Realize

by MsButterFingers

With maturation comes change, and the Rocket gang has been through much. How much different are their lives six years after we last saw them? And how do they handle the change? "But I can't spell it out for you. No, it's never gonna be that simple." (Complete)

10. Magic

Hey y'all! As always, thanks so much for your support and general loveliness. I appreciate all of it so much!

Wow so…heh. Lengthwise, I kinda got carried away. Again. Whoops. But this chapter is full of lots of fun and fluff, so I guess…enjoy! (Edit: I added some teeny changes here and there, just some small details!)

Warning: This chapter contains swearing, teens drinking, and sexual themes. If any of those things bother you, take caution.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or settings from Rocket Power.

Sorry for any grammatical errors!

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Chapter Ten

-Twister's POV-

"We're here!" I announced, stopping my car where some other cars were parked at the start of the Pier and cutting the engine. I turned in my seat to look over at my girlfriend in the passenger seat. Regina Rocket, in all of her perfection. My freaking girlfriend.

A week ago, she had confessed her feelings to me, about three months after I had confessed to her with frantic, drunken abandon. At first, I had been positive that I'd made a mistake telling her how I felt, and that I had ruined everything between us, but she had only needed some time to fully process everything. Breaking up with her ex had brought a whole bunch of personal issues to the surface for her, and she just needed some time to sort through them all.

Her confession had shaken me up to my core, and hearing her say that she loved me was like nothing I'd ever experienced in my whole life. We'd only been together for a week now, and I was only beginning to wrap my mind around everything—that this was actually happening.

This whole week as a new couple had been full of shyness and exploring new territory, along with reactions from people ranging from complete disbelief to 'well, duh'. Already, it was better than anything I could have ever dreamed up. After years of pining and wanting and craving, I could finally, finally say that Reggie was mine.

I was so glad that I waited. She was more than worth the wait. I would wait a hundred more times for her if I had to.

And now we were having our first official date on Valentine's Day. Usually people have their first date before declaring their love for each other, but obviously that wasn't our style. I was extremely nervous, and had been ever since I walked over to her house and picked her up at her front door just minutes before. I'd also spent the entire morning getting ready worriedly—I'd brushed my teeth twice before leaving the house, taken two showers, put on extra deodorant and cologne and even blow dried my hair. I hoped it looked good—at least, I hoped it looked good underneath the backwards snapback I'd thrown onto my head last minute. Wearing a hat sometimes still gave me a sense of security—old habits die hard.

I'd waited ages to go on a date with Reggie, and I didn't want to screw it up.

"I still don't see why we drove. We could've walked here," Reg said to me dryly as she undid her seat belt. She smiled back good-naturedly, though. "You know, like we usually do with the other guys?" She always looked great, but today she somehow looked even better to me than usual. I couldn't stop staring at what she was wearing—light blue, ripped skinny jeans that looked like they were painted on her shapely legs, a short red sleeveless shirt with a white heart on it that showed her toned stomach, and her usual white sneakers, which always looked like she'd bought them the day before. Effortlessly sexy—but that's Reggie for you. Sexy without even trying.

"True," I said, giving her a sheepish grin and rubbing the back of my neck, nervous. "But I didn't know if the temperature outside was gonna be cool or not…and I didn't want you to get too cold after we leave later. And also I thought maybe your feet might be sore afterwards, and I just thought—"

"Maurice," Reggie cut off my flow of words with the use of my real name, immediately stunning me silent. It'd been a whole week since she'd first started calling me by my birth name, and I still wasn't used to it…in a good way. It made my heart pound. The way she said my birth name, with affection and sweetness instead of mockery, made me go weak in the legs and in the stomach and basically everywhere else. It made it feel like she really did see me differently now, as her boyfriend instead of 'just Twister'. She was now officially one of the very few non-family people allowed to call me by that name. She continued, placing a soft hand on the side of my face and looking me right in the eyes. "I was just joking. That was very considerate of you. Thank you."

I felt the familiar heat in my face, which basically hadn't left for the past week, and I changed the subject, waving off her gratitude. "Would you like to exchange Valentine's gifts now or later?"

"Let's do it now," Reg said, reaching down and pulling a large wrapped red rectangle from the tote bag at her feet. Likewise, I reached back behind my seat for a plain purple gift bag, and I unsteadily exchanged it for the rectangle in her hands. Due to my crappy wrapping, all she had to do was look inside the bag to see what it was. She looked back up at me, grinning. "Cookies?" She eagerly pulled out the zip-lock bag inside full of heart shaped peanut butter cookies.

I returned her grin, fidgeting. "Yeah," I cleared my throat. "They're peanut butter ones. My mom helped me make them for you. I hope they're good." I'd tried to get rid of the ones with most of the burnt spots—which were most of the ones I'd made by myself. The ones my mom had made turned out the best.

Her grin had turned into a full-out beam, her eyes practically sparkling as she looked at them. "I can't believe you made these for me. I'm sure they're amazing. Thanks." She set them down in her lap lightly, careful not to break them, and then pointed to her gift. "Open yours!"

I immediately tore into the wrapping paper, reminding me of how I opened her framed picture at Christmas and having a moment of déjà-vu. I smiled to myself. Who'd have thought that by the time Valentine's Day came that we would be together?

The package fell open. My jaw dropped. I gawked down at the gift in my hands.

"Well?" Reggie goaded, seeing my reaction. "Do you like it?"

"Oh my God," I said. I had to blink a few times to keep my eyes from tearing up with sheer joy. In my hands was the most beautiful Valentine's Day gift I had ever received from anybody—a limited edition jumbo milk chocolate bar filled with bacon. I took a deep breath, clutching the chocolate bar to my chest and looking up at her, having one of the many realizations I'd had so far that week that I had the best girlfriend in the entire world.

She was smug, smiling proudly and twirling one of her violet curls around her finger. She'd known how much I'd love it. "Do I know you, or do I know you?"

"You're the best," I managed to get out, grappling with my emotions as I stared down at it again. A lone word on the package shone out as if under a spotlight. BACON. I hadn't even known that bacon chocolate bars existed until now. My life was changed forever. "You're the freaking best."

"I know," she said. She leaned over, kissing me on the cheek softly, snapping me out of my trance and making the heat return to my face again. "Happy Valentine's Day."

#

Hand in hand, we walked under the front archway, entering Dream Park on the Pier.

I'd been in this park probably a thousand times ever since we were kids, but towards the end of last year, it had gone through a huge revamp. Tons of rides had been added, along with more food and game stands, and all of the old rides had gotten new paint. They'd done it to appeal to more of the tourists—or as we always used to call them, Shoobies—who usually ended up clogging up the beach and Madtown in giant, socks-and-sandal-footed, visor-wearing, fanny-pack-wielding mobs. But today, it was perfect: not too crowded, but not too empty either. And after the makeover, now it was lively, colorful and almost like brand new. None of us had gotten the chance to come after all of the upgrades were finished, so it was really like visiting a brand new amusement park.

After we bought our tickets to the park and entered, Reggie and I looked around us in awe.

"I hardly recognize this place," Reggie said, lowering her red, heart-shaped sunglasses to get a good look. "It looks even better than it was before."

I smiled to myself in pride. It'd been a good decision to come here after all. "Looks like we have a lot of new rides to go on. What do you want to try first?"

She turned in my direction, peering over her glasses, and then smiled mischievously, pushing her sunglasses back over her eyes. "Everything," she said. She suddenly spotted a ride somewhere behind me and tugged on my hand, pulling me in its direction. "Oh man, we gotta try this one! Come on!"

"Okay," I said, letting myself be dragged. It took me a moment to process which ride we were headed towards, because all I saw was its' semi-long line, but finally I saw it looming high above us—a new metal roller coaster called The Brain Liquefier where the rider's feet dangle in the air. We stood in line for about ten minutes, hands linked and talking as the sun beat down on our heads and I relished in the envious looks that nearby dudes our age were sending me. 'Yeah, that's right.' I thought at them, self-satisfied. 'You can look all you want. But she's my girl. Be jealous. Seethe in envy.'

Trying to seem as casual as possible, I slung an arm around her shoulders, the same way I had done a few times earlier that week at school (to Otto's discontent). I peeked down at her face, and she was trying to hide a grin with her hand, turning a little pink underneath her huge sunglasses. Nope, still hadn't gotten old.

Finally it was our turn to get onto the ride, and we sat next to each other, sharing a car with two middle school girls. Seeing the looks they were giving me, Reggie sat in-between them and I, with me on the end. I snorted as we pulled down the guard and secured our seat belts. I murmured low so that only she could hear me, "You don't have to worry. They're a little young for me." I paused as she rolled her eyes, leaning close until my nose brushed her ear. "Besides, I've always liked older women more."

Just as she whipped her head around to gape at me in astonishment, the ride started—our car speeding forward with the clickety-clack of the tracks and the sound of my laughter.

#

We ambled away from the ride with wind-blown hair and flushed faces. I proclaimed, "That was the best!"

"You mean the greatest!"

"It was so fast, and those loops—"

She interjected with a hoot of exhilaration. "I totally thought I was gonna die!"

"Me too!" I shouted, and two older women walking by shot me looks of irritation. I cringed away from their glares in slight embarrassment. "Sorry," I muttered at them.

