Page 12

Rio

Age 16

“Nice win,” Coach says to end our postgame meeting. “Get some rest and I’ll see you boys bright and early Monday morning for practice.”

We do a quick huddle and cheer before my teammates and I skate across the ice to the opening of the rink that’ll take us to our locker room.

I’m nearing the end of my sophomore year of high school and somehow, someway, I’m playing for our school’s varsity hockey team. After barely making the freshman team last year, I worked my ass off, earned some muscle and thankfully some height. I skated extra hours, focused on my balance and speed, and now I’m here, playing varsity hockey as a sophomore and already getting looked at by college recruits.

I fall in line behind my teammates as they exit the ice, letting the juniors and seniors hit the showers first. Partly because I’m the youngest on the team and need to wait for my turn when the water is no longer hot, but mostly because I know Hallie is here somewhere, waiting for me, and I’d much rather see her post-game than anything else.

As I step off the ice, I find her standing with a huddle of her friends but looking at me, wearing a big smile and my away jersey over one of my stolen hoodies.

I think it’s my favorite part of game days, knowing she’ll be waiting for me afterward. Hallie has yet to miss one of my high school games, home or away. And sure, I see her plenty with our families being so close and her living next door, but there’s something different about game days. I view them as a chance to impress her.

She peels away from her friends, headed towards me. “Nice game, eighty-three.”

I nod towards her shirt. “Nice jersey, birthday girl.”

Hallie steps into me, and with my helmet and stick in hand, I wrap my arms around her shoulders, placing a quick kiss to the top of her head. I tower over her now with my new height and added inches from the skates.

Arms around my middle, she rests her chin on my chest and looks up at me. “You’re sweaty.”

I chuckle. “Sorry.”

“I don’t mind.”

Her eyes are all sparkly as she looks up at me, and I take it in. There’s nothing I crave more than these moments when she has her attention on me.

Unsurprisingly, when Hallie got to high school this year, she was instantly well-liked. Yes, she’s the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen and equal parts confident and outgoing. But more than anything, she’s kind. To everyone. Popular or unpopular, she will become your friend if you let her. So yeah, plenty of other guys at school have their eye on her, which makes the times Hallie has her eye on me all that more satisfying.

“Nice win, DeLuca!” Luke hollers.

His voice has me and his sister instantly breaking away from each other and when I look up, I find him and all four of our parents headed down the bleachers in our direction.

Hallie creates more distance by stepping back.

“Thanks, man,” I say. “I didn’t think you were coming.”

“Lacrosse practice got out early.”

Their dad knocks his fist with me. “Heck of a game, Rio. You’re looking strong. The way you were beating some of their guys to the puck?” He shakes his head. “You’ve gotten so fast on those skates.”

“Thank you, sir.”

I’ve always liked Mr. Hart. He’s been like a second dad to me, and he and Hallie are really close. He’s close with Luke too, of course, but Luke would rather go out with his friends than stay home with his family, whereas Hallie will cancel plans if her dad wants to spend time with her.

I meet my mom with a kiss on the cheek.

“Proud of you, Tesoro ,” she says.

“Thanks, Ma.”

“That’s my boy.” My dad throws his arm over my shoulder, but he has to reach up to do it. I’m officially taller than him now, both on and off the skates.

“Great game, Rio,” Hallie’s mom says, standing next to her husband.

“Thank you, Mrs. Hart. You didn’t all have to come.”

“We wanted to come see you play.” Mr. Hart tucks Hallie under his arm. “And it’s what the birthday girl wanted to do for her special day.”

Hallie’s cheeks go a shade of pink.

“Hallie,” her mom begins. “Are you sure you don’t want to do a birthday dinner tonight? We can change our reservation from four people to seven.”

“Wait,” Luke cuts in, speaking to his sister. “I thought you already had plans tonight and that’s why we couldn’t do dinner. Because I made plans to... study .”

That’s a lie. He made plans to take Lacey Williams on a drive, so they park somewhere and make out all night.

