Change

I hurried into the grocery store. It was 8:00 a.m. on the day Taylor was set to return, and Mom had asked me to go in bright and early. She needed some shelves stacked before we opened at 9:00, since the girl who was working yesterday had had to leave early and hadn't finished her job. I knew my mom had to be at her rope's end to ask me to sacrifice my sleep, and so I didn't complain.

I unlocked the door, pulling it open, my mind wandering back to the night Taylor had stayed late to help me at the store. This, of course, led to me thinking about the kiss, and then the kiss on the cheek. I reached in my pocket instinctively to see if Taylor had texted me yet; he hadn't texted me when I checked earlier, and I assumed he was still sleeping. I looked at the screen: no new messages.

I sighed and slid the phone back in my pocket. I was really trying not to overanalyze this, but it wasn't easy. I said hi to my parents, then headed to the frozen food aisle.

I was in the middle of putting away frozen fruits when my phone buzzed. I shoved the package into the freezer and pulled my phone out.

You up?

I smiled. The fact that he texted me first had to mean something, right?

Yep. Surprised?

I leaned back on my heels, resting my phone on the ground and picking up a few more packages. My phone vibrated, and I quickly snatched it up.

Very. What are you doing?

Helping mom at the store. You?

I set my phone down again and returned to my job. I glanced at my phone every few minutes, frowning when there were no new messages. I was nearing the end of the frozen goods. I glanced at the clock. It had been twenty five minutes since Taylor's last text. I debated sending him another message, but I held myself back. I didn't want to seem needy or annoying. I bit my lip, staring at the screen one last time before sighing, tucking a strand of hair behind my eye, and starting in on the last of the packages.

I had about two or three vegetable packages left when I heard footsteps approaching.

"I'm almost done." I nonchalantly glanced up, expecting one of my parents. My heart skipped a beat when my eyes met a pair of very familiar, very blue ones.

Taylor smiled. "Good. Can we do something, then?"

I nodded, throwing the last two packages into the freezer before standing up. I bent down to pick up the box, but Taylor beat me to it.

"I got it."

"Thanks," I said meekly. We headed towards the front of the store. There was at least a persons length in between us. I cleared my throat as we rounded the corner. "What do you want to do?"

Taylor shrugged. "We could go for a drive."

"Sure," I nodded, trying to calm myself down. We passed through one of the empty cash register lines, and Taylor threw the empty cardboard box on top of the others in our 'Let's-save-the-environment-use-cardboard-boxes-instead-of-plastic-bags' pile. I caught my moms eye, pointing to the aisle I had just come from, giving her a thumbs up, then motioning to the door. She nodded, waved to Taylor, then turned back to me and made the motion of texting on a phone. I nodded in reply, waved, and headed out the door with Taylor. In the hour or so I had been at the store, the sun had completely risen in the sky, casting a golden glow over everything. I inhaled the light summer air, letting the gentle breeze run through my hair and brush across my face. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. These were my favorite summer days - warm, but with a breeze; the sun shining, not a cloud in the sky. The blue of the clear sky reminded me of Taylor's eyes, and at the thought, I opened my own to glance at him. He was gazing at me, a smile playing on his lips.

"What?"

He shrugged, his hands in his pockets. "You look... Happy."

I let out a laugh. "Well, yeah, look at this beautiful day."

"True," he agreed. I followed him to his car, a navy blue sports convertible. The top was rolled down, in honor of the nice day. I nearly rolled my eyes.

"Such a typical boy car," I teased. He unlocked the car as we neared it, a grin on his face.

"It's my dad's," Taylor explained. "I use it during the summer. Don't get me wrong though, I love it. She's my baby."

I rolled my eyes at him, laughing. He opened the door for me, and a blush crept up onto my cheeks. "Thanks," I said softly. He closed the door behind me and walked over to the passenger side. I ran my hand along the ridge of where the window - which was down - disappeared into the car. Taylor's door closed, and I said, "To be honest, I actually wish I had a car like this."

I heard Taylor chuckle softly before he started the engine. I glanced at him and he placed his hand on the back of my seat, turning towards me to look behind him as he backed up. I watched him, intensely aware of his hand near my head, my eyes trailing to his lips. I looked away quickly as he turned back, his hand accidentally brushing my hair as he brought it back to the wheel. I cleared my throat.

"Where are we going?"

"Have you ever been to the Belle River Marina?"

I smiled. "Yeah. I used to go there all the time when I was little."

Taylor turned out onto the main street, glancing at me. "Do you mind going again?"

I shook my head. "I'd love to."

We drove in silence for a while, the only sound coming from the wind that rushed past us as we drove. I was thankful my hair was up in a ponytail, and so only the strands around my face were going haywire. I watched the scenery go by, trying to focus on anything other than the boy beside me, who was awfully quiet. I couldn't stop thinking about the other day, and the fact that we hadn't talked about the kiss. Had it been awkward for him, and now he wanted to just be friends? Or did he just want to have fun without putting a label on it? I chewed my lip, the possibilities flying around in my brain.

