Page 110 of Nineteen Letters

“Mmm yummy,” you replied as you scanned the menu. “Ugh. It’s fifty-nine dollars. I might just stick with the fish and chips.”

“You love lobster.”

“I know, but it’s too expensive.”

“This is a date, Jem, I’m paying. Order the lobster.”

“Brax,” you said, reaching for my hand across the table. “You don’t have that kind of money to throw away. What I eat isn’t important. I’d settle for a slice of bread and a glass of water, as long as you’re the one I’m dining with.”

I pulled your hand up to my mouth, placing a soft kiss on your knuckles. You always said the sweetest things, but I’d already decided that you were having the lobster, whether you wanted it or not. I would have given you the world if I could.

The twentieth of December 2006. It was the following day, and also my birthday. When I walked you to the doorthe night before, after the best first date anyone could ask for, you had a surprise for me as well.

“I need you to meet me out here at 5 am,” you said.

“5 am? That’s only six hours away. Why so early?”

“Because it’s my boyfriend’s birthday, and I have a special day planned.”

It was 4.55 am when I quietly closed the front door of my house, careful not to wake my dad. Your place was bathed in darkness, but I could see the light was on in your bedroom, so I knew you were awake.

I leaned up against your car and waited, all the time wondering what your plans were. Thinking back, if I’d known what you had in store for me, I would have run back into the house and barricaded all the doors. I still get a sick feeling in my stomach just thinking about it.

A few minutes later, you ran out of your house and threw yourself into my arms. “Happy birthday, Brax!”

You tasted of mint when your lips met mine. It was the perfect start to my day. Things kind of went downhill from there.

“So, are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I asked as you reversed out of the driveway in the darkness.

“Nope. You’ll see when we get there.”

When you headed towards the freeway, I thought we were going to Ma and Pa’s, but then you took the on-ramp in the opposite direction.

The sun had risen by the time we neared our destination. We were in an area I’d never been to before—a lot of farmland around—so I still had no clue where we were going. You put your indicator on and pulled over to the side of the road in front of a large paddock.

“Surprise!” you said, pointing towards the passenger-side window. I turned my head, and my heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. There, lying on the grass, was a giant hot air balloon, yet to be inflated. “Are you excited? It’s going to be epic.”

I wanted to tell you there was no way in hell I was going up in that thing, but I couldn’t bring myself to burst your bubble.

“Wow,” was all I could get out. But then I turned my head to look at you, and your face was glowing. I knew you would have saved hard for this surprise. “It’s going to be amazing,” I lied.

As we walked across the grassed area, I felt physically sick inside, but I tried my best not to show it.

“You must be Jemma,” the balloon boy said, offering his hand to you. He didn’t look much older than us, which did nothing to ease my concerns.

“Yes, and this is Braxton, my boyfriend. It’s his birthday today.”

“Hey,” he said, glancing at me before focusing his attention back on you.

The way his beady eyes moved down the length of your body instantly got my back up. I’d seen plenty of guys look at you that way in the past, but that didn’t mean I had to like it.

Balloon boy started going over the do’s and don’ts, and the procedures we needed to follow in case of an in-air emergency, but the only thing I could hear was the thundering beat of my pulse in my ears.

My knuckles turned white as I held on for dear life. You stood beside me, leaning over the side as you watched the ground below disappear. I willed my hands to release themselves from the death grip I had on the basket, pulling you into the safety of my arms.

“This is the best thing ever,” you squealed.

I forced out a smile, but I wholeheartedly disagreed.