“No dinner this year,” Hallie says. “I’m babysitting the Holmes kids tonight.”

Her dad squeezes her closer. “Saving up for school.”

Her eyes flit to me and those freckled cheeks flame again.

None of our parents are particularly wealthy. Sure, we have a nice home that’s been passed down for generations, and my parents got me a pickup truck that’s the same age as me when I turned sixteen. But neither Hallie’s parents nor mine will be able to pay for us to go to college. So, she’s saving every penny she can from babysitting, and this summer she’s planning to become a lifeguard at our local pool. Luke and I are hoping for athletic scholarships. Him for lacrosse and me for hockey.

It doesn’t surprise me that Hallie would rather babysit than celebrate her birthday. She’s going to do whatever it takes to make her dream come true and I couldn’t be prouder of her for it.

“Well, me, you, and your mom are having a girls’ day on Saturday to make up for it,” my mom adds. “We’ll go get our nails done. Do a little shopping.”

Hallie smiles at her. “I’d love that, Mrs. DeLuca.”

My dad moves behind my mom, folding his arms around the front of her shoulders, holding her back to his front before he plants a quick kiss to her temple.

Yeah, it’s a little embarrassing for them to be all lovey-dovey with each other at my school, but at the same time, I feel like I’m one of the lucky few whose parents still genuinely like being with each other.

I admire their relationship. They met each other when they were the same age that I met Hallie and have basically been together ever since. It’s the kind of relationship I want to find one day, and if I’m being honest, I think I may have already.

I’ve never looked at a girl the way I look at Hallie. I’ve never had the kind of friendship we have with anyone else. I’ve never even considered dating someone who wasn’t her.

I’ve gotten teased by my teammates for turning down other girls. I’ve had my sexuality questioned because I’m sixteen and haven’t dated. But frankly, Hallie Hart is all I see.

No, we aren’t boyfriend and girlfriend. We’ve never kissed or done anything like that. But it just feels... right. We haven’t even told each other we like each other, though I’m pretty sure it’s mutual.

I think.

I don’t know for sure, but she hasn’t really given anyone else the time of day, so maybe?

Regardless, her brother would kill me. Hallie being in high school with us was the first time that Luke realized his friends were interested in his sister, and he’s become a little too protective of her. And on top of that, our families are so intertwined that it’d be a huge problem if we didn’t work out.

So, yeah. I haven’t said anything to her about how I feel, but she’s my favorite person. The person I enjoy spending time with the most, and I can’t ignore that it feels like the same thing my parents have.

“Luke, you’ll take your sister to the Holmes house, right?” his mom asks.

“Um...” He hesitates. “No. I have to study. Can’t you guys drop her off?”

“The restaurant is in the opposite direction. Drop your sister off then you can go study.”

Luke opens his mouth to argue with his mother, but his dad gives him a sharp look, telling him not to.

“I can drop her off,” I cut in. “I don’t mind. It’s on my way home.”

My eyes flit to Hallie to find her biting back a small smile.

“If that’s okay with you both,” I add to her parents.

I’ve had my license since my birthday last August, but I’ve never driven with only Hallie in the car. It’s always her and Luke or her and my mom.

Her parents look to each other before Mr. Hart says, “Be careful with my girl, Rio.”

I nod. “Always, sir.”

Our parents say their goodbyes to us before leaving the rink to go to dinner together.

“You have to study?” Hallie questions her brother. “Could you have not tried to come up with a more believable lie? We all know you’re going to go meet up with your girlfriend.”

He shrugs smugly. “It worked, didn’t it? And Lacey is not my girlfriend. We’re just talking.”

“And hooking up,” I add.

Hallie grimaces. “I didn’t need to know that part.”

A group of guys walks by but one of them stops and eyes Hallie up and down. “Hey, little Hart.”

“Hey, Dylan.” Hallie smiles shyly at the guy I recognize from Luke’s lacrosse team.

My eyes bounce between them, because what the hell was that?