Reggie threw her head back and laughed. It was one of her rare hard, stomach-clutching, vein-standing-up-in-her-forehead laughs that I liked so much. "Just ignore them. Sticks in the mud," she said to me in between gasps of air, not bothering to lower her voice. Her laughter subsided and then she took my hand again, lacing hers with mine, leading me towards a stand. "We have to look at our picture. I bet we look crazy."

We stopped in front of the photo stand and looked at the screen where pictures from our turn on the ride were showing. Suddenly we appeared onscreen, and both of us burst into laughter this time. In the picture, both of us were screaming, our hands clutched together and held up in the air along with our other hands, and my other hand was holding my hat in it tightly so that it wouldn't fly away. It would almost be the perfect roller coaster picture—if the long part of my hair hadn't flopped down into my eyes, covering almost my whole face.

"My hair!" I exclaimed, pointing at myself in the picture and groaning. "I look totally lame."

"Your hair? What about mine? Look at it!" She pointed at herself onscreen, and when I looked I couldn't help but snicker. It was wild, wilder than usual, and blowing in all different directions. It didn't look bad, though. Actually, it almost looked like a fan was blowing it, like she was in a photoshoot or something. How did she do that?

"At least yours isn't in your face," I pointed out. I pulled my wallet out from my back pocket. "Let's buy it. You want just a photo or a keychain?"

She just looked at me for a moment, surprised, and then her smile was glowing. "A photo, so I can frame it." Reggie moved toward me without warning, taking my arm closest to her and hugging it to her body, hoisting up on her tip toes to rest her chin on my shoulder cutely. "You really don't have to."

My heart pounded hard at her sudden display of affection, making me shy for a moment or two. With Trent she used to be publicly affectionate, but I never expected she would ever be this way with me. I was having another moment where I was truly realizing that we weren't just friends anymore, we were a couple now, and it was the greatest feeling in the world. I was never going to get used to it. "Anything for you," I said to her softly. I handed a five over to the cashier sitting in the booth, requesting, "Two pictures, please."

The cashier gave us a voucher to pick up the pictures later, and we headed off to some of the other rides. We went on the Tilt-A-Whirl, the Sky Torpedo, then the bumper cars for nostalgia's sake, and then we went on this ride that spins you upside down over and over and over again and I was really glad that I hadn't eaten right before we came. After that, we decided to buy a cotton candy to share and then wandered around the game booths.

The day was unseasonably warm. It was the afternoon, but the sun was still burning bright, along with completely clear skies. No wonder there were crowds of locals everywhere today. The season of hibernation was ending, and everyone was coming out to play. It was a sign that spring was definitely on its' way early this year.

"Wait," I stopped suddenly at a game booth; it was a game where the player had to throw tennis balls at a faraway target. "I'm gonna win you something."

Reggie stopped with me, eyeing the game herself and then raising her eyebrows at me and grinning. "Are you sure about that?"

I sniffed. "Yeah, why not? It'll be easy. Watch." I squeezed her hand and then let go of it, walking right up to the smug-looking guy in the booth. I slapped down a five. "One round of balls, my dude."

The guy chuckled under his breath, pushing a small box of twelve tennis balls toward me. "Good luck, kid. You'll need it."

Shaking off his comment, I picked up my first ball, staring down the target. It was awfully small. It had looked bigger a moment ago. And it was really far away. Mustering up my strength, I threw the ball with all of my might. Whomp—it flew into the padded wall behind the target.

"That was close," Reggie commented behind me. "Maybe try to aim more to the left?"

"You're right, more to the left," I agreed, reaching back into the box for my second ball. "I got this, I got this." Aiming more to the left, I summoned up my strength, clenched my muscles, threw the ball and—it flew into the padded wall on the left side of the target. My shoulders sagged.

A moment of silence. "That was still really close!" My girlfriend said with a little too much enthusiasm. The dude running the booth opened a can of soda, taking a drawn out, noisy sip.

"Come on," I said to myself, picking up another ball and clenching my teeth. I threw this one, and it fell too short, sailing directly underneath the target. I quickly threw another one, and it fell even shorter. Booth Dude laughed loudly. His attitude was adding to my mortification at not being able to hit the target, further riling me up, and I grabbed my fifth ball and threw it wildly. It went directly over the target, again striking the wall behind it. "Dammit!" I shouted.

Smug Booth Dude was even smugger, drinking his soda and eyeing me like I was some sort of out of shape weakling, even though he himself had a beer gut. "Told you you'd need that luck," he said to me.

Suddenly Reggie was right next to me, lifting her sunglasses to rest on top of her head, glaring at him and folding her arms. "Excuse you? There's no need to be rude. He's trying his best." A few people walking by had stopped to watch this exchange, sensing a conflict. I wished they would keep walking. My face was flushed red in frustration and shame.

He laughed loudly again, laughed so hard that it dissolved into coughs. "I'm just being honest, Princess. Your little boyfriend can't throw for shit." He took another sip of his soda, waving his hand at her dismissively. "Though it's not like you could do better." The small crowd around us chorused in 'ooh's.

My mouth dropped open. Oh. Oh no. He did not just say that. Not to my girlfriend. I was fuming, but I was not the person he should've been the most worried about at that moment. I looked down at Reggie. Her face was a terrifying scarlet, her eyes narrowed. "What did you just say to me?" She grabbed the box of balls from my grasp, nudging me to the side in a gentle way despite her rare temper currently making an appearance. "Excuse me, sweetie. I need to make this son of a bitch eat his words."

"Oh, what's this? Is Princess gonna try to throw? Ooooh, I'm so scared!" Booth Dude's voice had grown in volume, the mocking tone grown stronger, and I felt the glower on my face, my fists clenched tightly at my sides. I wanted to punch him in his stupid face so bad. But then we'd probably be kicked out of the park, or arrested, and that would probably ruin our first date.

Besides, I knew Reg would show him. She would do it the way she always proved people wrong. She picked up a ball, gripping it hard, and backed up a few steps, staring hard at the target in absolute concentration. I recognized the fire in her eyes. I stepped back too, giving her some space.

"If this tiny thing could even graze that target with a ball, I swear, I would give her two prizes." He laughed again, cackling and hacking, looking around at the crowd to get them to laugh too. "But there's no way in hell that's gonna happ—"

Wham—the sound of the target being hit at warp speed. I swiftly turned my head to look. Alarms sounded off along with lit signs flashing the words, 'Bull's-eye! Top prize!' all over the booth. The crowd erupted in loud applause and 'wow's around us. Pride rose up and exploded inside of me like an entire firework show. I gaped at her in wonder. I'd had no doubt she was going to be able to do it, but the bull's-eye? In one try?

She was remarkable.

Arms folded and head held high, superiority in her eyes and completely radiant with confidence, Reggie turned slowly towards Booth Dude, whose face had gone slack in incredulity and had dropped his soda can onto the ground. She scrutinized him with the poised gaze of a lioness. "You were saying?" She held up two pretty, manicured fingers. "Two prizes, right?"

She was back. Officially.

Reggie Rocket had fully returned in all of her glory.

Forced to own up to the promise he'd made in front of a whole crowd of people, Booth Dude resentfully let us pick out one prize each—two matching medium-sized stuffed green aliens with giant heads, both holding plushy red hearts in their hands. We walked away from that booth, hand in hand, and as we did, I wondered how I ever got so lucky to be able to be with her.

We spend the rest of the afternoon away from the games area, going on all of the other rides instead—literally, all of them. Not wanting to waste any more of our day, and Asshole Booth Guy already pushed to the back of our minds, we went on every ride the park had to offer, even going on every roller coaster twice. As the sun started setting, turning the sky a purple-y pink, we got a bite to eat; both of us got some pizza and then shared a funnel cake afterwards.

Sometime after we finished eating, we were just walking around, swinging our clasped hands in between us and holding our aliens in our other hands. Dream Park looked different in the dark; all of the rides and booths were alit with fluorescent, blinking lights, like a nighttime wonderland, and though the crowd had thinned out some, people were wearing glowing hats and necklaces and bracelets.

I stopped in front of a man selling glow bracelets, buying one for Reg that she liked—it was a bunch of flashing hearts strung together. I put it onto her wrist myself, holding her hand in one of mine and slowly sliding the bracelet onto her arm with my other. My fingers brushed against the bare, smooth skin of her arm, and I lingered there for a moment, taking a glimpse at her face as my heart thudded in my chest. She looked bashful, smiling and blinking down at her new bracelet. Her eyes landed on my fingers on her arm for a long, loaded moment, and she swallowed hard, looking back up at me. "Thank you."

The only ride we hadn't gone on all day, the revamped and rainbow-colored Ferris wheel, was looming above us, and we decided to get in line for it. The line was a bit longer than the lines for the other rides, because the Ferris wheel was always the best to ride at night; you could see everything from up there, and at night there was no sun glare.

After about fifteen minutes, it was our turn to get on, so we climbed inside our cabin—it was the round fitted kind that you walk into, enclosed with plastic window panes, and two people have to sit on opposite sides of it so that it isn't imbalanced or slanted to the side. We unlocked hands, sat on opposite sides of the cabin with our aliens in hand, looking longingly at each other across the dimly lit space between us as the operator shut and locked the small door.

