Heartaches Grow a Little Bit Stronger

Laughing loudly, I picked up a loaded water balloon and threw it at my brother, watching just long enough for it to hit him on the side of the head, earning a loud batch of swear words from him. My mom, who was watering her roses, laughed in amusement as she watched the commotion.

"Alyssa Jane, I'm gonna kick your fucking ass!" Lucas yelled, running after me.

A small scream escaped my lips as I took of running across the backyard, but my brother was taller and quicker than me. He caught up with me halfway across the yard and picked me up before he threw me into the little kiddie pool we had filled up for ourselves.

"Lucas!" I screamed as he sprayed me down with the hose that he had stolen from our mom. "Mom! Make his stop!"

"Lucas," our mom laughed, "stop it, give me back that - " her words were down out by a small scream as my brother turned the hose on her, squirting her as well.

"Dad!" I yelled, hoping that my voice was loud enough to carry to the garage where it was last known for my dad to have been. "Dad! Lucas is being a jerk!"

"Lucas!" My dad yelled back, a lot closer than I thought he was, "cut that shit out!" he demanded, causing Lucas to pout slightly as he handed the hose back to our mom.

"Nark." He muttered before he stepped into the pool and kicked water on me.

"Douche." I replied, hitting him in the stomach.

I didn't care if it was a sucker punch, he was starting to get on my nerves.

"Alyssa!" He growled, holding onto his stomach as if he were afraid it would fall off if he let it go.

"Damn it Lucas, leave your sister alone." Our dad sighed as he came into view. "Alyssa, Kyle is here to see you."

A smile pulled across my face at the mention of Kyle's name and I got up, ringing out my hair before I ran off to greet my boyfriend who had appeared behind my dad. My dad eyed me with a small frown on his face, probably wishing that I was wearing more than just my bikini, but he chose not to comment about it.

"Hey babe." Kyle smiled as he wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tightly.

"Hey." I mocked before I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed his lips softly.

"Is that little kiddie pool enough to keep you cool in this heat?" he teased.

"Eh ... I'm tired of the heat." I mumbled. "I can't wait for the fall to get here."

At my words, Kyle's smile widened and he pulled away from me as he pulled something out of his pocket, holding it up for me to see. Raising an eyebrow, I took it from him and felt my mouth drop slightly when I saw that it was actually two airplane tickets to San Francisco set to leave this evening.

"Kyle!" I gasped. "San Francisco?"

My boyfriend smile softly as he nodded his head. "We leave tonight and then come home on Monday night. I figured that since it's a holiday on Monday, we could get away for a few days." He said. "Unless, you don't want to go." He said, making a move to take the tickets back, but I held them out of his reach.

"Don't be ridiculous." I huffed. "Of course I wanna go."

Kyle laughed quietly and then nodded his head once again before he cupped my chin in the palm of his hand and leaned over, kissing me lovingly before he pulled away and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me over to the pool where Lucas had managed to convince our mom to join him.

"Do you want to go home and start packing?" I questioned, examining the tickets once again.

"I already got our things packed." He replied softly. "I was bored and had finished cleaning up the living room, so I decided to pack and then come over here."

"What time do we have to leave?"

"In a couple of hours." Kyle said.

I nodded my head as I handed the tickets back to him, and then reached up, kissing his cheek, before I pulled away and joined my mom and brother in the little kiddie pool. Upon my arrival, Lucas gave me a dirty look but didn't dare say anything mean now that my mom was within arms reach of him. Smirking softly, I slid into the cool water and then stuck my tongue out at my brother before gazing past him to my dad and boyfriend.

I smiled to myself when I saw them exchanging some words back and forth between themselves, looking as if they were having an enjoyable conversation. My dad has always liked Kyle, but when he found out that we were together, he's acted kind of different. First it was because of the way Kyle and I had ended up together in the first place, but when he got over that little fact, he had to take some time to get used to the fact that my heart was now in the hands of the neighbor boy.

He was still getting used to it, I know, but in time he'd accept Kyle. He was going to have to, because I knew that Kyle wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Kyle, you didn't have to splurge on a fancy hotel room." I gasped as Kyle led me into the suite he had paid for us to stay in for three nights.