“What’s a guy have to do to get you to wear his jersey the way you wear DeLuca’s?”

“Get lost, Dylan,” Luke cuts in, unimpressed.

Dylan holds his hands up. “I’m just being nice to your sister, Hart.”

“She’s off-limits.”

Dylan looks at Hallie with a smug little smirk. “Got it. Good to see you, Hallie.”

He leaves with his friends, but not before giving her one last look over his shoulder.

Luke refocuses on his sister. “You know you’re not allowed to date any of my teammates, right?”

She rolls her eyes. “Yes, Luke.”

“Or anyone in my class,” he continues. “And especially not any of my friends.”

“Mm-hmm,” she mumbles. “So you’ve said. Plenty of times.”

“I’m serious, Hallie. Guys my age are only after one thing, and I’m sure as hell not letting any of my friends near you when I know what’s on their mind.”

I’m not after only one thing from Hallie. I’m after everything with her, but still, it feels like he’s reminding me to not go there, though Luke has no idea of my feelings for his sister.

“Speaking of guys your age being after only one thing,” she says, head cocked. “Aren’t you late for your study session with Lacey?”

Luke smiles knowingly. “Yes, I am. Happy birthday, sis.” He gives Hallie a hug before turning to me. “Thanks for giving her a ride. I owe you one.”

“Happy to.”

Understatement of the year.

“Pick a song for the drive?” I ask Hallie as she sits on the passenger side of my truck.

She’s wearing this excited smile before digging into the glove compartment where I’ve stashed a combination of tapes and CDs. The best part about this old truck is that it still has a cassette player that works.

“What do you have in here?” she asks.

“You’d know better than me. You’re always leaving your music in there.”

The truth is, I have no idea what’s in my glove box because the only thing I listen to when I’m driving alone are Hallie’s birthday mixtapes. But I was smart enough to hide those before she got in my car. She gave me one on her fourteenth birthday last year and remade the two from her previous birthdays, the ones she had made before she started sharing them with me. And tonight, I’ll get a new one.

A few months after Hallie got that boombox for her thirteenth birthday, I asked for the same for mine, simply so I could listen to her yearly mixtapes in my room. And now, they play on repeat in the truck. Because yes, I have a huge freaking crush on the girl and want to know about all the songs that represent important moments in her life.

“Oh, I’ve been looking for this!” she says before clicking a tape into the cassette deck.

I groan as soon as the harmonized voices start playing through the speakers. “I thought I tossed that.”

Hallie squirms excitedly in her seat as the music begins to play.

“Hal, I really need you to move on from your boy band phase. It has me questioning your taste.”

She relaxes in her seat, resting back on the headrest with a smile.

It makes me smile too.

I continue to drive, keeping my speed right at the designated speed limit. I promised her dad I’d take care of her and the last thing I want to do is get a ticket while Hallie is in the car and never be allowed to drive her alone again.

“Luke is so annoying about me not talking to his friends,” she says out of nowhere.

I quickly glance her way, trying to get a read on who or what she’s referring to before refocusing on the road. “Why do you say that?”

“I don’t know. I’m fifteen and he’s only a year older than me. It wouldn’t be all that crazy if I were interested in one of his friends.”

Wait... what does that mean? Me? Or someone else?

Thumbs tapping the steering wheel, I swallow down my nerves. “Are you referring to that guy Dylan?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Do you like one of Luke’s friends or something?”

Hallie’s voice is quiet. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

I reach out to turn the music down because it’s too loud in this cab when all I want is to hear her say “yes.” That yes, she does like one of her brother’s friends. That the friend she’s referring to is me.

My long sleeve falls down my forearm as I adjust the volume and before I know what’s happening, Hallie’s fingers reach out, lightly tracing the friendship bracelet on my wrist.

“I can’t believe you still wear this, and I can’t believe it hasn’t fallen off.”

I drop my arm onto the bench seat between us, letting her continue to run her fingertips over the softened threads.

The music is quiet now, so the only thing I can hear is my pounding heart, thumping in my ears.

