Lighting a Match in the Rain

Chapter Twenty-Six

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"Thanks again, Kinsley."

My best friend rolled her eyes and caught the backpack I tossed to her with ease. "Yeah, yeah, just go on your date with the psycho," she replied, clearly not supportive of my decision, but let me go anyway. "Call me when you get home."

I reached out, pulling open the passenger side door of Sebastian's old, white truck. "Yeah, yeah," I repeated her words.

"I mean it, Ella," she hardened her tone. "Call me."

"I will."

As soon as I hopped in and closed the door, the wheels of the truck started moving. I'd been in this truck a thousand times before, but it looked completely different than I remembered. The empty fast-food paper bags that usually littered the floorboards were gone. He'd cleaned and dusted until this truck was looking as new as it could in its old age.

I tried to hold back a smile but failed. "So, what are we doing?"

He hummed, and as he pulled out of the parking lot, I finally got my seat belt buckled. "I was thinking Mexican food."

"You're favorite," I remembered.

"That okay?"

I nodded. "Of course."

For the next hour, Sebastian acted like a perfect gentleman. During the drive, he asked me about my day, let me talk about the council and the planned field trip coming up. Upon the arrival of his favorite restaurant, he pulled my chair out for me and ordered for me what he remembered I liked.

"So, are you still planning to go to college for engineering?" I asked him after our food arrived.

"No, actually," he corrected. "I've decided that I want to be an EMT."

I raised my eyebrows. "Wow." He was changing a lot after all. "That's great. What changed your mind?"

His shoulders shrugged and picked his fork around his plate while he chewed his mouthful of food. "I want to help people, I guess."

Nodding, I replied, "That's good...what about that gaming championship that you once told me about? What was it called? Ferocious Fighting?"

He looked at me, his blue orbs eyeing me, maybe a little surprised that I remembered. "Fighting Fierce," he corrected me. "I went and won. They gave me a cashable check and everything."

I furrowed my brows. "You did? I didn't hear anything of it. Usually, your mom posts about things like th..."

"She must have forgotten," he interrupted me. "But yeah, I got first place. The flight to New York was a little sketchy, but it was worth it."

I slipped him a closed-lipped grin. "Well, that's amazing. Congratulations."

His smile was the brightest I'd seen all day. "Thanks. How is Macey? She still painting?"

Swallowing, I shook my head. "Macey doesn't paint. My mom does," I reminded him. "Macey does a lot of fashion designing, remember?"

After a short moment of a blank face, his cheeks stretched into a perfect smile. "Oh, that's right. Her room was always covered in dress designs and loose thread," he recalled. "I'm sorry."

I grinned. "It's okay, it's been a while."

After dinner, he mentioned a corn maze outside of town that was only open for a few more days. Sebastian had planned on just taking me home, but I talked him into going with me.