We were silent for a moment as the wheel started to move and then abruptly stopped so that the next riders could get in the cabin after ours. "Well this sucks," Reggie said suddenly, breaking the silence.

I was relieved she'd said it first. "I know, huh?" I replied with a sigh. "You're too far away."

The ride started and then jerked to a stop abruptly again. "So are you," she said to me, pouting. Oh God, that was a cute face she was making. She nudged my big shoe with her smaller one, snapping me out of my transfixed gaze. "I guess that's why people usually go on the Ferris wheel last, right? So the boring ride doesn't ruin the middle of their amusement park trip." She smiled at her own joke cheekily.

I sat up straighter on the bench I sat on, grimacing. "Speaking of stuff being ruined," I started, my voice trailing off.

Her smile dropped, and I knew she immediately knew what I was talking about. She groaned and then said, "Maurice, please don't worry about it. That guy was an ass, that's all."

Stomach jumping at the use of my real name again, I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. "He was. I hated the way he talked to you. I was going to step in and do something, I'm serious—I really was about to knock him out." The wheel moved again, and then stopped.

Reggie leaned forward too, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. "There was no need for that, anyway. He wasn't worth it." The side of her mouth quirked upward. "But thanks for thinking about doing it."

"He upset you," I said, my frown deepening.

"It's over now," she said gently. She leaned forward even more and reached a hand out for me, and I stretched a hand out to meet hers. They clasped together again. "I've already forgotten about it. And he didn't ruin anything, I promise." She squeezed my hand, a full smile on her lips this time. "This is the best first date I've ever had."

My heart skipped a beat at this bit of information. "Really? It is?"

"Yeah. And the best Valentine's Day I've ever had, too." She confessed.

The Ferris wheel suddenly sprung to life again, starting and then stopping. We were almost at the top now. We could not only see the amusement park lights from where we were, but we could also see the lights from the city, and the moonlight reflecting off of the still ocean.

"I've never spent Valentine's Day with a girl before." I'd said it before I could stop myself, and as soon as it was out, I cringed at myself, looking out the window at the moon. That sounded so dumb out loud. It made me sound like such a loser.

"You haven't?" Reg sounded surprised. "What about that girl you dated for a little while a few years ago? That girl your parents set you up with?"

I groaned. I was hoping she'd just conveniently forgotten about that. "That was over the summer. And it was only for a few months, anyway."

Maria Lopez, my first and last girlfriend right after my freshman year. She was the youngest daughter of some friends of the family, and my parents, along with one of my tias, had practically coerced me into dating her. Both of our families wanted us to date so badly, so we just got together for their sake. Worst mistake of my life. She was immature, and sometimes vicious, and I was immature and bitter over my feelings for Reggie, and by the time we'd broken up, we hated each other. We hadn't spoken since, not even at huge family functions that they'd be invited to occasionally. Also, her parents kind of hated me now. Couldn't say I blamed them.

"I was jealous of her, you know," she said unexpectedly. I quickly looked back over at her, and she was biting her lip, looking a little embarrassed herself. "Really jealous."

The wheel moved and then jerked to a stop again. Reggie reached for the pole that was down the middle of the cabin to steady herself, then reached back and steadied her alien lying on the bench behind her.

Well, that was brand new information. Forgetting my own embarrassment, I scooted closer to her. Our legs were tangled up together in the middle of the cabin, her jeans pressed against my jeans, and it was getting hard to ignore it. "Why didn't you say something?" I tried to think back, but I didn't recall ever noticing her being jealous. Of course, I'd never noticed that she'd liked me either, so no wonder.

She snorted. "I mean, I didn't want to ruin your chances with her or anything. You seemed…happy." She paused, looking down at her white sneakers as her expression faded into staidness. "It was around then that I'd started hanging out with…him more."

Something inside of me tugged with a sting. I remembered that part. That was when their crushes on each other had begun to progress into something more, and I stood at a distance, watching it and breaking a little more each day. I squeezed her hand, gazing at her downcast face. "I dated her for all the wrong reasons. Every single day that I dated her, it felt wrong. Every single day, I thought about how I should've been with you instead. I want you to know that."

Reg looked up at me again, her eyes soft and glassy and vulnerable. It melted me. "Do you mean that?"

I leaned even closer, barely even touching the seat anymore. "Of course." We were leaning so far that our faces were much closer now, inches apart. With my free hand, I slowly reached up and stroked the smooth skin of her cheek with the back of my fingers. Her eyes slowly slid shut, leaning her head into my hand, and I held it. The light from her flashing bracelet, along with the flashing lights from the park and the moonlight from the window danced across her features, creating shadows and soft angles. So beautiful that it was almost devastating. My breathing had slowed. "Mi cosa más hermosa," I whispered, "What have we been doing this whole time?"

She sighed soundlessly through her nose, her eyes still shut. "We were really clueless," she whispered back. Her eyes opened up again, hooded and dark, and locked right onto mine. "But that's the past now."

The air around us felt heavy, like it had during most of the day, but it was even more potent now. Undeniable.

I drew closer to her, and she drew closer to me, like two magnets pulling together. Her eyes slid shut again, and I tilted my lips toward hers as my eyes shut; years of intense feelings along with months of built up tension crashed down, and the distance between us closed up.

Our 2nd first kiss was much different from our real first kiss a week ago in the Shack—that one had been so quick, so unexpected that it almost felt like it hadn't actually happened. This one was unhurried, and tender, and sweet, the way I'd always imagined kissing her for the first time. Her lips were otherworldly. She tasted like mint and her favorite cherry lip balm and traces of powdered sugar. Nothing else existed anymore.

That is, until the Ferris wheel jolted into motion again. The sudden movement startled us apart as we lost our balance momentarily, both of us grabbing onto the pole in the middle of the cabin with noises of surprise. This time, though, it didn't stop—it trudged around at full speed, sending us into a dizzying world of spinning lights and sounds.

We looked around us, dazed, and then at each other for a moment. Then we laughed, coming in toward each other again. Our lips eagerly reconnected, fitting together like pieces of a puzzle. Reggie cradled my face in her hands as I embraced the back of her head, my fingers tangling in her hair. Everything else faded away all over again.

We kissed until the ride operator yelled at us to get out, and then we grabbed our matching aliens and got out of there. Running, hand in hand, to the closed, dark food court area of the park, we squeezed behind the ice cream stand where no one would find us. I pushed her up against the back wall of the stand, and she wrapped her legs around my waist so I could hoist her up to my height. And then we kissed some more, hungrily and urgently, hands grabbing and tugging at each other as our hearts beat wildly. I'd never kissed anyone like this before—like my soul was going to fall apart if I didn't. But before I hadn't wanted to kiss anyone this way, unless they were her. Unless they were Regina.

Half an hour later, we forced ourselves to stop—our lips were sore and raw, it had grown cool outside with the familiar nip in the air once again, and we didn't want to get locked inside the park. It was still technically winter after all, and they always closed up earlier in the winter.

After picking up the roller coaster pictures we'd bought earlier, we headed back to my car, where I saw the bacon chocolate bar sitting in the backseat and got I excited about it all over again. As I drove the short drive back to Ozone Street, we held hands, and we kissed at every red light along the way.

When we arrived, I stalled the car in front of the Rocket house, and then reluctantly undid my seatbelt. "I'll walk you to your door," I said to her.

She got out of the car, grabbing her tote bag and putting her bag of heart-shaped peanut butter cookies inside it. She watched as I got out too, walking around to where she stood, and then she threw her arms around my neck, standing on her toes. "I don't wanna leave," she said, pouting. It was so cute when she did that. Damn it.

I wrapped my arms around her waist, grinning at the thought that she didn't want our first date to end. I didn't want it to end either. However, I had a reputation to uphold. I had to be a good, responsible boyfriend—unlike her last one. I said, "You know Otto and Raymundo are waiting for the exact moment you walk back through that door."

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "I know. It's not like they have anything to worry about."

Taking a quick glance at the nearest window of the house, and seeing that the coast was clear, I leaned down quickly, stealing another kiss. "Don't you have work at the Shack tomorrow?" I asked her in a subdued voice.

Reggie groaned. "Don't remind me." She stole a kiss from me this time. "I wish I didn't have to."

"I'll come see you. I could help out if it's too busy," I kissed her again. "Gotta support my baby."

She made a little whining noise. "You're so cute," she said.

"No, that's you."

"Can't you come in and hang out for a little bit?"

I paused, thinking it over seriously for a moment or two, and then I laughed to myself. "I don't think Otto would appreciate that. You know he's been a little weirded out by us lately. And if we got caught in your room alone, Raymundo would throttle me. No thanks."

She sighed again. She knew I was right. Her eyes gazed up into mine dejectedly, pausing for just a moment, and then she reached up and kissed me again, longer and lingering this time. "Goodnight," she said after we broke apart.

I swallowed hard. Was I ever going to get used to her lips? Because it felt like I wasn't going to, not for a million years. "Goodnight," I said back unsteadily, and when she leaned up and kissed me again, without unlocking our lips, I tightened my grip around her waist and lifted her off her feet, carrying her to her front door. I set her back down on her feet again as she squealed and swatted me, and I broke our kiss and laughed. "Go inside before we both get in trouble."