I keep driving with my left hand with my eyes on the road, leaving my right hand to rest on the seat between us.

Hallie’s touch has become more languid, running over the old bracelet she made me until her fingertips take a different path, moving up and gently running over the back of my hand instead.

I can’t fucking breathe.

She’s tentative with her touch, as if she’s not sure if I’m going to stop her, delicately exploring the back of my hand, until finally, she slips her fingers to glide against my palm.

Without overthinking it, I open my hand and intertwine my fingers with hers. She stills for a moment, before curling her fingers around mine, putting us palm to palm.

I’m too distracted, too focused on what’s happening between us to concentrate on driving. Thankfully, we’re on a backroad and not the interstate, so I pull my truck off to the side of the road, coming to a full stop. But I don’t put it in park because that would require the use of my right hand and it’s currently occupied.

“What’s wrong?” Hallie asks.

With my foot firmly on the brake, I’m finally able to fully look in her direction. “I promised your dad I’d be careful driving you, and I’m too distracted to be careful.”

Her lips slightly part.

“Hal, Luke would kill me.”

Her eyes flick down to our intertwined hands, resting on the bench seat between us. I can feel her grip soften in mine, as if she were about to pull away, so I tighten my hand around hers to keep it there in mine.

“So maybe let’s not tell him,” I add.

A tick of a smile twitches at the corner of her lips.

There’s a moment where we just sit there, holding each other’s hand. It feels like there’s an evident shift happening before I gesture to the road ahead of us. “We’re almost to the Holmes’ house.”

“Okay,” she whispers. “I suppose you need your hand back then.”

We let go of each other, slowly separating, and when we do, I click her seat belt to unfasten it. She looks up at me, confused, until I put my hand back in hers and pull inward, subsequently pulling her across the bench to sit directly next to me instead of leaving the middle seat unoccupied.

“Fasten your seat belt, Hal.”

She’s biting back a smile when she uses her right hand to wrap the seat belt over her lap and click it into place. I place my left hand on the top of the wheel while resting our intertwined hands on Hallie’s leg. Then I drive the rest of the short distance as cautiously as possible and a few miles below the speed limit.

“Thanks for the ride,” she says as I park in front of the Holmes’ house.

“Anytime.”

She gives my palm one last squeeze before sliding across the bench seat and opening the passenger door. “Meet you on the roof tonight?”

I smile softly at her. “See you there.”

My mom falls onto the couch next to me as I’m finishing up my homework.

“You guys got home late,” I say with a raised brow. “It’s a school night, young lady.”

“Nice try. It’s Friday.” She drops her head back on the couch behind her. “You know how it is when we get together with the Harts. We have too good of a time. That restaurant was delicious. You’ll have to come with us next time. Then Steph found this adorable little wine bar, so we may have stopped in and split a bottle. Or two.”

“Glad you guys had fun.”

She pats my leg. “We missed you three. Did you get Hallie to her babysitting job okay?”

I refocus on my homework, nodding.

“You’re a good friend to her, Rio.”

“Yeah.”

“And to Luke.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“But have you told him that you’re in love with his sister?”

That earns my attention. “Ma!”

“What?” she asks behind a fit of laughter. “Well, it’s true.”

“No, it’s not. It’s not like that between me and Hallie.”

It doesn’t feel right to say, especially after that moment in my truck today. But my mom tells Hallie’s mom everything and the last thing I need is for Luke to find out I’m crushing on his little sister.

“Oh, Tesoro. ” She exhales deeply to stop her laughter. “Yes, it is. I see the way you look at her. I’m just surprised Luke hasn’t noticed it yet.”

I’m focused on my homework again and my voice is less defensive when I say, “It’s not like that.”

“Okay. You’re right. My bad for thinking that it was.”

I cautiously look over at her to find her smiling at me knowingly.

“Luke would kill me,” I say.

She nods. “He’d be upset. You guys are at that age where he’d take it personally, but he’d get over it eventually.”