Releasing Kyle's hand, I left him at the bed and hurried over to the window, looking out to see the view over downtown San Francisco. We were facing the west, and although there was a hill that blocked the view of the ocean from downtown, the bright sunset was still beautiful nonetheless. Kyle approached me from behind and wrapped his arms around my waist, hugging me tightly as he rested his head over my shoulder.

"I had some money that I had set aside, for a little getaway like this." Kyle whispered softly. "I knew if I was going to take you somewhere, I might as well go all out for it."

"What made you pick San Francisco?" I asked.

"I know how much you love the Bay Area," he replied thoughtfully, "and the last time we were here I know you had a fun time."

I nodded my head in agreement; even though last time I had spent my time with Caleb, I still had fun. Kyle was right, I did love San Francisco.

Smiling, I leaned back into Kyle's body and then turned slightly to catch his lips in mine. My boyfriend wasted no time in turning me completely around in his arms and take control of the kiss, making it more intense than I had been hoping for. Blushing softly, I broke the kiss and pulled away from him.

"Let's save that for later." I whispered, and Kyle nodded his head in agreement.

"Okay." He said softly. "What do you want to do instead?"

Glancing at him momentarily, I turned my attention to the streets below. There were crowds of people walking along the sidewalks but I knew that soon the crowds would thin out as people made their way home for the night.

"I want to go to the Embarcadero." I said. "I've never been there in the evening, just during the middle of the day when all the tourists are out and about."

"Do you want to grab some dinner first?" He questioned. "Or do you want to just stroll along, and eat at which ever place catches our eye along the way?"

"Let's stroll." I grinned. "We'll just wing it."

Behind me, Kyle laughed softly and then kissed my cheek. "Okay." He said, releasing his arms from me. "Go and get ready while I unpack some of our things." He instructed.

Doing as I was told, I went into the bathroom and then did my stuff before I came out and grabbed my brush from Kyle as he unpacked it from the luggage. I ran my brush through my hair quickly, smoothing it out, and then pulled it into a pony tail, keeping it out of my face; I knew that along the Embarcadero the wind was bound to pick up and if I prepared for it ahead of time it would save me some trouble.

Within ten minutes, Kyle and I had left our hotel room and were seated on the T line Muni, taking us in the direction we wanted to go. The ride was quiet, even for a Muni ride. At Van Ness Station, a group of teenagers boarded our cart, and they watched Kyle with a look that suggested they knew exactly who he was. Kyle gave them a friendly smile in return, but none of them had the courage to come over and say hello. They got off at Montgomery Street Station, and the last person in the group, a girl who looked to be about sixteen or so, waved shyly at Kyle before she exited the cart. Kyle waved back, his smile never once leaving his face before the doors shut and we took off once again.

"You should have went over and said hello, babe." I smiled.

"Eh, if they were too shy to come over to us, then just let them be." He replied.

Without another word, he took his hand on mine and then leaned over, resting his head on my shoulder. I couldn't help but smile at the thought of his tall, six foot something frame, resting against my considerably shorter 5"5' self. The rest of the ride was silent between us, and as our stop, Brannan Street, approached, I nudged Kyle's arm gently and signaled for him to get up.

He did as I commanded and soon we found ourselves walking along the calming path of the Embarcadero. Our stop had let us off just down the street a little from where the San Francisco date of Warped Tour had taken place a couple of months prior, and it was strange to look at it now when the piers empty and rid of the chaos.

"Last time we were here," Kyle admitted as he too stared at the empty piers, "I thought that you were going to end up with another one of my best friends instead of me."

"This is the first time Caleb had stolen me away." I agreed. I hesitated slightly, licking my lips before I added, "I thought I was going to end up with him too. I never would have guessed that a few weeks later you'd be standing in front of me, telling me that you were in love with me."

"I was going to let you go." He whispered.

"Are you glad that you changed your mind?" I asked softly.

Slowly, Kyle blinked and then looked down at me, an unreadable look embroidered deep in his bright blue eyes. "Yes." He said. "I am. I don't care how it makes me look to other people, cheating on my fiancé behind her back with the girl I'm really in love with. I mean, if it kept me from losing you, whatever they say is worth it. I mean, I'm the one who got the girl in the end." He said, finishing his sentence with a quirky smile.

Smiling in return, I reached up with my free hand and caressed his smooth cheek with my fingertips. There was something else on his mind, something that he wasn't telling me just then. I felt the slight tremble in his touch, which calmed slightly as I ran my fingertips over his cheek and jaw line.