Taylor turned on the radio. The station that came on was the local hit station. "Do you mind this?"

I shook my head, smiling as Firework by Katy Perry came on. "I love this song."

Taylor smiled at my response. We listened in silence to the first verse, and then, to my surprise, Taylor began to sing along to the chorus, belting out the high notes and his voice resembling screeching tires. I burst into laughter, his sudden outburst giving me confidence. I began to sing along, and once the chorus finished, I turned the volume down, clutching my stomach. We glanced at one another, laughing. The mood in the car was immediately lightened, and we continued to listen to the radio as we neared the Marina. I would sneak small glances at Taylor every now and again, smiling if our eyes caught. We pulled into the parking lot and stepped out. Taylor locked the car and we met at the back.

"It's funny," I laughed, "Belle's parents were originally from Windsor before they moved to B.C. She was born there, but they named her after this place."

Taylor raised his eyebrows. "I wish my name had a cool story. My mom said it popped into her head just as soon as I popped out, and there it was."

"Wow," I found myself laughing. "I don't know how my parents picked my name. Your story's pretty cool, though," I teased.

"You're jealous."

I nodded sarcastically. "So jealous."

We laughed together before Taylor turned around. He looked out over the water and down the rocks, towards the tiny lighthouse that rested on the end.

"Want to walk to the lighthouse?" he turned to me. I nodded and smiled. We began to walk, side by side.

"So," I began, stifling a giggle. "You should have been a singer."

Taylor grinned. "I'll stick with hockey, thanks."

I laughed and we slowly inched our way to the lighthouse, taking in the scenery around us. This had always been one of my favorite places to go. The water calmed me, and the sight was beautiful.

We continued to walk, and my mind filled with memories. I let out a chuckle as I recalled the time I nearly fell in the water because I had wanted to see a 'cool looking rock' on the side of the path that led to the lighthouse. Taylor asked why I was laughing, and I grinned, recounting the tale. He laughed and I smiled, remembering how my dad had scolded me but eventually ended up getting the rock for me.

"Well," Taylor said. We were nearing the end of the path and had almost reached the lighthouse. "There's no chance of you falling in this time."

I looked at him, tilting my head to the side. "Why's that?"

He smiled and slipped his arm around mine, connecting our palms and threading our fingers together. Chills sprang from my fingertips all the way through my body. Taylor squeezed my hand, giving me a smile. "Because I've got you." He looked ahead, and I stared at him before staring at the ground. I came to a stop, tugging on his hand to make him stop too. We turned to face one another, and I looked down at our entwined hands.

"I'm officially confused."

Taylor looked just as perplexed as I felt. "Why?"

"Well, you kissed me. And then you text me and all that good stuff, then you come see me, and kiss me on the cheek. And now we're holding hands. I'm just..." I shrugged, glancing up at him before looking down at my feet and running my free hand through my hair. "I don't know, Taylor, tell me if I'm reading too much into this..."

Taylor let out a chuckle. His free hand brushed my hair away from my face before he gently grazed my face with his knuckles. My eyes flew up to his, and he took a step closer. "I like you a lot, Ronnie," he said, his eyes staring into mine intently. His hand cupped my face, his thumb gently rubbing my cheek. "To be honest," he cracked a smile, "I wanted to kiss you again when I stopped by the other day. But I didn't know if you wanted me to."

"I thought maybe you thought kissing me was a mistake," I admitted.

Taylor shook his head. "That's not it at all." He searched my eyes, as if to see whether or not I believed him.

"Then what is it?"

His hand fell from my face to run down my arm before taking my other hand in his. He pulled me even closer. "I messed up before. Badly. And I don't want to do it again. I don't want to push you. I didn't know how you felt about the kiss, and-" I couldn't help the smile that spread across my lips, causing him to stop talking. He tilted his head to the side. "What?" His smile grew.

"It's just funny. I spent so much time worrying that you didn't want to kiss me, and you were there wondering if I wanted to kiss you and I did - I do - and I can't stop thinking about you and I don't want you to worry about what happened before because I trust that you're different now and-"

"Can I kiss you now?"

I stared up at him, my cheeks flushing. I let out a tiny, nervous giggle. "Yeah," I whispered. Taylor grinned.

He let go of my hands and brushed my hair out of my eyes. His hand trailed from my forehead down to my cheek, and he held it there, bringing his other hand up to the other side of my face. My entire body was shaking, my mind spinning. Taylor leaned towards me and I closed my eyes, tilting my head slightly to the side. Our lips connected gently and slowly for a long, lingering kiss, leaving me breathless as we pulled apart. I nuzzled my face into his chest, my heart pounding. I could hear Taylor's doing the same. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close.