She laughed but slumped back against the front door in defeat. "Fine," she said with an unfairly sexy simper, and after inserting her key and unlocking the door, she turned the door knob leisurely. "You'd better call me."

"You know I will," I told her, returning her smirk and watching her open the door at a snail's pace, her eyes never once leaving me. I paused. Then, as if completely against my will, I stepped forward, closing the distance between us once again. "Just one more!"

She met my lips with hers, our arms wrapped around each other as we kissed goodnight once more, ending the best first date and best Valentine's Day of my life.

---

-Reggie's POV-

"Baby? I have another question."

I placed my pointer finger by the last sentence I read in my book, then I looked over at my boyfriend, who was sitting at his desk and peering at me from over the top of his math notebook, which he held up in front of his face. I looked at him dryly. "What is it this time?"

Maurice held up the problem he'd written down on the page. "How do you solve these types of equations, again? It's so complicated, I can never remember the order."

I sighed, waving him over. "Come over here, I'll show you again." He shot up from his desk, climbed onto his bed where I was sitting, and settled into my side, making himself comfy against me as I showed him how to solve for x, step by step, and then I made him solve the next equation as I watched.

It'd been about three weeks since our first date, and afternoons like these had become the new normal. We'd taken up having study dates at his house during the week, since after school his house was nearly always empty and quiet with his mom at work. He'd convinced me to come over to his house by promising to keep his room clean, unlike before when it smelled like stale food and socks. I also had a feeling that he liked me coming over because it helped him feel more comfortable in his noticeably emptier house. I did notice a new, cold emptiness to his home, a huge contrast to the familiar warm boisterousness of the years before. It made me sort of sad.

Most of the time, the studying part of our study dates proved unsuccessful. This time, though, I had to start studying for midterms, and I had a big research paper due in a few days in English. I needed to finish reading and taking notes for this last book for mine—A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. It was semi-hefty reading, so I'd banished him to his desk instead of letting him cuddle up next to me on the bed like he usually did…although he kept finding excuses to come back over to where I was. Like he was now.

I watched him complete the equation, slowly but correctly. I smiled up at him. "There you go, that's right. You got it, I knew you'd get it."

"Thanks for helping me." Maurice looked down at me, moving his arm around my shoulders leisurely and letting his fingers brush against the sensitive side of my neck almost as if by accident, but I knew it was no accident. "Do I get a reward for getting it right?"

I bit the inside of my cheek, suppressing a knowing smile. I held my hand up, palm facing him. "High five, dude!"

He groaned, frowning miserably as the back of his head thumped against his bed's headboard. "Reg."

I looked at him innocently. "You don't want a high five?" I loved teasing him. He always reacted hilariously. I held my fist out instead. "Fist bump? No?"

"No." He brought his face down gently against the top of my head, smushing into my hair and tightening his arm around me. "You smell sooo good," he lamented.

Straightening up at the compliment, I grinned. "Thank you." Steeling up again, I pointed at his desk. "Now get back to your homework. Over there."

For a moment he stayed right where he was, with his face in my hair, and then he slowly let go of me and grudgingly got off of his bed, sulking back over to his desk and dropping down into his chair again, looking like a scolded puppy. It was almost enough for me to give in, but I held my ground, digging right back into my book.

Five minutes later, there came the sound of his voice from his desk again. "Baby?"

Placing my finger where I left off, I glanced up at him tiredly. "Yes?"

He was still holding his pencil, but he held it between his hands, fidgeting with it, letting me know he hadn't actually been writing anything with it. "Are you almost done?"

"With my book?"

"Yeah."

Keeping a finger on the page I was on, I flipped through it to the back. The book was 200 some pages, and I was on page 100. "Not really."

"Oh."

He stayed quiet for a few long, drawn out moments, so I read the next sentence on the page, and the next, and the one after that.

A few minutes later, he spoke up again. "Reg?"

I didn't look up at him this time. I sighed. "Yes?"

"You look really sexy when you're reading. I just wanted to tell you."

My heart leapt in spite of myself, and I bit my lip, holding back a smile. "How does someone look sexy while reading?" I hadn't even realized that he'd been watching me.

I heard him turn away from his desk and put his mechanical pencil down. "You just do. Your hair falls down over your face, sometimes you bite your lips, and you frown a little bit, and you stare at the pages so intensely. You look so…intelligent. I don't know. It's so sexy. I wish I could enjoy books the way you do."

I turned my head, looking at him, and he was staring unreservedly at me with a half-lidded, enticing gaze, his chin leaned on his hand. Well. Now I was distracted and turned on.

I swallowed thickly, biting my lip again. Knowing there was no way I could go back to concentrating on my book now, I dog-eared the page and closed it. I was giving up for now. "You know what's even better than reading? Getting good grades." I set my book down and looked at him pointedly.

He looked down at my book, now lying on his bed. "Sorry," he did look a little guilty, at least. "I'll let you concentrate."

I shook my head. "It's okay. I think it's time for a short break, anyway." I patted the space on the bed next to me. I was giving in yet again. He sure made it easy. "Come sit." He scrambled back over to the bed eagerly, climbing toward me and then engulfing me in his arms as I giggled. We arranged ourselves into a comfortable cuddle position, my legs across his lap with me leaning partially against his chest. I sighed again. "If our study dates keep going like this, at this rate, I probably won't even graduate in a few months."

He snorted. "Don't be ridiculous. Of course you're gonna graduate. It's me we should be worried about." He laughed at himself, and his breath blew across my face pleasantly.

"I'm sure you'll be fine," I reassured him. Reaching up, I pulled his shark tooth necklace out from underneath his t-shirt. I toyed with it, rolling it between my pointer finger and thumb. "Hey. What do you want to do?"

I felt him look down at me. "What do you mean?"

I stared at the shark tooth, holding it in my palm. "Like…who do you want to be after high school? What do you want to do with your life?"

"Wow, Reg. Keeping the conversation nice and light. Totally not heavy at all."

I chuckled silently, dropping his necklace. "Sorry. I was just wondering, that's all."

"No, it's cool." He swallowed, and with my ear leaned on his shoulder, it sounded extra loud. "I uh…want to be a videographer, obviously. But I do want to go to college. I know it seems like I don't, but I do."

I shifted, leaning up to look at him. "Really?" I was surprised. He'd never mentioned this before.

"Yeah, really." He grinned down at me, looking slightly awkward at my surprise. "You guys think I hate school but…okay well, I do, but I want to learn more about video production in college. I want to produce some day, or maybe even be a director. I want to go to film school."

My mouth was dropped open. I was touched that he was sharing this with me. "Maurice, that's wonderful. You could do that. You've already been doing that your whole life." My voice got softer. "I didn't know that was your dream."

He shrugged his shoulders as if it didn't matter, but I knew it did. "I've only ever told Otto. He was against it, though. He wants me to be his personal videographer forever, I guess." He forced a laugh, but I could hear the hurt behind it.

I sat up fully, and his arms fell off of me. "Screw what Otto says," I said, annoyed at my brother once again showing his selfish tendencies. "You want it. It's your dream. Go for it. You deserve to exist outside of Otto's life, you know." I hadn't meant to sound as blunt as I did, but Maurice took it in stride.

"You're right. I do." He looked up at me, his face gentle. "And I will. I'm gonna go for it. But first I have to work on getting through the rest of junior year and surviving senior year." He held his arms out again, looking at me unhappily. "Come back."

Laughing, I leaned back onto him again, and his arms closed around me. "You can do it. I know you can."

Maurice flipped my question back on me. "So, what do you want to do? Your graduation is closer than mine. You've got a lot to think about."

"Yeah, I do," I sighed. "Well, I'm sure you could guess. I want to be a writer. I want to write for some big newspapers and magazines, and maybe someday be the head editor of one. Like I was with my own magazine when I was younger." I paused, looking up at him again. "Remember 'The Zine'?"

"Of course I remember. It was a huge hit." He reached one of his hands down and poked me in the side. "And how could I forget that revenge issue you released that had me and Otto's embarrassing secrets in it, not to mention our asses? Lars never let us live that down."

I laughed and squirmed as he poked me again. "God, I miss it. It was so fun to just write what I wanted and do my own thing. No adult-life worries to think about."

"You could do that now, you know." He said. "You can still write on your own terms. You're just graduating high school, it's not like you're 40, or something. You could make another magazine. Or you could be a blogger!" He snapped his fingers at his own idea. "You'd be a great blogger. People really like your writing, and you have the personality for it."

Me, a blogger? Hmm. "I've never considered that before. I guess I didn't consider it to be real writing, or something. I don't know." I paused heavily this time. "I'm just…starting to worry about all that stuff, you know? I feel like I haven't prepared long enough and it's coming on too fast."

I looked at him, and he was frowning. "What's there to prepare for?"

I heaved a long, miserable sigh. I hated talking about this. "Well, first off, I've applied to some schools, but I don't know where I actually want to go. And once I go to one, I don't know what I want my major to be—I mean, probably English. But then what? And then there's money. I'm pretty sure I've missed almost all the opportunities for scholarships by now, unless I can manage to get a last minute one. And even though I've been saving up money from working at the Shack, I still don't have that much saved up, and I know Dad has to pay for my college and Otto's, so I don't know what I'm going to do!"

