Chasing Hearts

Fifteen

"Oh. My. God," I muttered. "Why did you take me here?"

He smiled. "You've been working so hard lately, I thought you could use a break. This is to say thanks for helping me out these past few weeks."

I grinned and felt my eyes light up. "I'm going to try every game and ride every ride."

"Go ahead, we have a day package, we can do anything."

I didn't hesitate to take off toward the front gate and get in the shortest line possible.

I had always dreamed of going to an amusement park like this, but we never had the money to do so. A park like this was always super expensive too, I wondered how Reign was able to afford two-day passes, and I hoped he didn't take away from his shop income.

But, at the same time, I was way too distracted with all the games and rides I was able to go on. I dragged Reign from one thing to another, his arm probably felt like it was going to fall off.

About two hours into running around, I started to get hungry, and we took a break. We grabbed corn dogs and walked around the vendor's part of the park, looking at all the interesting trinkets and Disney-themed gifts.

I was surprised when something suddenly landed on my head, and I turned to see Reign with a small grin on his face.

"Cute," was all he said, and I felt my face flare up.

I reached up and felt Mickey Mouse ears on my head, and watched as Reign placed a similar pair on his head. I laughed slightly at how ridiculous he looked, but I also didn't want to admit how adorable it was.

We ate our corn dogs and decided to check out some of the games to win some prizes. I tried a balloon-popping game, but I sucked until Reign tried and popped every single balloon in the row, which earned him a giant teddy bear.

"Here, I have no use for this," he said and tossed it to me. I barely caught it without falling over.

"This thing is huge, what am I supposed to do with it?" I chuckled.

"Use it as a pillow or something."

It was a life-sized bear; it would be better used as a bed for me almost.

We stashed the bear in the lockers and went around the park a few more times before the sun started to set, time had flown by sadly. I grabbed the bear from the locker, but Reign wasn't ready to leave the park just yet.

"There's one more place we need to visit," he said and dragged me along this time.

We ran up to the Disney castle, where many others had gathered, and found a place higher up on a hill away from the people below.

"What are we doing here?" I asked.

"Most people aren't allowed inside the castle, but they often do things around it at the end of the day. Just wait," he said.

I waited with bated silence for whatever it was that was about to happen, then nearly jumped out of my skin when a single firework was set off behind the castle. The lights lit up and rained down on the castle perfectly and illuminated the grand structure like a true fairytale.

Dozens more were set off and I was so engrossed in them, I hadn't noticed the way Reign had watched me in turn. I could feel his eyes on me, but I couldn't pay attention to how amazing the fireworks show was.

It wasn't until the end, that he grabbed my hand and called my name.

"Maia." It was soft but loud enough for me to hear over the cheering below.

I turned my head, unaware of the close distance between us, and felt smooth velvet lips press against mine.

Reign was kissing me. He was actually kissing me!

It took me a second to respond, but when I did, I completely fell into a pure blissful feeling I didn't know I could experience.

When he pulled away, he was smiling gently at me and cupped my face.

"Happy Birthday, Maia."

~*~

How in the hell could I forget it was my birthday? That was extremely embarrassing! I was so enveloped in getting my scholarship and working the last month and a bit, I hadn't realized how quickly my birthday had arrived.

I knew there wasn't going to be anyone who celebrated it, but to think I had gone the whole day without a single family member reaching out and wishing me a Happy Birthday. The only person who did remember was Reign.

The only reason he knew, was because it was written down in our homeroom along with everyone else's. But since my birthday fell on a Saturday, no one in school celebrated it.

But he remembered and went above and beyond to give me the most fantastic day – and the greatest gift I could ever imagine.

It was pretty awkward after that kiss, and I had no idea what it meant now. After the fireworks, Reign took me home and gave me another kiss on the cheek before he quickly left. I wasn't sure if he was embarrassed, or if maybe he was regretting our day together.

I slapped my cheeks a little. I was thinking too much about it, like always.

What I should be thinking about is what this meant for Reign and me. Was that a confession of his feelings? Kissing someone wasn't usually seen as a kind gesture, but this was a different culture, I had no idea. He didn't say anything to me afterward which had just left me more confused.

I had no choice but to face him at school on Monday. How was I to act? What was I to say? I had never faced a dilemma like this before and there was no one I could ask for advice.

Bianca had been keeping her distance from me, most likely having gotten a talk from my father at some point about doing just that, so there was no way I could ask her about this. Besides, she would probably lose it if she knew it was about Reign.

But there was one person I could talk to about this, and she might have some answers to unravel the mysterious Reign Ferrante.