“So why do it?” I ask.

“Because sometimes you need to have nightmares to appreciate the dreams.”

I don’t know how to respond, so I don’t. I just stare at him, watching his features soften as he stares back, his smile growing with each passing second. Then he bends down, plants a chaste kiss on my cheek and places my phone in my hand. “Your mom’s going to be home soon. I should get you back.”

“Already?” I complain, checking the time.

“Time flies when you’re having fun.”

Twenty-Three

Dylan

Riley: You know what I miss?

Dylan: Me?

Riley: Please. I only saw you an hour ago.

Dylan: I still choose the answer to be ME.

Riley: I miss playing basketball.

Dylan: You play?

Riley: I dabble.

Dylan: Dribble?

Riley: Dabble. It’s a figure of speech, Dylan.

Dylan: I know. It was a joke.

Riley: Your typing’s gotten better. And faster.

Dylan: I’m on the computer.

Riley: I figured.

Dylan: But swimming was your thing, right? You don’t miss swimming?

Riley: I haven’t been in the water since… you know.

Dylan: Oh.

Riley: Besides the bath, I mean.

Dylan: You kill me with your visuals, Hudson.

Riley: Unintentional.

Dylan: Sure.

Riley: I do miss you though.

Dylan: Needy much?

Riley: lol. Shut up.

Dylan: I miss you too. My room smells like you now.

Dylan: I could come over. We can drive to the elementary school and shoot hoops.

Riley: I wish.

Dylan: You’re twenty, Riley. Surely your mom can’t tell you what to do.

Riley: It’s not that she tells me what to do. I don’t know. Guilt + respect, I guess.

Dylan: I call bullshit. I say it’s fear.

Riley: It’s not.

Dylan: It makes no sense.

Riley: Doesn’t have to make sense to you.

Riley: Besides, it’ll be dark soon. We can do it tomorrow when she’s at work.

Dylan: Put your sneakers on. I’ll be over in five.

Riley: Don’t you dare!

I don’t bother replying. Instead, I go over to her house. I knock on her door and fake a smile when her mother answers. “Good evening, Ms. Hudson. I’d like to see Riley. Actually, I’d like to take Riley out of the house. Not just now, but a lot of times in the future so you should probably get used to me knocking on your door and requesting her presence to join me. And I’m sorry if this will cause problems for you, but—”

“What are you doing, Dylan?” Riley says.

I look past her mother to see her standing just outside her door. Then I ignore her question and speak to the woman in front of me. “But I like your daughter. A lot. And if I don’t get to see her now, then I don’t know what I’ll do. Honestly, I’ll probably revert to being a teenager and toilet papering your house.” I shrug. “Sorry.”

“Dylan!” Riley snaps.

Her mom doesn’t speak, so I keep going. “I guess I’m not really here to ask for permission. I’m just here to pick up your daughter.” I glance up at Riley. “Let’s go.”

Her gaze moves from me to her mom. “I can’t,” she says.

“Just go,” her mom says. “We’ll discuss it when you get home.”

I thought Riley would smile, but she doesn’t. She looks hesitant, but more than that, she looks pissed. At me. “I don’t have to go,” she tells her mom, like she’s a grounded teenager.

Her mom looks me over from head to toe. “You’re a marine, right?”

I square my shoulders. “Yes, Ma’am.”

“And you’re home for what? R&R?”

“No, Ma’am. Medical.”

She nods. “Afghanistan?”

I lift my chin. She’s trying to be intimidating. It’s not going to work. Not on me. And not when it comes to Riley. “Yes, Ma’am.”

“So medical leave… that means you’re going back, right?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“So what is it exactly you’re doing with my daughter, Mr. Banks? Are you just looking for a good time with her before you redeploy? And then what? You leave her behind as just another notch on your belt?”

Now I’m pissed. “That’s not at all—”

“You can show up at my door and act as tough as you want,” she cuts in. “But regardless of what she’s told you, I love my daughter and I do what’s best for her. And what’s best for her is definitely not you. Because you’re not staying, you’re going back. Back to a warzone where it’s your job to put your life on the line every single second you’re there. She’s already lost someone she loved. Someone we all loved. And look at her. This is how she dealt with it… how she’s still dealing with it. If you really like her like you say you do, you’ll leave her alone. So she doesn’t have to go through life worrying how she’s going to handle the next death that comes her way.”

I don’t know how long I stand there, my hands in my pockets looking at the woman who I thought I hated, wondering exactly when it was in her speech that my hate turned to admiration, but it’s a long ass time.

And time + perspective can change people.

Instantly.

Because she’s right.

Through the chaos Riley and I created within the four walls of her bedroom, and the overwhelming feelings I let overshadow our reality… I never thought about it like that.