“And we’re so close with their family.”

“We are,” she agrees. “Steph is my best friend, and I love Hallie as if she were my own. But how is that a bad thing?”

“I don’t know. You probably aren’t aware of this, but Hallie and I are really close. Probably closer than me and Luke.”

“Oh, I know.” She waves me off dismissively. “Honey, when are you going to learn that I know everything?”

I roll my eyes. “What I’m trying to say is that I don’t know if Hallie really feels the same way I do and I don’t know that I’m ready to risk what we have to find out. Plus, I don’t think I’m ready to admit that to Luke yet.”

She nods in understanding. “I’m not saying you need to tell either of them about how you’re feeling, but if you ever want to talk to me about it, I’ll always be here to listen.”

“Yeah. Thanks, Ma.”

She ruffles my hair as she stands from the couch. “I’m headed to bed. Your dad is waiting for me so we can watch our show. Good night, honey.”

“Night.”

She’s halfway up the stairs when I stop her. “Hey, Ma?”

“Yeah?”

“Am I really that obvious, or are you just saying that?”

She cackles. Wildly. Like a woman who downed two bottles of wine with her husband and best friends. “Rio, if you had ‘I’m in love with Hallie Hart’ tattooed across your forehead, it might be a little more subtle.”

“Okay,” I say with a rising inflection. “It’s clearly past your bedtime, Mother.”

She’s laughing all the way upstairs and into her room.

I finish the last of my homework before going to my own room to brush my teeth and change into sweatpants, a hoodie, and a pair of sneakers.

It’s a bit before midnight—right on time.

I look out my bedroom window to hers, where I can see her brand-new wall color—pink this time—and new furniture configuration. She only changed it up twice this year.

Hallie’s not outside yet, so I grab my warmest blanket before walking to the centerline of the roof between our houses, taking a seat to wait for her. I checked the roof the other night, and it’s only gotten warmer since, so thankfully, there’s currently no snow or ice to stop us.

Yes, Hallie and I sneak out and meet up here quite often, but there’s something about her birthday meetups that are always my favorite. Partly because there are a few winter months that we don’t get to do this. It’s too cold and there’s too much ice on the roof, so we don’t regularly meet up out here until after April. Yet, we’re a little reckless and always risk it for Hallie’s birthday in early March.

I mean, this part of the roof is flat, so it’s not all that risky. We aren’t completely out of our minds. But my other favorite thing about these meetups is that it signifies that soon enough, the sun will begin to melt the snow away for the season and we’ll get to sneak out here whenever we want for the rest of the year until the next winter comes around.

Hallie’s bedroom window slides open. “Have you been waiting long?” she asks as she steps out onto the roof.

“Just got here.”

I lift the other half of my blanket for her to sit beside me. She does, scooting in close, before I cover her with it.

“The moon is so bright tonight,” she says, looking up at it.

She’s right. It’s bright enough I can see the dusting of freckles over her nose and the upturn of her lips as she smiles at the sky.

“How was babysitting?”

“Well...” she sighs. “The oldest had a temper tantrum about bedtime and the youngest was teething. But they tipped me extra for working on my birthday, so I guess it was worth it.”

“You’ll have enough saved up for school in no time.”

“Hopefully. It’s expensive, so we’ll see.”

“Do you know where you want to go yet?”

“I’m not sure. Somewhere away from home, though. I’m excited to have the whole college experience one day.”

“Yeah,” I agree. “Same here.”

She sits up straighter. “I have two things for you. First.” She places my folded jersey on my lap. “I need to return that to you. Thanks for letting me borrow it, but I need your home jersey for when you play on the road next weekend.”

“I’ll get it to you once it’s out of the laundry.”

Her eyes are glued on my jersey sitting in my lap. “I’ve never asked you why you picked that number in the first place. You’ve been number eighty-three for as long as I’ve known you.”

I chuckle. “Well, I was ten years old when I got to choose my number for the first time, and I didn’t know what to choose, so I picked my favorite day. I thought I was so cool picking my birthday. Eighty-three. August third. It’s stuck ever since. Can’t imagine having a different number now.”