"I love you." I whispered.

Kyle's smile widen slightly as he captured my hand in his, and then gently kissed the back of it. "I love you too." He whispered back as he let go of my hand, and then pulled me along with my other so that we could continue our evening walk.

Gazing out over the bay, I inhaled deeply, and then let it out slowly. If I ever had to move away from Texas, San Francisco would honestly be my first choice. I don't know what it is about this place, but it feels like I belong here. I'm not saying that I don't belong in Texas, because I do belong there; it's where I've lived my whole life. I had been born in Galveston and lived there until my family moved to Dallas, so a part of me thinks that that's why I've always been drawn to San Francisco.

Maybe one day, in case Kyle and I were ever in need for a change of scenery, we could live in San Francisco for a little while.

During the rest of the walk, Kyle and I exchanged random conversations, either one of us laughing wildly as we recalled things we had done in the past, and the crazy things we were planning on doing but knew better than to actually do them. Before I realized where we were, Kyle was tugging me along the long stretch of cement, metal, and rebar that made up Pier 14. Taking a quick glance around, I saw that Kyle and I were the only two people on the pier, and there weren't any other people along the Embarcadero until a ways away.

When we reached the end of the pier, I turned around and observed the city lights that shone bright in the distance. The sun had long since set, but there was a warm breeze in the air, surprising given that we were surrounded by the San Francisco Bay.

Beside me, Kyle sighed softly and then placed his free hand on my hip in order to turn me around and face him. Once again I saw that far off look in his eyes, like he had something more on his mind than just enjoying our evening out together.

"Babe, what is it?" I asked quietly. "What's on your mind?"

"I have something I want to give you." He mumbled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a black velour box.

My breath caught in my throat slightly when I thought of all the possible things that the box could contain, and I did my best to keep my composure. Kyle skillfully flipped the lid open with a flick of his wrist and then held the box out for me to see. In the dim glow of the floor lighting, I saw a beautiful ring with my birthstone and some other little diamonds surrounding the princess cut stone.

"This is how Madison knew that there was something going on between us." Kyle whispered. "I bought it for you on your birthday, and she saw the receipt for it in my e-mail. I've wanted to give it to you for a while now, but I guess I just never knew the right time."

"Oh, Kyle," I gasped, "you went to that damn store at the Westfield and got it, didn't you?"

Shyly, Kyle nodded his head. "I know you told me not to, but I wanted to get you something special."

"But, you got me that fucking X-Box 360 Kyle," I said, shaking my head, "you didn't have to spend so much money on me; I'm not worth all that money."

"Yes you are," he insisted. "You're worth more than all the money in the world put together."

"Kyle - "

"I know, I know ... that was a fucking cheesy line." He mumbled.

"No, it's not that." I said. "Its that." I sighed, nodding to the ring.

"What?" Kyle asked. "You don't like it?" He asked slowly.

"No, I do." I whispered. "I love it. But ... what are you ... are you proposing to me?" I blurted out.

"Oh, no, no." Kyle said. "It’s a promise ring."

"Oh." I said, breathing a sigh of relief. "For a second, I thought that you were going to get down on one knee and propose." I blushed.

Kyle tilted his head to a side a bit as he examined me. "The thought of me proposing to you scares you?"

"Well, I mean," I paused slightly, cursing at myself under my breath, "it's not that." I mumbled. "It's just ... I've never been given any sort of ring before." I whispered. "And when you pulled out that box I guess I just ... had a million different thoughts running through my mind."

Kyle let his stare linger on me a few seconds longer before he laughed in amusement and then took the ring out of the box to slip it easily onto my ring finger. "You're cute." He pointed out with a small smile before he brought my hand up so that we could both examine the ring.

"It's gorgeous." I gushed. "Thank you so much, Kyle."

"You're welcome," he said, giving me a cute smile before he wrapped his arms around me, hugging me gently. He took a deep breath, and then released it before he spoke again. "I promise you that no matter what, Alyssa, I'll be here for you. God forbid, if somewhere down the road we discover that by we're not meant to be, I'll still be here for you. You're my best friend; I'm never going to leave you."

Not knowing what to say in response, I simply hung onto my boyfriend and listened to the sound of the rustling water that surrounded us. God forbid if something happened to me and Kyle, causing us to break up, I don't know if I would ever get through it.