“Graham?” The deep, but undeniably feminine voice reaches my ear as I’m turning around to close the door behind me. I know who it is, even though her voice has changed some. I turn around, and I know my eyes widen as I take her in. She’s not a little girl anymore. Not even close.

“Apollo?”

“It’s me.” She fans her fingers out by her side as if to say “Ta-Da” but her expression is unsure as she waits for me to respond.

I’m speechless. And even though I’m still trying to reconcile the young woman in front of me with the little girl I last saw at the lake, I can’t help but grin.

It’s taken four years, but if anything was ever worth the wait, it’s her.

Her expression lights up at my smile, and in a flash, she’s running up the stone path of my apartment. Her hair streaks in a long and dense wave behind her. It’s her very own flag.

Her smile nearly lays me flat. She looks like she’s smiling from the inside out. In that smile, I recognize the girl I spent the best weeks of my life with.

Just as she reaches me, she squeals and takes a flying leap with her arms extended. I catch her. The weight of her in my arms is the welcome burden I’ve ever held.

Her legs wrap around my waist, her arms circle my shoulders, and she presses her face into my neck.

I hold her tight, letting the sweet scent of strawberries completely surround me.

“Grahamstar,” she coos. She pulls back and leans away. “Let me look at you. Oh, God, look at you,” she squeals as her eyes roam my face. She looks down at my chest, and her eyes widen.

“Oh my God.” She unwraps her limbs from me, and I hold her waist and set her down. She steps back—her eyes gleaming as she looks me up and down.

“You’ve grown. I didn’t think it was possible. You’re so tall!” she yelled. “Look at your hair. It’s so long. I love it.” She clasps her hands together in front of her chest, and her eyes fill with tears.

“Oh. Graham. You look great,” she says in a happy whisper.

I blush, but I don’t care that she can see. I’m happier than I ever thought I’d be again. I let my eyes do what they’ve wanted to since I heard her voice. I look at my sun.

Her toes are painted gold, the way they were that summer. It still looks incredible against her dark tan skin. She’s got on a pair of flat sandals with tiny silver straps that wrap around her feet and wind and twist up her long, toned legs, and then tie into a huge bow up at her knee. The long expanse of her thighs is broken by hundreds of tiny white threads hanging from the frayed edges of tiny little denim cut off shorts.

Between the waist of her shorts and the hem of her shirt is a flash of more tanned skin that shows a pierced belly button. Her top is a short but loose yellow tank top. The straps are falling off both of her shoulders, and her hand comes up to push one of them back up as if my eyes landing there reminded her that it was out of place. Her hand is adorned with tiny gold rings. Each finger has at least one. Her middle finger has three. I take in her show stopping face that reminds me of all the places I’ve never been. The Middle East, Europe, the rest of America. The sweet curve of her full nude lips makes my heart beat faster. When I get to her eyes, my breath hitches. They are a mahogany well of love. And she’s standing here smiling at me.

I think I might die of happiness.

The last few years have been hard. My mother works two jobs, and I work after school.

I was lucky that the school where Mama works gave me a scholarship. Most days I feel really grateful.

But sometimes, when I watch my mother struggle and clean up after the stuck-up rich kids at my high school, I just wish we didn’t have to work so hard.

And on those days, the only thing that can make me feel better is talking to Apollo. I call her, and we just talk about everything. Which is sometimes just nothing. We almost always fall asleep on the phone because neither of us wants to say goodbye.

Her aunt gave her this trip to LA for her sixteenth birthday. And it’s the first time we’ve been able to see each other since the last time we read together by the lake.

I’ve known for the last year from talking on the phone and writing that I liked Apollo as more than just a friend. But I remember my mother’s warning and the promise I made ringing through my head every time I think of her that way.

Even if she wasn’t so young, I don’t have money to go to the movies much less see her regularly. So, I’ve put those thoughts aside.

But now, when she’s standing in front of me looking like that … I realize how hard it’s going to be to wait for her to grow up.

She is stunning.

I grin at her and say, “Well, you’re still much smaller than me.” I tease because I can’t tell her what I’m really thinking.

“I think everyone’s smaller than you.” She walks over and wraps her arms around my waist and presses her head into my chest and says, “You still look like my hero.”

I can’t believe this girl who fell out of the sky thinks that I’m her hero. When really, she’s mine.

“I missed you, Sunshine.” I press a kiss to the top of her head and linger there for just a moment before I put a little distance between us.

“So, this is your place, huh?” She looks around the terrace. It’s not fancy, but I’ve always thought it was decent. Now, though, I can imagine what she sees. Especially compared to her fancy life in Las Vegas.