"Whoa," Maurice said, interrupting the next stream of words about to leave my mouth. "Wow. Okay. That's a lot on your plate. I didn't realize preparing for college was so…complicated."

I groaned, my face falling forward into my open hands in frustration. "You're telling me. I'm usually on top of things, but this? I feel like I'm so behind."

"Hey," he said, his voice mild. "You'll figure it out. You always do. And whatever you end up doing, I'll support you. We all will." Crooking a finger under my chin, he gently lifted my face so that I would look at him. His eyes were somber. "You're the almighty Reggie Rocket. El magnífico reina de Rocket. This is nothing you can't handle."

My pulse skipped as I stared at him. "Did you just call me the magnificent Queen Rocket?"

Some of the intense seriousness melted off of his face, and a small grin replaced it. "Yeah, I did. You understood?"

I was positively flustered. "My Spanish isn't that good, but yeah, I understood it." My eyelids fluttered, my face heating. He called me Queen Rocket. I could get used to that. "I know it's a cliché, but your Spanish is so damn hot."

He was smiling ear to ear now, glowing proudly. "You like it when I speak Spanish? Really? I thought that was a stereotype."

"In your case, it isn't. It's just hot. Really, really hot." I'd always thought that, but never dared to tell him.

My boyfriend cupped my face, leaning his face down closer to mine. "Escucha esto Español. Mi novia, mi adoracion, mi preciosa, mi amor. Eres la mujer de mis sueños. Estoy desesperadamente enamorado de ti." My pulse was soaring, and my heart leapt into my throat as his lips grazed my forehead, then the tip of my nose. Then he leaned close to my ear, his lips flush with my ear lobe. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Quiero besar todas las partes de tu cuerpo. Te deseo mucho." Softly, he kissed the spot on my neck just under my ear lobe, my pulse racing against his lips. "You like that?"

My whole face and all of my veins were burning. My head was swimming, and it felt like my entire body was throbbing. "I didn't understand most of that," I admitted, clearing my throat. But damn, was it hot. And I swore I heard the word 'kiss' in there somewhere.

Placing one last kiss on the side of my neck, Maurice moved his face back in front of mine, scrunching his nose up at me teasingly. His eyes flashed with wickedness. "Good."

Oh God. I should have never told him how hot it was. Now he was probably going to torture me with it all the time. "Come on," I said, frowning. "Tell me what you said."

"Nope."

"Please?"

Amused, he shook his head slowly, clearly savoring all of this. "You're just going to have to improve your Spanish." He leaned in toward me again, holding my gaze. "But for now, I could tell you something you can understand."

My heart's speed was positively erratic. "Then say it," I said.

Looking more than just a little impish now, his eyes darker than usual, all he said was one word. "Bésame." Kiss me.

He didn't have to tell me twice.

I closed the remaining inch between us, my mouth colliding with his. Lying down on the bed, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down on top of me, and he delicately turned us over so that I was on top instead, my body flush against his.

Before, kissing my ex had been…nice. It was fun. It was playful and flirty, and it felt good. Despite what else had happened in our past relationship, and how corrupt it became, I could at least admit to that.

But kissing Maurice…was an experience. It was like my brain shut down, and the entire world shifted and spun around and flipped over. With his lips on mine, I couldn't remember my own name. I couldn't even think straight. I felt drunk. And I never wanted it to stop. I had never been kissed that way before.

The way he kissed me—it was like he fit with me perfectly. He knew exactly how to hold my head in his hands, knew exactly how to move his lips and tongue against mine to make me ache with vulnerability, knew exactly when to breathe when I did so that our breath moved in time with each other—we breathed the other in and breathed the other out. We just melted together.

Kissing Maurice felt as natural as blinking and moving. It felt like we were always meant to kiss each other. If I'd known kissing him would be like this, I wouldn't have waited so long to do it.

We stayed like that for at least an hour, until we heard the front door slam. My lips had started hurting, all of the natural light had disappeared from his window, and we were bathed in darkness. Since it was early March, the sun still set early.

I lifted off of him, leaning up on my elbows. "What time is it? Is that your mom?" My voice sounded ragged.

He was holding his head and looking dazed, appearing to be trying to think straight. "I don't know," his voice sounded husky. It nearly made me jump him again. He took his phone out from his pocket and squinted at its' screen. "It's only 5:40. She's usually not home by now, she's early."

I started to move off of him. "We should go see her."

"No, wait." He kept me from leaving with an arm around my waist, pulling me back down onto him. "Let's just stay in here."

"She's going to come in here and catch us like this, you know." I told him, smirking. "You don't want that, do you?"

He shrugged, seeing my point. "No," he said. He sighed. "I just…kind of don't want to deal with her right now."

I gave him a stunned look. "Twister."

His eyes shot up to mine, wounded. "You called me Twister."

"Yeah, I did. Because I can't believe you just said that." I frowned at him, shaking my head. "Don't talk about your mother like that." I fully got up then, getting off of him. He let me. I sat cross-legged beside him, folding my arms. The mood was definitely gone.

He sighed again. "I'm sorry. You know what I mean, though." He sat up too, biting his lip. "I just never know what mood she's in these days. If she's sad or angry. Sometimes it's easier to avoid her." He looked so guilty.

Softening up a bit again, I unfolded my arms. "You shouldn't avoid her. She can't help that she's sad. She probably misses you. A lot." I scooted close to him again, running a hand across his cheek comfortingly. "Here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna go out there and talk to her like normal, okay? And no more of this avoiding business. She's having a hard enough time already, she doesn't need her son giving her the cold shoulder, too." I leaned towards him and kissed him on the cheek. "Okay?"

He blew out a breath through his nose. "Okay," he agreed. He smiled slightly. "You're right, as always. I'm lucky I have such a smart girlfriend."

I smiled too, backing away, getting off of his bed and offering him a hand to get up. "I know."

After looking in his mirror and fixing our post-make out appearances, we ventured cautiously out of his room, me with my backpack slung over my shoulder. Walking past the kitchen doorway, we saw her. Mrs. Rodriguez—was I not supposed to call her that now? What was her maiden name?—was standing by the kitchen sink, looking out the window with an unreadable look on her face. Her hair fell in thick curls to her tailbone, and she seemed like she had barely aged at all. I had always thought she was beautiful, and it was clear that Maurice took after her looks, aside from the freckles. After exchanging a look with each other, Maurice cleared his throat, signaling our presence.

Startled, Mrs. Rodriguez looked over at us, snapping out of her daze. "Oh," she said, grinning faintly at Maurice. "Hello. I didn't know you were home." She looked at me again, in question this time. For some reason, I was nervous. This was my first time seeing her since I'd started dating her son.

Taking the cue, he gestured me to come forward. "Mom, of course you remember Reggie." He looked over at her again, smiling. "Um…remember what I told you? Ella es mi novia ahora." She is my girlfriend now. I broke into a full body blush.

"Of course I remember, mijo. You talk about it all the time." She turned to me then, appraising me with a quirk of her lips. "My son was head over heels for you for so long, I'm surprised it took you this long to get together." She paused. "Did you like the cookies we made you?"

"I loved them," I said, and I really did. I ate them all within a week of Valentine's Day. "Thank you so much for those. They were delicious."

She smiled, then. "You're welcome. I'm glad you liked them." She brought a hand up to her chin, contemplating something, her long manicured nails tapping against her skin. Then, unexpectedly, she broke into a laugh. "Who'd have thought Maurice would end up dating his old babysitter? Time flies, doesn't it?" Immediately, I burst out laughing too, looking over at my boyfriend. I'd forgotten his mom had thought I was his babysitter for a while. How awkward. And hilarious.

Snapping out of watching our exchange, Maurice blustered, "Mom! She wasn't…she was never—" He made a noise that sounded somewhere between frustration and mortification. "She was never my babysitter! We've been over this a thousand times!" He avoided my gaze, his cheeks a bright red under his freckles.

Still laughing, I laid a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it. "Calm down. She's just messing with you," I told him. I reached up to pinch his cheek, unable to resist saying, "Although, looking after wittle Twister was a handful sometimes."

Mrs. Rodriguez laughed even harder, and my boyfriend sent me a withering glare, swatting my hand away. "Don't encourage her, please."

His mom's laughter faded as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "I haven't laughed like that in a while. I needed that. Thank you, Reggie." Pausing, she came toward me, smiling at me warmly. "Reggie, you're welcome here anytime." Then, she reached for me, bringing me into her arms and squashing me in a big hug. "Welcome to the family."

Shocked, and incredibly touched, I hugged her back. "Thank you."

Abruptly, she pulled back, wagging a finger in my face. "But no locking his bedroom door while you're here. No funny business under my roof." She looked at her son, too. "Understood?"

Busted. We weren't as clever as we thought. Both very red in the face, we said, "Yes ma'am."

"Now," she continued, her warm smile at me returning as she gestured at the dining room table. "Why don't you stay for dinner, Reggie?"

I did that night and for many nights to come.

#

"Double check all of your bags. Do you have everything you need?"

"Raymundo, we already double checked them." Otto groaned. "It's all there."

"Well then, triple check. All of you, right now, while I'm standing here."

