“Ava, sweetheart!” Her mother hurried to her, a pinched look on her face, the summer dress flapping around her ankles in her haste.
Acting on impulse she moved closer to him. “Dance with me.”
Surprise widene
d his eyes. “Your mother is about to reach us.”
“Then let’s run.”
With a grin, she grabbed his hand and dragged him away, trying to run while pulling his weight. She ignored the cry of her name and the startled faces of the townsfolks.
Devlin spun her around forcing her to a halt.
“What?”
He kissed her. She pulled away, her heart pounding. “Why did you do that?”
“Maybe I wanted to see what you would do.”
She swallowed.
“It’s Devlin Calhoun, the middle boy.”
“Why is he with the Kane girl?”
His eyes became even more shadowed at the few whispers that reached their ears and Ava knew it would only get worse. She leaned in and kissed him. His smiled against her lips and she knew the scandal they were creating but she did not care. “Dance with me,” she murmured.
“Gladly.”
“But not here.”
He stiffened.
“Atop the water tank, overlooking the park and the barbecue. We’ll be able to hear the music from there.”
“As you wish,” he murmured, nipping at her bottom lip.
She laughed. “Really? Princess Bride.”
“Yeah, you made me watched it at least four times.”
“If my memory serves me right, you were the one to slip in the disk the last time we watched it.”
They strolled away from the park and the merriment toward the massive water tank erected in a section of the park.
“You are recalling bits and pieces.”
“I am.”
“I’m glad.”
They strolled the rest of the way in silence, then they climbed the rungs, all one hundred and fifty to the top. He helped her up and she was panting slightly but he wasn’t even winded. “Here we are.”
He held her from behind, his chin atop her head. She could feel that he had questions but he remained silent and she was grateful for it, for she had no answers. Whenever she was near him, she acted so out of character. Or was this truly her? “I am not ashamed to be seen with you,” she said softly. “But my parents are at the Barbecue and I did not want to flaunt you in their faces, when they still do not accept or understand what I feel for you.”
His arms tightened around her waist.
“They were very angry with me when I returned home, and Dad hardly speaks with me.”