I can see the cracks in the pavement, the chipped paint of my front door, the anemic plants littered on the ground around the entry.

She tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear and beams her bright smile at me. “We caught an earlier flight. I was at the hotel trying to wait until tonight, but I couldn’t. Tante went to meet someone, so Rick just brought me over. I hope that’s okay.” Her smile is a little less assured now. She nods at my hand. “You on your way out?”

I follow her gaze and see she’s looking at my keys. I’d forgotten that I was even holding them. I shake my head to clear it and smile sheepishly at her.

“Uh … Yeah, I was going to get groceries to cook dinner for us.”

Her eyes widen in surprise

“Oh, not us,” I stammer. “I didn’t mean you had to stay for dinner. I … I thought you’d be here later, so I was gonna … I mean, I hope you can stay. If you’re hungry, I mean. Maybe you and your aunt might have …” I stop my rambling and take a deep breath.

“Tante has the stuff to do for her show this weekend, and my only plans are to hang out with you.” Her smile is so sweet. God, she’s pretty.

“Okay, that sounds great. Well, I was going to the store …” I smile back.

“I’ll come with you,” she says and glances over her shoulder in the direction of the street. “Rick is waiting in the car.”

She talks about Rick all the time these days. He’s her new driver.

I wish he wasn’t going to be our shadow for this entire trip. But her aunt made it a condition of allowing her to come on this trip. She even spoke to my mother and told her she found it strange that a boy my age even wanted to spend time with a “little girl.”

My friends think it’s weird that I have this long-distance friendship with a girl who’s a sophomore in high school that I’ve only met once in my life. It doesn’t bother me at all what they think. I don’t need anyone to understand.

I know that Apollo and I, like a lock and its custommade key, fit each other.

“Do you want Rick to drive?” she asks.

I crane my neck and can see the black Chevy Tahoe idling at the curb in front of my building. It looks so out of place in Torrance. No one here has that kind of money and people who do don’t tend to pass through here.

“Nah, let’s take my car. If he wants to keep an eye on you, he can follow us.”

“Cool, let’s go.” She grabs my hand and drags me down the walkway toward the street.

“Which car is yours?” she asks, and I nod at the old beat-up, dark blue Ford pickup right behind her fancy SUV.

“That’s my baby, Bess.”

She bursts out into a bubbling raucous laugh that raises my hackles. I know it’s not shiny or new or even really that nice, but I saw her and had to have her. The former owner let me pay him monthly for six months before I finally got to take her home.

She’s the first thing I ever bought just because I wanted it.

“What’s so funny?” I ask defensively.

“Nothing. I’m just so happy! You have a car, an apartment, your hair is so long and beautiful, and I’m here. With you. I’ve missed you so much, Star.” She comes to a sudden stop and spins to stand in front of me. “I’ve been so worried that you wouldn’t be happy to see me.” For the first time since she got here, she’s not smiling.

I raise an eyebrow in surprise. “Why in the world would I not be happy to see you?” I ask.

“I don’t know.” She shrugs sheepishly. “You’re about to go to college. I’m just a kid who writes you stupid letters and sends you books I’m sure you think are lame.”

It’s my turn to laugh. She punches me lightly in the stomach, and I look down to see her pouting. “Don’t laugh, Graham, I’m serious.”

I stop and tell her the simple truth. “Your letters make my day.”

“Really?” Her eyes light up, and she beams a smile at me. “I love your letters, too. I take them with me everywhere.”

Then her eyes narrow into an accusatory glare.

“What?” I ask, amused and confused at the same time

She gives me a small shove. “I notice you didn’t say my books aren’t lame.”

“Your books aren’t lame,” I say in a mock robotic tone.

She punches me in the arm. “Ow. I’m teasing,” I say and rub my arm. Her little fist is just another thing about her that’s much stronger than it appears. “Those books are how I travel. I love them. I wish I could send you as many …” I trail off.

“Oh, well when you’re rich, you’ll buy me every single book I desire. I’ll give you a monthly list.” She laughs, and we start walking to the car.

“Man, you look like you can kick some ass.” She gives my biceps a squeeze.

“Well, yeah, I mean, I do work out pretty hard,” I say and then cringe at what an asshole I must sound like.

She just nods at me approvingly and says, “It shows.”

The sun is high and hot and it’s how I explain the constant flush of heat up my neck into my cheeks. I brush a long lock of hair off my face and lift it off my neck to let some air in.

“You know, you remind me of Aslan in the C.S. Lewis book you sent me last year,” Apollo says, look down at me.

