I reach for his face. “I’m not a monster.” I spread a matching streak across his other cheekbone and take a half-step back to admire my work. “There … symmetry.” Aiden turns his head from side to side, like he’s letting me get a good look at my paint job. “Yeah, I like it.”

Aiden drops his head to mine and kisses me. Not like our other kisses, feverish and a little desperate. This isn’t the kiss of a one-time thing, it’s soft and sweet, and holds a promise of more like it to come.

And I probably like it more than I should.

AIDEN

Two hours later, we’re standing at the top of the bleachers looking down at our work. It isn’t half bad. Standing on the field, I worried our inconsistency with the paint cans would be obvious, but from up here the mistakes aren’t noticeable. Next to me, Olivia has her hands on her hips like she’s looking down at the world’s greatest mural, and not a rough outline.

“This is so cool,” she says.

“Wait until it’s done.”

“It’s not?”

“I’ll have to come back and fill in color. That part will be a little harder, but now that the outline is done, it should be doable.”

“Can I come watch?”

I’m caught off guard that she would want to just sit and watch me do this. It fills a little hole inside of me, knowing someone wants to witness this new thing I’m throwing myself into. That anyone cares about it as much as I do. And I wouldn’t have asked her to sit here while I paint, but I’m excited she wants to. Even if it’s just out of curiosity.

“Yes,” I say, and I pluck the can out of her hand. “You can actually watch me make something tonight, if you want. If you don’t have plans.” I give her an out, because we’ve been out here for hours already. And maybe she’s not as into this as I am. The art or me. I don’t know what the time limit is on first dates. “Fair warning though, we’re going to be playing with fire.”

She claps her hands together like I just told her tomorrow was her birthday or something, then her face gets serious. “Wait. We’re not doing any actual vandalism, right?”

I laugh. “No, Olivia.”

Her face lights up as a smile spreads across her face. “Then I’m in.”

I look at the girl standing next to me, her shoulders a little pink from being out in the sun all day, a white streak of paint in her hair, and it’s hard to believe that only a few weeks ago so much felt like it was ending this summer. But this is a beginning I can get behind.

I’m in too.