She hums. “Clever.”

“And the second thing you have for me?”

She gives me an unimpressed look because we both know what it is.

Out of the front pocket of her hoodie, well my hoodie that she stole, Hallie pulls out a CD case with a single silver disk inside.

“Hallie Hart,” I begin in disbelief as she hands it to me. “What the heck is this?”

“I know. I know. I hate to admit it, but it was time to switch. Half the songs I needed for this year’s playlist weren’t even on cassette tapes, so I had to burn a CD. And even CDs are becoming hard to find.”

“Wow.” I shake my head, looking at the disk in my hands. “It’s the end of an era.”

The CD is signed the same way all the previous tapes were, with an “H” and the outline of a heart for her last name, followed by the number fifteen. Her heart drawing is the same as it always is, with a little tail extending past where it’s supposed to stop.

Like instinct, I reach out with my forefinger, covering that extra bit. The little imperfection that I find perfect every year I get to see it.

She playfully pushes my hand away and fully covers the signature with her palm. “You always do that. Every year. I know the way I draw hearts is weird.”

I try to move her hand away so I can see it, but she doesn’t budge.

“I don’t think it’s weird, Hal. I think it’s my favorite part.”

Her grip on the CD case loosens and this time, when I move her hand, she lets me. She lets me slip my fingers between hers. She lets me run the pad of my thumb over her knuckle.

I look up to find her already watching me with those sparkly eyes.

“No one else draws their hearts like this, so every time I see one, I know it’s you. That’s why I like them so much.”

Her smile goes soft.

“Happy birthday, Hal.”

“Thank you.” It’s hardly a whisper, so she clears her throat and nods towards the CD. “Should we go listen?”

“Only if you tell me why each one of these songs is important to you.”

That smile grows. “I always do.”

She stands first and I follow, tossing my blanket and jersey back through my window before crossing the roof to her room, closing her window after we’re both inside.

Hallie is already in the closet, pulling out the extra blankets and pillow we stash for my sleepovers.

“You’re staying over.” She says it as a statement before adding, “Right?”

It’s been months since I’ve been able to, thanks to the winter weather blocking my ability to sneak into her room, and I’m desperate for a good night of sleep.

“Is that okay?”

She shoots me a look, reminding me I don’t have to ask. I typically don’t ask. I usually just sneak over here and plant myself on the floor next to her bed on the nights I can’t sleep. Been doing it for years at this point.

I make myself comfortable on the ground with my makeshift bed as Hallie gets the mix CD ready in the boombox.

“What happens if it scratches?” I ask, remembering that was her initial concern with switching over.

She holds up three more copies, all signed with the H, the heart, and the number fifteen. “I made backups.”

I’m chuckling as she climbs into bed, lying on the side closest to me, but my laughter dies the instant the first song begins to play.

“You’re kidding me,” I state.

Now she’s the one laughing.

“Are they all going to be boy band songs?”

“I don’t want to ruin it for you. Just listen.”

I groan. “I’m disappointed in you, Hal. New rule for next year. No more boy bands.”

She’s laughing again before she explains why this song is important to her. As she does every year, she describes what was happening when she listened to them it made her want to rewind it back and relive that moment. That continues for the entire CD, and no, I don’t love the song choices, but I do love hearing about all the big, important moments she had this year.

We listen in the dark, somewhat lying next to each other—her on the bed and me on the floor—when the final song begins to play.

I recognize it instantly. It’s hard not to when I just heard it today. It’s the same song we listened to in my truck.

Hallie rolls over, lying on her stomach so she can look down at me. “This was a last-minute addition,” she admits quietly.

“And what happened that was so important when you heard it?”

I already know the answer, but I want to hear her say it.

She smiles down at me softly. “It was the first time I realized that you may feel the same way about me as I’ve always felt about you.”

It may be her birthday, but I swear, with that single sentence, she just made all my wishes come true.