“Okay, well thanks, I guess,” I say as my phone beeps and I pull it out to check the time.

“Oh my God, I’m sorry. It’s always the first thing I see when I look at people these days. I automatically connect them with a character they remind me of.” She groans and says, “Oh my God, I’m babbling. I’m just so nervous.” I burst out laughing, and she covers her face with both hands.

“Hey, hey,” I say and put an arm on her shoulder. It’s warm from exposure to the sun and the tips of my fingers stop right on the edge of a spray of freckles in the shape of a comet on the side of her neck.

My fingers itch to trail up … and trace the tail of it.

Not yet.

I press our palms together and let the sensation of soft, warm skin pressing against my much rougher one be enough.

“Don’t be nervous. It’s just us …” I say softly.

She links her fingers through mine. “The sun and her star,” she finishes my sentence for me. Then, she lifts her free hand to my face in a dance across my cheek. I hold my breath … I can’t seem to take my eyes off her lips. I want to taste them. See if they’re as sweet and soft as they look.

“I knew it would be beautiful if you grew it,” she says softly, and her fingers sift into my hair.

“I’m glad you like it. I feel like as long as it’s there, I know I’m in control of life,” I admit. I stroke her chin and run my thumb across unbelievably soft skin beneath the pout of her lower lip.

I want to kiss her. So bad.

“Do you feel in control now?” she asks. Her lashes flutter a little, and she purses her lips.

What am I doing?

She’s sixteen.

“Yes. Definitely in control. I don’t think I’ll ever cut it.” I drop my hand and unlink our fingers.

Her hand drifts from my hair, and she clasps her hands in front of her. I can see what looks like disappointment in her eyes for just a second before she smiles again.

“So, do you want to meet the rest of my friends?”

“So, can I meet your friends? Your family?” she asks at the same time.

“Jinx,” she says, and we laugh, both relieved that something broke that awkward moment.

“Yeah, of course. We can eat with Mama tonight. And then, maybe tomorrow, we can do something with my friends.”

“Really?” She leans over and hooks an arm around my neck, forcing me to stoop so that her chin rests on my shoulders.

My lungs constrict and my pulse pounds in my ears when she runs her hand over my hair almost like she’s petting me. My arms automatically go around her waist, and she laughs into my neck. Her breath tickles.

God, I’ve missed her.

“Oh, I’m so happy.” Her words are muffled by my neck, and I have to remind myself that she’s sixteen when I wish I could put my mouth on her neck, too.

I’ve never held a girl like this. She’s so soft, and her head fits perfectly in the small depression between my pecs.

Her hair still smells like strawberries, and I smell chocolate on her breath.

I pull out of her hug. “You ready to go?”

“It’s going to be amazing.” She squints against the glare of the sun in her eyes, but her grin isn’t diminished at all. “I’ve been dying to put faces to the names in your letters—”

“They’ll love meeting you, too. I’ll text them as soon as we get back,” I tell her.

She scrunches her face. “I wasn’t finished. But, I want to spend some time catching up first. I’m not ready to share you with them. I haven’t seen you in almost four years.”

Fine with me. I wasn’t looking forward to her meeting those guys anyway. Girls go stupid for them.

We start walking, and she’s practically running to keep up with my long strides.

“Slow down. I want to make every single minute last as long as it can.” She skips every few steps and looks from left to right. “Life feels like it’s moving so fast. Like I’m missing stuff while I’m trying to get all these extra credits.” She’s on this mission to graduate from high school in two years so she can try to go to college early.

“Well, you could be normal and just go to high school for four years like everyone else,” I remind her.

“No way. My mother’s making me crazy. I want to move out. And I’m too young to go and live by myself. A college dorm is the next best thing.”

“That’s kinda extreme, Sunshine. Mama was in a rush, and it almost ruined her life,” I tell her as we approach my car.

I open the passenger door, and I take her hand to give her a boost up into the cab. She’s halfway in when she stops and turns to face me. The serious intensity in her expression pins me in place and takes me completely by surprise.

“What’s wrong?”

Her gaze softens a little, but she doesn’t smile. “You know what it’s like to be stuck somewhere that’s just wrong for you. It feels like … wearing clothes that are too small.”

“Yeah,” is all I say as she climbs the rest of the way in. I do know. And I didn’t realize she felt like that about living with her mother. Her mother never leaves the house. As far as I know, it’s just the two of them there alone. She complains about it generally, but never says more than a few sentences about her.

“Hey, can we get fake IDs, so we can sneak into some R-rated movies?” she asks just as I climb into the driver’s side. I’m relieved that she changed the subject.

