Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 130275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Some people you just click with. It was that way with Dylan. I looked to Cael. It was that way with him too.
He saw me watching and playfully pointed at me, then gave me a thumbs down. I couldn’t help but laugh again. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He was smiling. The last time he’d smiled this hard was at the ice rink in Norway. Cael was a born sportsman. He clearly thrived in competition. He needed to play hockey again. It was more than what he played; it was who he was. I didn’t know how to make that happen. But it was true. Sport and the thrill of competition were his happy place.
He had become mine.
The sounds of screams and laughter grew closer as the streets outside of the hotel began to fill and people raced for the ghats. Colored powder splattered on the windows, and Dylan rubbed his hands together. “I’ve got you, Sav,” he said and kissed the top of my head.
“You better get off my girl, Dyl,” Cael warned, Massachusetts accent thick but humor lacing every word.
Dylan wagged his eyebrows. Cael laughed but then pointed at Dylan in the same way he had pointed at me. I was momentarily struck. I knew I must’ve been witnessing a glimmer of the Cael from before Cillian passed. The one who would joke with his teammates. The free Cael, one not shackled by grief.
I couldn’t take my eyes off him this way. His dark tattoos and gauges standing stark against the white of his clothes. He was tall and broad, the muscles of his arms defined through years of hockey training. I hadn’t met anyone more beautiful.
Dylan whispered in my ear, “You’re drooling, Sav.” Embarrassment immediately blazed on my cheeks, and I nudged Dylan in the side. Dylan’s laughter was light and beautiful. I nudged him in his stomach again, and he made a sound a lot more dramatic than my touch had warranted. Apparently, that was highly amusing to him too.
“Ready?” Dylan asked, when Kabir went to the door. Even Mia and Leo were with us, with their bags of colored powder too.
“Ready,” I said, gaining better purchase on my bags. My pulse was racing so fast. I didn’t know what to expect. But Kabir had told me it was a moment I would remember for a lifetime.
Walking over to me and Dylan, Cael dropped a kiss on my head and whispered “I love you, Peaches” into my ear; then the door burst open into what looked like the inside of a rainbow. Just before we stepped out, he added, “But I’m coming for you.”
I laughed as Dylan took hold of my hand and dragged me outside into the busy street. I barely made it six feet when a ball of blue hit my chest. I coughed as the powder exploded into the air before me. I turned to see who had thrown it but was quickly hit by another ball. It was pink this time. I could barely see the street for the colors—blues, greens, pinks, and purples. People had no particular target; it was like being inside of a Jackson Pollock painting.
A ball of yellow hit my side, and I saw Cael towering over the rest of the people in the street. He was already covered in a rainbow of colors, his silver eyes as bright as the powder he wore. But I realized he had thrown the yellow ball at me.
“Sav, get him!” Dylan shouted from beside me. I moved on instinct and, grabbing green powder from my bag, threw it back at him. Cael’s face was illuminated with happiness, and it stole my breath. My momentary pause was an advantage Cael took, and he threw purple at my arm. Then he bent down and quickly pressed a powdery kiss on my lips as if to soften the blow.
I reached into my bag, Cael backing away with his teeth gleaming in the sun, and the next few hours became a melee of color and laughter and fun. Of celebrating and experiencing a culture that had only been kind to us.
We ran through the streets, our group never straying too far from one another. Kids and adults alike threw powder and colored water at us, followed by gracious embraces. The ground became a huge piece of street art, the walls of the buildings a riot of life. And through it all, Cael remained nearby. My cheeks ached from smiling, my chest was sore from so much laughter, and my heart felt full. The constant ache of grief had momentarily slipped away, and I relished the feeling. It was freedom. It was hedonistic.
It was so incredibly needed.
Needing a break, I pushed myself into a small, curved-out section of a wall, just to catch my breath. My hand pressed over my racing heart, and I laughed as Dylan threw the rest of his blue powder over Lili. Her scream was deafening. Jade chased Travis through an alleyway, only for Cael to jump out and cover her head-to-toe in pink. I watched it all playing out before me like a movie. Watched Cael’s hair turn, hour by hour, from black into a multi-colored neon dream.