A collective sigh came from all six of us as we dropped our bags to the floor, unzipped them and triple checked that we had everything for our trip.

It was very early Monday morning on the week of Spring Break. It was, in fact, my last Spring Break as a high schooler, as it also was for Sammy, Trish and Clio. To celebrate the last Spring Break where we'd all be together in high school, we decided to go on a week-long road trip. This was also the first major trip we were going on by ourselves, without any parental supervision whatsoever, and it was a huge deal. And fittingly, Raymundo was freaking out in classic Raymundo fashion, along with Mrs. Rodriguez and Ms. Dullard, who hovered around Sam and Trish, making sure not one hair was out of place on their heads. Maurice's mom was telling him something sternly in a low voice as he checked through his bags, and he was nodding.

"Reggie," Dad barked at me. I looked up at him grouchily as I zipped one of my bags closed again. "Repeat all of my rules back to me."

"Dad, I just did. Like, literally five minutes ago." It was way too early for this.

Dad folded his arms, raising his eyebrows. "Well then recite them again. Loud enough for everyone to hear." He directed the last part of that sentence to Otto in particular, who shrunk away defensively.

I sighed heavily. Counting them off on my hands as I named them, I started, "Rule number one, take all the main roads. Rule number two, take sufficient rest stops and bathroom breaks. Rule number three, watch out for snakes, bears, and other wildlife. Rule four, no drinking or smoking. Rule five, no distracting the driver. Rule six, no getting arrested or otherwise doing illegal things." I dropped my hands back down to my sides. "Did I miss any? Or were you going to add anything?"

Dad was rubbing his chin contemplatively, but Tito came up from behind him, patting him on the back. "Your dad forgot to tell you one last thing," he told me. Dad looked him, confused, and I did the same. Tito lifted his eyebrows at my dad and then smiled at me and the others. "Have fun." We all cheered as Dad nodded his head reluctantly.

After some more questions, hugs, 'I love you's, and more promises from all of us to our parents to call them at every stop, we packed into the restored, light blue 60's Volkswagen van we borrowed from one of my dad's surfing buddies for the trip, and we were off. All of the adults watched us drive away from the driveway, waving, with identical uneasy looks on all of their faces.

Before leaving the city, we stopped for coffee, since it was so early and we had hours of driving ahead of us.

I started off driving first, and Maurice sat in the passenger seat next to me, his arm draped around the top of my seat. Sam and Trish sat in the first back row of seats, Trish had her earbuds in and Sam was instructing me where to turn and which streets to take via directions on his phone's GPS. Otto and Clio sat in the last row of seats in the back, surrounded by overflowing baggage and supplies that wouldn't fit in the trunk. They didn't seem to mind that much, though—they were too busy making out. Audibly. Seeing the distraught faces my boyfriend was making at all of their noise, I turned up the radio. The bass of the loud music made the hula girl figurine on the dashboard shake her hips.

The route we were taking brought us straight through Los Angeles, although we didn't pass by any major tourist attractions. L.A. whizzed past our windows, and soon the city became less dense, and beyond the freeway, there were less buildings and more palm trees.

Soon we drove through some smaller, suburb-type areas, and then there was mostly green—fields of yellow grass turning green again with colorful wildflowers sprouting up at intervals, trees that weren't palm trees, and mountains and hills. Then for a while, there was more buildings and more palm trees as we passed through another suburban town, and Sam warned everyone that this would be the last major rest area. Suddenly everyone had to go to the restroom, so I took the exit and stopped at a corner store, thankful for a chance to rest my legs for a bit. After filling up the gas tank, we ended up buying snacks for the rest of the car ride—though I had to wrestle the energy drink away from Otto, knowing the rest of us would pay if he'd had it. Then we were back on the road again.

The small town we drove through next was even greener than the last, with even more mountains, and it passed by quickly. The mountains grew even larger, but more of a tan color than green, as we drove through a smaller town that had giant, towering dinosaur statues. And then everything was tan—complete dryness and desert, with very little foliage to be found, and very few buildings. There were even smaller towns that we passed through, but they were but a speck of population.

We were in the middle of nowhere, and before I had a chance to worry if we were lost, we finally arrived at our trip's first destination: Joshua Tree National Park.

After arriving at our campground, one of the nine available at the park, all of us poured out of the van, stretching, breathing in the air, and taking in the scenery around us. We were smack in the middle of a desert—but it wasn't sandy like most deserts. There were mountains, rocky hills, which were perfect for mountain biking, rocks precariously balanced on top of cliffs, dry foliage close to the ground, and Joshua trees, medium height trees with short branches, which had spiky, cactus-like tufts at the ends. It was all open space and fresh air out here.

We all set up camp, the boys setting up their tent and me, Trish and Clio setting up our tent next to theirs. Grabbing the firewood that we'd brilliantly thought to bring with us, we made our fire pit for campfire fun later. After we set up everything, most of us unlatched our mountain bikes from the top of the van, got into our biking gear and went to ride around—except for Clio, who stayed behind to look at magazines inside our tent and paint her nails.

For our biking trip, we didn't go far, we only traveled just past our campground. The sun was high in the sky, burning bright and hot, making it feel more like summer than spring. I basked in it.

Soon enough, maybe an hour later, we turned around, heading back to our campsite. After we got back, Trish and Sam went straight to the van, grabbing the sunscreen and both putting on fresh coats of it on their skin. Sammy was complaining that he was already getting sunburn on his arms, and Trish was snickering at him, saying "my poor Sammy" but pinching his cheek teasingly.

Deciding to break out the cooler, we took out some freezing cold sodas and all sat inside the van to get some relief from the heat. We found some more ways to pass the time, and before we knew it, the sun was setting, bathing us in cool air and a sprawling world of cobalt blue, orange and vivid pink. A couple of times, my boyfriend tried to get me to speak into his camera as he recorded. Instead I made various weird faces at the lens and flipped him off playfully. Setting up some folding chairs and lighting up our campfire, we cooked some food over it for dinner—roasted hot dogs on sticks, of course, with chips and coke. I had two, and Clio had one, but the guys each ate about three each. Trish ate four. As we all watched her pack them away like a pro, utterly amazed, Sam watched on with pride.

The sun completely dropped behind the rocky horizon, and replacing it was an expanse of stars, entire galaxies iridescent above us like a painting. I had never seen the stars this way before, never so bright and so many at once. It was as if the biggest container of glitter in the universe had exploded and spilled into the heavens. Most stunningly, what stood out the most was a part of the Milky Way arching across the sky, clear and lovely. It was so striking that it overwhelmed me. As everyone stargazed, talking amongst themselves as the campfire popped and crackled, Maurice pulled me aside to sit on the roof of the van with him, wrapping a blanket around both of our shoulders to keep away the chill. I rested my head on his shoulder, and he kissed me on the forehead. Far off in the distance, a coyote howled its' song to the moon.

The next day, after having some energy bars and fruit, we spent all day mountain biking, taking sandwiches with us in our backpacks for lunch. We even convinced Clio to come with us this time—she complained a lot, but Otto stayed by her side and went at her pace like a good boyfriend. We ate lunch on the top of a big cliff that overlooked a nice view, and I very narrowly avoided having a lizard crawl across my sandwich when I wasn't looking. We explored some other far away areas of the park, including a large field flooded with an ocean of yellow wildflowers. In fact, the park was full of patches of wildflowers in yellow, white, pink, red, and lavender, spring in full bloom, and they were such a breathtaking, unexpected contrast from the otherwise dry, tan expanse of land that it stopped me in my tracks every time, commanding my admiration. There were even flowers blooming from the cacti, bright magenta and gorgeous. I so wanted to pick some, maybe weave a flower crown out of them or wear one behind my ear, but I didn't want to ruin their beauty, so in the end, I left them alone.

It was so scorching hot out that along with my biking gear, I wore only cutoff shorts and a tank top, and the other girls wore pretty much the same. I knew I'd regret it if I wiped out against the rocks—thankfully I didn't—but the hardcore blistering sun definitely didn't allow for long sleeves or pants. The guys wore short sleeves and even took their shirts off for a short time when the heat got too much. I tried not to stare at my boyfriend so hungrily, especially after Trish pointed out that I was. We continued to explore other areas of the park, and as we did, we saw some furry residents—a hare, a ram that was thankfully too far away to care about us, and a small creature that looked like a chipmunk. We also ran into some non-furry residents—Maurice cheerily pointed out a tarantula about eight feet away from us when we stopped to share water out of our canteen, and Clio had taken off down the trail by herself, peddling and screaming at the top of her lungs.

After getting back from our day of biking, we rested for a bit, then had some dinner. After dinner we made s'mores, and as the sun started to set, we blasted some music and took out the sparklers we'd bought. We goofed around with the sparklers, laughing and chasing each other with them, taking pictures with them, and Maurice took video of it all on his camcorder, smiling at us from behind the lens as he waved around a sparkler in his other hand. We all went to sleep that night drunk on contentment.

Very early the next morning, we packed up the campsite, packed up the tents and everything, and left our small desert paradise behind. This time, Maurice was behind the wheel, and our pale blue van went back through more Californian desert. Relieved that I didn't have to drive this time, I felt more relaxed. Every once in a while, I leaned over to kiss his stubbly cheek. He'd forgotten to bring a razor, and he had a shadow of stubble on his face. It made him look mature. He also had gotten really tan over the past couple of days, and he looked so golden and gorgeous.