“I’m nineteen, Apollo, I don’t need one.” I nod my head to the Tahoe parked in from of us. “I’m not trying to get killed by Rick.” I stick my key in the ignition and start the car.

Apollo laughs. “He wouldn’t—”

As soon as my engine turns over, my music comes on, loud and thumping. And Flo Rida’s talking about slapping booties.

I fumble with the dial and turn it down.

“Oh my God! I love this song!” she squeals as she pushes my hands off the dial and cranks the music up so loud, my windows rattle with the bass.

I roll them down, and the rush of air blows our hair around our heads wildly as we pull away from the curb.

“I only get to listen to the radio when I’m in the car with Rick. At home, Maman can’t stand the noise. Rick and I always turn it up loud and dance.” She says his name like it’s her favorite word in the world.

I feel a prick of jealousy that she has someone else so special in her life that’s not me.

“I can’t wait till I can go somewhere like New York City. I want to open the art gallery for Artemis and travel all over buying stuff for it. Or even Philadelphia. Or Washington, DC. I just know it’ll be somewhere East. Won’t that be cool? Are you excited about going to college, so you can be a teacher? Oh, I can’t wait to hear what it’s like to walk into a school full of kids and be the person who’s going to teach them. Can you?”

“You’re talking a mile a minute, Sunshine.” I laugh when she pauses to take a breath.

“I know,” she moans. “I have so much to say and the weekend won’t be long enough. It’s like I have one of those hour glass thingies in my brain and I can feel the sand’s pouring through, and I just want to make it stop. I don’t want Monday to come,” she confesses dejectedly.

“Hey, we have plenty of time. And we’ll do this again. I got a scholarship for school, so I only have to come up with half of my tuition, and with my new job at this gym I’m starting, I should be able to afford to visit you now.”

“Oh, Graham, I’m so happy for you. I wish I could get a job. But Maman needs me at home.” She sighs as if it’s a hardship.

“Trust me, it’s not fun having to work. Enjoy being able to be at home,”

“I guess. I just miss my dad. A lot.” Her voice is low, and my heart clenches at the obvious pain in her voice. I reach for her hand with my free right hand and give it a squeeze.

My eyes drift to my rearview mirror and see the black Tahoe right behind me as I pull to the light at Lomita and Crenshaw. I wonder what would happen if I ran the light. Would he follow us? Probably. If I could afford the ticket I’d surely get from being seen on one of the cameras that read license plates that dot Torrance, I’d do it.

“So, can we go to the movies, too? I really want to see Twilight. You read the books, right?” she asks.

“Nope, didn’t read them. I sent them to you ‘cause I thought you might like ‘em. I like fiction, but I draw the line at stories where the characters spend a ton of time kissing.”

“What’s wrong with kissing?” she asks, shyly. I glance at her, making sure I don’t let my eyes drift from her eyes to her mouth.

“Nothing, but I don’t want to read about it.”

“Do you like doing it?” she asks, even more quietly this time.

“It’s all right,” I lie nonchalantly. I haven’t kissed anyone. I don’t have time.

“Just all right? You don’t get butterflies? Your heart doesn’t pound so hard you think it’s going to bruise your chest?”

The dreamy wonder in her voice makes me swallow hard. Is she speaking from experience? The thought makes my stomach feel queasy.

I wait until we stop at a red light before I say anything.

“How do you know so much about kisses, Apollo?” I ask casually even though my heart has stopped beating while I wait for her to answer.

“I read romance novels,” she says brightly, and my heart starts beating again. “There’s no one around to kiss, except for Rick.”

I shoot her a dark glance and don’t hide the surge of annoyance her words send through me. “Has he tried to kiss you?”

She slaps my shoulder and rolls her eyes. “Oh my God, Graham. Don’t be gross. Of course not. I was just saying that I don’t really spend time with anyone else. Besides, I want you to be my first kiss.” I turn and stare at her wide-eyed. She blinks back at me innocently like she didn’t just drop a bomb in my lap.

This girl is going to be the death of me.

The honk of a horn beside me gets my attention, and I look up to see the light is green. I wave in apology as I pull away.

“You shouldn’t say stuff like that, Apollo,” I admonish her.

“Why not? You’re my best friend. It should be you.”

“You’re too young.”

“I’m not!” she snaps.

I nearly sag with relief when I pull into the parking lot of Vons. I can’t get out of the car fast enough. I run around and open the door for her.

“Let’s go,” I say with a bow as I offer her my hand.

She slips her small hand into mine and slides down from the truck’s cab.

When I force myself to let go of her hand and walk beside her into the grocery store, I can still feel the heat of her palm against mine.