you’ll become the stars,” I said to her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as the credits started to roll. “Not everyone will know you’re there or appreciate it but that’s where you belong. With the stars.”

Her body tensed in mine, but her fingers wrapped around my forearm as she tucked her face against my chest.

“Don’t cry more, Rae,” I said to her with a laugh.

“You can’t say the most profound, idiotic thing and expect me to keep my cool after watching Johnny die!” She practically wailed. I rested my hand on her hand, fingers curling into her hair as she tried to calm down.

“I love you,” I whispered against the top of her head.

“Even when I’m crying?” She grumbled.

“Especially.” I laughed.

It wasn't much longer before the screen went black, and I was helping her down from the truck bed and driving her home. I parked down the street and walked with her up to the house, standing just out of view of her front windows with my hand tangled into hers.

“They’re never going to accept that I’m some poor farmer kid,” I said quietly, my confidence shaking under the ominous mansion. Everything about it mocked my inability to provide her with that down the road. Our future would never look so rich.

“Since when do you care what they think?” She asked me as her fingers brushed my jaw and forced me to look at her.

“I only care about you,” I said. “I want out of this town, Rae, and I want to take you with me, but…” I scowled and took a moment to collect all of my scattered thoughts. “I’ll never be able to give you that,” I nodded to her perfect white fence and rose bushes.

“Good,” she laughed, the sound unexpected. “I don’t want to live or die in a house like that, cold and unwelcoming. Empty hallways and untouched furniture.”

“You don’t mean that you’re just trying to make me feel better,” I said, and she shook her head.

“Until you came along, there wasn’t a single person who had ever noticed me. Not the way you do…” she smiled up at me. “You took me to the drive-in tonight based on the sole fact that you’ve seen how well I read my copy of the book. That’s more than just throwing money at me and making me comfortable .” Lorraine said the last part with venom. “I want to live,” she said, “I want to laugh and love…I want to struggle and learn.” She added. “I want that with you. I don’t care where we go or where we live. As long as I have you and the stars, I’ll be happy.”

I stared at her, every word she said with confidence and a startling lack of hesitation.

“And I hate roses,” she said with a scoff, “lavender bushes, I want a thousand lavender bushes.”

“Alright, alright,” I threw my hands up in surrender. “Love and lavender bushes,” I said.