We all tried to keep ourselves busy with driving games, music, and more snacks. If we'd thought the first drive had taken long, this one was taking forever, and was even more boring. After about three and a half hours, we were starting to go crazy, so we decided to make a stop in Bakersfield. As soon as the van stopped at our fast food joint of choice, we all jumped out of it, stretching our legs and soaking in the civilization. We went inside and ordered a smorgasbord of burgers, fries and milkshakes big enough for an army.

After we finished eating, we filled up the gas tank again and made another stop for snacks at a grocery store. Trish rode in the grocery cart, her tiny self not taking up much room, and we all piled packaged foods and drinks on top of her. We bought our snacks, all used the restroom, and then we were once again back on the road.

Seeing Maurice's exasperated expression at the thought of driving again, Clio volunteered to drive this time, and Otto sat in the passenger seat. Maurice and I sat where they sat before, in the very back, where it was surprisingly roomy despite all of the bags and camping supplies being back there too. We'd opened the manual sunroof and all of the windows so that it would stay nice and cool inside, and the sound of the wind rushing past the windows put everyone in a calm mood. Noticing how sleepy my boyfriend looked, I told him to lay his head in my lap. After a while of me brushing his hair away from his face with my fingers, he fell into a peaceful sleep, curled up in a ball like a giant kid.

This proved to the longest drive yet, as we passed through Fresno, Modesto, and Oakland and then finally arrived at our next destination: San Francisco.

It was already three in the afternoon, and after driving all day, we were all beat, so we decided to check into our hotel and chill for the rest of the day. I shared a room with Trish and Clio, and the boys shared a room, too, since it was cheaper that way. Clio and I very nearly came to blows over who got to shower first—Trish settled it by making us rock-paper-scissors for it, and I won. After I finished showering, though, Clio nearly dragged me out of there herself.

When hygiene issues were all taken care of, we walked across the street to a pizza place for dinner, stuffing ourselves once again. With full bellies, we came back to the hotel, piled into the boy's room, and watched a horror movie on Sammy's laptop with the lights off. After the movie was over, we next decided to change into our swimsuits and go downstairs to check out the outdoor hotel pool. There was a shallow pool, a regular pool, and a hot tub, and since it was dark outside, the place was deserted.

Sam, Trish and Clio enjoyed the hot tub as Otto and I competed to see who could do the best dives with the biggest splashes, with Maurice as our judge. The competition was fierce and in the end we realized that choosing my boyfriend and his best friend to be the judge was a horrible idea—he kept telling us it was a tie so that we'd both be satisfied and he wouldn't have to disappoint either of us. We both called a truce. Soon it became too cool outside to be wet, and we were shivering, so we all went inside, deciding to call it a night.

Early the next day, after having some complimentary hotel breakfast, we made the short, forty minute drive to Muir Woods—Sammy driving this time. As we arrived, left the parking lot and trekked into the woods, looking around with wide eyes, all of us fell into a silent awe. This place was the exact opposite of where we'd had our camping trip in every possible way—humid, lush, browns and greens everywhere we turned, moss on trunks and ferns along the ground, bubbling creeks running under pathways. The trees were unlike anything I'd ever seen, towering and twisting skyward like natural skyscrapers. Some of their trunks were wider than the span of my arms. The trees' leaves formed a blanket high above us, and sunlight streamed through in small patches. It was...utter magic. It was like walking into something from a book, some amazing place that shouldn't have existed in real life, except it did.

We spent the whole morning there, walking, winding through the paths and enjoying the views and taking pictures, Maurice documenting everything on video as usual as he walked alongside me, holding my hand.

After making our way back to San Francisco and getting a bite to eat, we went to some of the touristy city places we hadn't gotten to go to the day before—Chinatown, Lombard Street, and a hill where the majestic Golden Gate Bridge was viewable from the perfect distance—and then we headed back to our hotel. Us girls had been in our room for a while, chatting about our relationships and flipping through the TV channels, when a knock came at our room door. As I opened the door, Otto came rushing into our room, Sam and my boyfriend following him.

"Excuse you," I said to them as they pushed past me, and Maurice winked at me flirtatiously as he passed, smoothing a hand over the top of my head.

Trish, who was sitting on the bed I was sharing with her, and Clio, who was sitting on her own bed, both looked up, seeing them enter, and Clio made an alarmed noise. "How could you boys just burst into an all girl's room with no notice? How rude. You all are lucky we weren't in the middle of changing, or something."

Otto snorted, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, sure. Lucky." His girlfriend responded by raising her eyebrows and smirking at him, shaking her head.

"What's the deal, guys?" asked Trish, looking mildly irritated. "We were just about to go to sleep."

"We figured," Otto said, reaching underneath his hoodie, where he was hiding something. "So we decided we should have these now." He pulled out a six pack of beer from underneath his hoodie.

All three of us gasped, the loudest coming from me. "Otto," I reprimanded, glancing back at the door and making sure I'd locked it, as if someone was going to burst in and bust us at any moment. I looked back over at him, half surprised and half disapproving. "Where the hell did you get that?" I paused. "Wait. When the hell did you get that?"

"Twister bought them for us while we were out and about in town earlier," said Sam, looking pleased and considerably less guilty than I thought he'd be about this. Guy gets a girlfriend and suddenly he's as rebellious as they come. "We went while you guys were in that souvenir shop."

"Really?" I looked over at my boyfriend, giving him my stern look as I folded my arms.

He looked down at me, cringing and shrugging as he explained, "I was the only one they didn't card. I guess they thought I looked 21." He grinned at me persuasively, taking one of my hands in his. "Don't be mad at me, cariño." He kissed my hand. Otto and Sam groaned, horrified, and Trish giggled at us as Clio 'aww'ed.

I sighed, looking at the cans of beer. I'd already begun to cave. Stupid charming Spanish. "Dad's rules…" I trailed off, unsure.

"Yadda, yadda, Dad's rules," Otto blurted, waving his free hand in the air. "It's just one beer, Reg. Dad's not gonna know. It's our last night of the trip, tomorrow we're going back to Ocean Shores. It's our last Spring Break together. After this, you, Sam, Trish and Clio are gonna graduate high school, and you're gonna go off to college, and we might be separated and things might not be the same anymore. In five years, or ten years, when you look back on tonight, are you really gonna care about some stupid rule that you broke? Or do you want to have fun? Fuck the rules. We deserve to send it off the right way," he paused, pulling one of the cans out of its' plastic ring, and stretching out his hand to give it to me, finishing, "with booze."

Taken aback at the sudden gravity of his rant, and unexpectedly moved, I stood there for a moment, eyeing the can warily. He was right. I knew he was. And suddenly, for once, I didn't care about the rules at all. I gradually grinned, reaching a hand to take the beer from his grasp. "Touché, little brother. You win." I opened the can as my friends cheered and grabbed cans for themselves. "Hey," I paused, laying a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me, startled. "Things aren't gonna be that different. Family is family. We'll always have each other." I regarded the rest of the group too, solemn. I raised my can in the air, proposing a toast. "No matter what happens. Always."

"I'll toast to that," Maurice said, raising his can.

"Here, here," Sam said.

Otto was staring at me, and before, where there had been a trace of fear in his eyes, there was only release now. It made me wonder how long he had been worried about that. Clio had come up beside him, resting her head on his shoulder comfortingly. Slowly, he raised his can, smiling back at me sincerely. "Cheers."

All six of us clinked our cans, and on the last night of our last Spring Break together in high school, we drunk to friends, family and love.

---

-Back to Twister's POV-

"Stop it, that tickles." My girlfriend demanded, using the voice she used when she was trying to suppress a laugh.

I made an innocent face. "What tickles?" I asked, pretending to not know what she was talking about. I moved my hand over her stomach again. "This?"

She burst into uncontrollable giggles, burying her face into the pillow under her head and shoving my hand away. "Stop."

"Stop what? What about here?" I lightly wiggled my fingers over the spot on her neck that I knew was the most sensitive.

Reggie squealed, rolling away from me on the bed. Her giggles were becoming breathless. "I'm gonna hit you! Stop it!"

We were currently lying in her canopy bed in her bedroom, cloaked in darkness and moonlight. We'd been watching a movie on her laptop, snuggled up under her green covers together harmlessly, but then the movie ended and our snuggling somehow escalated into a tickle fight. Also, the only way we were able to be in her bed in the first place was Otto and Ray both being gone—and they were. Ray and Tito were on a weekend-long fishing trip with some buddies, and Otto was with Clio for the night. Which meant that we had the entire house to ourselves tonight. Completely alone.

This was the first time I'd been alone with Reggie in her bedroom this way since we got together. I'd thought about being in her bed so many times, and now I was actually in it. With her. Under her sheets, which were way softer than mine. Seeing her hair splayed across her pillows. Feeling her smooth legs against mine. Seeing the poster of the sun with a face on the wall behind her bed, from a completely different angle than I'd ever seen it before.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop," I granted finally. "I couldn't help myself. You're so cute when you laugh." As she turned back, facing me again, I locked gazes with her, growing serious. "And I love to touch you."

