See, Eliza Reynolds flew under the radar. Very few people at school knew who she was, and I intended to keep it that way. If she caught the attention of the football team, she’d be flooded with dates. So I ignored her at all costs so as to not draw any attention her way. I couldn’t risk that someone would take her away from me.
Sure, she was dating Daniel Bennett, but he was a tool. I wanted to kill him on a daily basis when I saw them together at school. But what was I supposed to do? She wasn’t mine—at least, not that anyone knew.
“What did Bennett give you?” I asked just to size up the competition. He wasn’t loaded, but he had a car and took her out on dates every weekend. I was curious, but it made her smile fall.
She mumbled something, but I couldn’t quite hear her.
“Huh?”
She looked up and repeated, “Ladybug earrings.”
I blinked at her for a minute before doubling over in laughter.
“Shut up!” she said sternly. Then she laughed right along with me.
“Doodle, just let me make sure I have this straight. He bought a girl who has never had her ears pierced and is terrified of insects, ladybug earrings?” I went back to laughing.
“Oh, it gets worse. I wasn’t sure what to say when I opened them, so I told him I loved them. Now I’m gonna have to get my ears pierced so he doesn’t feel bad.”
“What? That’s ridiculous.” I stopped laughing. “You’re scared of needles. You know that’s how they do that, right?”
“Well, holy crap. Till Page. You actually listen to me when I talk!” She smiled and wrapped her arms around my waist, hugging me again. “Thank you.”
“I hear everything you say. Even the boring stuff.”
She giggled, and I kissed the top of her head.
“The light turned off,” Quarry said, suddenly appearing, scaring us both.
Eliza must have jumped ten feet in the air.
“Jesus, Q! Don’t sneak up on people like that!” I barked as I tried to slow my own racing heart.
“Sorry,” he said, embarrassed, and I immediately felt guilty for yelling at him.
“Hey, it’s all right, buddy.”
“Is this Quarry?” Eliza all but squealed.
“We should get going,” I grumbled, not wanting her to cross over into the real world.
“Yep. I’m Quarry.” He bounced on his toes.
“Wow. You’re a cutie.” Eliza squatted down in front of him, and all I could think about was that she would notice his dirty shirt.
“Come on, Q.” I started to walk away, but they both ignored me.
“Thanks!” Quarry grinned. “Hey, when I’m older, maybe we can go on a date or something?” My head snapped to his as I popped a questioning eyebrow.
“I’d really like that,” Eliza managed to say through a muffled laugh. “I should probably tell you my name first though. You know, so you can find me in a few years.”
“Oh yeah. I’ll need that. Can I have your phone number too?” he asked.
My jaw fell open. Fantastic. My six-year-old brother was even trying to take her from me.
“You are definitely related to Till.” She laughed loudly. “Well, Quarry Page, my name is Eliza Reynolds. I’ll get your brother to give you my number later. I’m really looking forward to our date.” She lifted her hand for a high five, which Quarry enthusiastically returned.
Shaking my head, I broke up Quarry’s love connection. “All right, we’ve got to go. Flint’s at home sleeping. Happy birthday, Doodle.” I leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead.
She picked the vase up off the windowsill and hugged it to her chest. “Thanks again. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Of course.” I smiled and winked. “Here. I’ll help.” I scooped her off her feet and eased her back through the window. I’d have used any excuse to touch her.
“Goodnight, Quarry!” She blew a kiss that made a slow smile creep across his lips.
As soon as we got a few steps away, Quarry started talking again. “Are you going to marry her?”
“I don’t know. You probably should have checked with me about that before you asked her out on a date. I’m not sure how I feel about you hitting on my girl,” I teased, and his smile fell. “I’m kidding.” I lightly punched his shoulder.
“Hey, why’d she climb through the window? Does her house not have a door? That would be pretty cool to climb through the windows all the time. Would you have to put a doorknob on the window though?”
“You want to hear something cool?” I interjected just to make him stop talking.
“Yeah!”
“That window she crawled into is magic.”
“Nu-uh,” he said in disbelief, but he stopped walking and turned to look at me.
“I’m serious. It’s a magical portal that takes you to a fantasy world. There are no parents or teachers. Everything is nice and clean, and the pantry is always stocked. The best part, though, is that she’s always there.”
“Is she magic too?” he breathed with wide eyes.
I thought about it for a minute before answering.
Was Eliza magic?
She is to me.
“Absolutely.”
Six months later . . .