She smiled, scooting back over to me. "Permission to touch," she said, rolling onto her back, holding my gaze. "But no tickling for the rest of the night."

The rest of the night. I gulped audibly. We were spending the whole night together. How long had I wanted this? I felt restless. Since we started dating, I had been alone with Reggie countless times before now. But tonight was different. It felt different. "We should start that other movie you wanted to watch," I said, not meaning to change the subject but managing to anyway. "I mean, if you still want to watch it."

"I changed my mind." Reggie scooted even closer, resting her head on my chest and curling one of her smooth legs around both of mine. I hoped that my legs weren't too hairy. I hoped that I wasn't breathing too heavily. Was I? I was overly aware of everything. What was wrong with me? She continued, "Let's talk instead."

I kissed the top of her head, lifting one of my hands up to start playing with her hair. I tried not to look as nervous as I felt. "About what?" I asked.

"I keep thinking about our trip. It was amazing, huh?"

It had now been a whole week since we'd gotten back from our road trip. Getting back to school this week had been a drag, but that was every week for me. "It was the raddest," I agreed, and then I sighed. "I wanna go back."

"Me too," she said, pouting.

"You're pretty," I said without thinking.

She looked up at me, startled, but pleased. "That was random, but thank you."

I chuckled, untangling my finger from one of her curls. "No it wasn't. I was thinking about how especially pretty you were on the trip. That was the best part of it." I paused. "For me, anyway."

Now she was looking at me like I was crazy. "I showered like, three times total that entire trip."

"So?"

"So, I was dirty and grime-y for a majority of the time."

I tried to think back. I couldn't recall ever noticing her being dirty. I only remembered her skin darkening in the desert sunshine, her eyes squinting behind sunglasses, her hair wet with pool water, and the wind blowing her bright violet curls loose from her ponytail as we drove down the freeway. "I didn't notice," I replied, shrugging.

Reggie laughed, shaking her head. "You're crazy," she said.

"Why is that crazy?" I looked down at her, my brow furrowing. "You're always beautiful to me."

The hand that she laid on my stomach formed a fist, bunching my shirt up underneath it. "Maurice." Her voice had gotten quieter.

"Reg, I'm serious. Hey. Look at me." I waited until she looked back up at me, her expression shy and self-conscious. "You're beautiful. I wouldn't change one single thing about you. Never." I smoothed a thumb over her cheek. "I love your eyes. I love your skin tone. I love your body—your thighs, and your perfect ass—God, you don't know how long I've wanted to say that. I love your ass."

She laughed again, harder this time, burying her face into my shirt. The tip of her nose tickled. "My ass?" She laughed even harder. "You are absurd."

"Absurdly in love," I said without missing a beat, staring down at her, enchanted by her laughter. Suddenly, I got an idea, and I began to sit up, gently moving her so I could move out of the bed. "Hold on."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm getting something." Flipping the sheets back, I stood up and then bent down to where I'd put my backpack on the floor earlier. I reached inside, taking out what I was looking for. I held up my camcorder. "This," I said.

Reggie watched me get back into the bed again, confused. "What are you doing?"

"You'll see," I replied as I laid back down, and I gestured for her to come lie beside me. "Come 'ere." My girlfriend snuggled back into my side, her head resting on my shoulder this time. I turned my camera on, turned the lens toward us, flipped around the viewing screen, extended my arm out, and started recording. I glanced down at her. "Say hello," I teased.

"Oh God," she said, covering her face with a laugh. "I don't have any makeup on."

I leaned my face close to hers, lowering my voice to a whisper. "It's okay. This video is just for us." I pressed a quick kiss to her temple as she lowered her hand. Then I cleared my throat and spoke up so that the camera could hear. "Mi amor, this video is going to serve as a reminder of how much I love you. One day, if we get in a terrible fight, and I make you mad for some reason, as I am certain to do at some point, you can watch this video and remember that I love you. If we're separated for whatever reason, and you miss me, you can watch this video and remember that I love you. Whenever you need it, that's what this video is for. All right?"

I looked at her face in the viewfinder, and she looked dumbfounded. She nodded. "Okay."

I leaned my face against her head. Her hair smelled like coconuts. I took a deep breath and started. "Regina Rocket, I promise to kiss you in the morning, even if you have coffee breath. I promise to hug you and watch movies with you and eat ice cream with you when you're sad. I promise to support you in everything you do. I promise to be there when you need to talk. I promise that I'll never criticize the way you look, under any circumstances. I promise to always leave you enough pizza and not eat the whole box. I promise to always tell you how beautiful you are. I promise to always make you peanut butter banana sandwiches when you need them. I promise I'll never forget our anniversary."

Reggie interrupted. "Like that time you forgot you had a puppy?"

I paused. "…Will no one ever tell me when I had this supposed puppy?" I paused again as she laughed. "Anyway. I promise I will never forget you like I forgot about my puppy. I promise to always make your birthday special. And I promise to never betray your trust in me." I turned my face toward her again, whispering, "I love you."

"Maurice," Reggie whispered back, leaning towards my ear. "Stop recording."

Worried, I stopped recording, closing the camcorder and setting it down. "What's wrong?" Had the video been a bad idea? Had it been too much?

She turned, grabbed my face in her hands, and kissed me slowly, deeply, soulfully. I could feel all of the things she felt. My heart was throbbing. She pulled back momentarily, gazing at me through her long eyelashes. "I love you so much."

She climbed on top of me, reconnecting our lips and pressing her body flush against mine. I could feel her heartbeat, sprinting, thudding against my chest like a sledgehammer. My heartbeat answered hers eagerly. Vanilla and coconut and Reggie was all I could smell. Magic. My head spun.

Soon our kisses became harder, pressing, more urgent. I tugged at her lips mildly with my teeth—full and smooth and juicy delicious and plush like two pillows. She tangled her hands in my hair, and my hands ran over her body, over her arched lower back and her firm, rounded butt, pulling at her, needing her closer, needing more of her against me.

This was different from all the other times I'd kissed her, more intense—I never had enough of kissing her, but this time it felt like both of us wanted more. The atmosphere was burning, intoxicating, hypnotic. This time everything was going to change.

Reggie pulled back suddenly, and before I could protest, I realized she was yanking at my shirt, wanting it off. I sat up, letting her pull it over my head. After it was off, she raked her nails down my stomach. It felt extraordinary beyond words. I shuddered, a complete body spasm that I couldn't control. I reached for her San Francisco shirt, and she lifted her arms as I pulled it off.

I couldn't stop myself from staring. Her black lacy bra stood out against her warm, terra-cotta tan skin, and I could still see her tan lines from Spring Break. I leaned toward her, kissing the most sensitive part of her neck and running my hands against her lean stomach. As I began sucking on her neck, giving her skin gentle nips with my teeth, she let out a noise I'd never heard her make before, a mewling sort of moan in her throat that had me reeling for a moment, shocked at how lewd it sounded. Pulling myself together, I bent down, kissing my way down her chest and stopping at her stomach, fervently kissing the tight muscles there the way I'd wanted to for years every single time she'd worn a bikini.

Reggie began tugging at my pants, and I helped her take them off, leaving on my boxers, and then she helped me take her sweatpants off. We lowered ourselves back into a lying position. As our lips crashed together again, we pressed our bare skin together, and our bodies intertwined, the body heat between us becoming sweltering. Both of us were breathless. Our kisses were desperate, frantic.

Even with my brain fogged up with desire, I knew if I didn't stop now, I wouldn't have been able to at all. I pulled my mouth from hers, my breathing heavy. "Reg, do you want this?"

At first exasperated that I stopped, Reggie looked at me head on. "Yes. I do."

"Are you sure?" I knew after this, there was no going back. It was a big decision. I was sure, I'd been sure for a long time, but I had to be positive that she was sure too.

"Maurice Rodriguez, I want you. And I want this. Right now." She leaned forward, kissing my lips. She pulled away, but lingered, her lips brushing against mine. Her brown eyes were dark with lust. "Make love to me."

As I pulled her back down to me, I wrenched her green duvet over our heads.

#

Hours later, sometime in the early morning, it started to rain outside, as it does relentlessly in April. Thunder clapped. I startled awake, and I felt Reggie stir in my arms. Groggy, I squinted down at her. She had her hands curled under her chin, dreaming, exhausted and angelic. Sweat still plastered some thin, wispy curls to her forehead and temples, a physical reminder of the hours before. Beaming, I hugged her tighter to my chest, careful not to disturb her, then drifted back to sleep.

---

Once again, I'm sorry for any mistakes I might've made with the Spanish. As it's not my native language, I can only rely on translations and 6 years of taking it in school. But if I made any glaring mistakes, please let me know!

Oh my God, you guys. The next chapter is the last chapter. Can you believe it? I'm actually starting to feel emotional about it, haha. I can't believe it's here already.

Next chapter might have a long authors' note before it, so be warned. I tend to get mushy about my stories ending!

Also, while next chapter will definitely be the last chapter, I've been thinking about a possible, short epilogue afterwards. I still haven't decided if I'll include it or not, but I plan on making a post about it on my blog!

Please Review! And thanks so much for reading!

-MsButterFingers