Leah and I approach Bill's store. Her hand is clasped in mine, and I touch the back of it with my thumb from time to time, making Kitten look up at me, smiling.

She spent the night in my bed, snuggled up to me, all warm and mine. I slept like a baby. Hadn't it been for Kitten's school, I wouldn't have let her go anywhere at all.

"You didn't tell me there would be so many people," I hear Leah say.

I tear my eyes away from her face and look at the store in front of us.

The sidewalk is swarming with people. Mac, Annie, and Lenny are there, waving at us as soon as they see Leah and me. I scan the crowd for my parents, but Pops and Mom must already be inside.

We come up to our friends, weaving our way through the dense crowd.

"'Sup," I greet the guys while Leah is chatting with Annie.

"This is insane," Mac says, nodding toward the packed store. "As soon as everyone learned Bill was gonna run for mayor, people started to spread the word. Look at how many of them turned up. It's all the clients were talking about at the gym."

"Bill must be overwhelmed," I say. I've known the guy all my life. He's never been the one to seek others' attention.

"Let's go inside," Annie says. "Your dad saved us some seats."

As soon as we enter the store, it becomes clear it wouldn't fit everyone. People are everywhere. Some of them are sitting; others are leaning against the walls or chatting in small groups, huddled together.

I see my dad in front of the room. Lacing my fingers with Leah's, I lead her toward him.

"Hey," I greet Pops.

Dad smiles. "Brian. How are you?"

"Good. Thanks for saving us the seats."

"It's nothing. What about you, kid?" Pops asks Leah.

"I'm okay, thank you," says Kitten. She starts fidgeting with her small purse, and I press her to my side, kissing her temple. Then, I look at Dad.

"Did you talk to Eric?"

Dad nods. "I did. He's traveling on business and will be here in a couple of weeks. I invited him to have lunch at our house. Maybe we should have told him what's going on, Son."

"No. It's better this way. I don't want to risk him getting nervous enough to cancel the meeting. So, we're gonna see him after Jim's concert, am I right?"

"That's right. Don't worry," Dad adds, looking at Kitten, who seems pale and lost. "We will be there with you. Right, Son?"

"Of course," I say with confidence, looking into Leah's eyes and cupping her soft cheek with my palm. She leans into my touch and then draws an arm around my waist, resting her head against my chest. The gesture makes Pops smile the kind of a smile that says, you're screwed, little fucker.

I know I am, and it turns out to be the best feeling ever.

"There he goes," says Pops, nodding to where Bill is entering the store, staring at the crowd with his eyes wide.

Bill stands in the front of the room and greets the crowd, twisting his hands together and shifting his weight from one foot to the other. His nervousness is palpable, and his eyes dart around for a while before he focuses them on us.

Dad nods, and then Bill starts speaking. He keeps it brief and straight to the point without glancing at the piece of paper in his hands once.

Bill talks about the shitty roads and old playgrounds, about the run-down buildings downtown that spoil the image of our town and scare the visitors away. He doesn't promise money for everyone the way Martin did and doesn't say that all the problems are going to be fixed in a blink of an eye, but I see something I haven't seen in a long while: genuine interest and concern for the place where my friends and I grew up.

The end of his speech spurs on a deafening round of applause and loud cheers. Then, people talk about the issues that have to be solved, and Bill takes notes and asks questions.

"Do you think he has a shot at winning?" asks Kitten when we leave the store with our friends almost two hours later.

Mac answers instead, "Sure. Guys our age support him, and not only because we've known Bill since we were kids. He's a good guy who cares, and that's something very hard to find."

"Our town gets money," Annie says, "but it always ended up in the pockets of guys like Martin, who only care about their wealth."

"I hope Martin loses," says Lenny. "Gavin is so full of himself and so sure his father will win that it will feel nice to teach him a lesson."

We laugh and then get on our bikes and ride to the Temple.

This time, as we sit on the logs around the campfire, I do it with Leah on my lap. I kiss her lips and hug her tightly, and she snuggles into me and caresses my hair, making our friends whistle and cheer. I know what they think— it's a first for me. Mac is smirking the entire time, and I give him a pointed look that achieves nothing.

We chat about Bill and his campaign and remember the times when we were kids, and our town was thriving.

Mac starts to tell a story about the park where we used to play when Lenny interrupts him, "Dudes!"

I see what he's nodding at. Ferdinand and Bella enter the clearing. His arm is around her shoulders, and the sight is so ridiculous I make an effort not to laugh. I'm past wondering what his deal is. Ferdinand never does anything without an ulterior motive, but I am sick of him and everything he represents.

Kitten shifts on my lap, and I give her a long, tender kiss, unbothered by the fact that everyone is watching.

Bella's stare is jealous, and Leah sees it.

Nobody says a word. The silence around us is absolute.

"You can go on talking," says Fer as he sits on the log opposite ours with Bella.

"I don't need your permission," I reply. "What are you doing here, Fer? I thought we made it clear you weren't welcome here. Don't you have your group of kids to play with? Ah, wait, they kicked you out of the playground for stomping on their sandcastle and being mean, am I right?"

Kitten giggles softly, and I peck her rosy lips and smile, running my hand down the length of her back.

Mac grabs two bottles of beer from the cooler and hands them to us.

I thank the guy and open Kitten's for her. She touches my bottle with hers before taking a small sip.

"You'd rather it was my grandfather's liqueur, am I right?" I whisper in her ear, and Leah smiles, cupping my cheek and kissing me on the lips. We look into each other's eyes, grinning like a pair of fools.

"I thought you didn't date, Brian," Bella says, making our friends quiet.

"Your girlfriend is naive if she thinks you are able to commit. How long is it until you get bored and ride to the city to find another chick to bang? That's what you're good for, anyway."

My blood simmers in my veins. I am about to snap, but then, I hear Leah's voice.

"I've always taken you for a bitch, Bella, but not for a pathetic and jealous one. Brian doesn't need another chick because he's happy with me. You should focus on your boyfriend and get over mine while some of your dignity is still intact unless Gavin doesn't satisfy you, and you need some bangin'."

Annie snorts and laughs so hard Mac starts to laugh, too. Lenny joins him, and soon, none of us can keep a straight face.

"Don't tell me I didn't warn you," Bella says, looking at Leah.

"I don't need your advice. You can kindly shove it up your ass. My boyfriend and I are happy together. It's clear you're not. You are doing a lousy job, Fer. Learn how to satisfy your girl so that she doesn't feel the need to look at other girls' boyfriends," Kitten says, giving Ferdinand an exaggerated pout.

Fer's good boy's face is beetroot red. He doesn't say anything for once.

"Rawr," I whisper in Kitten's ear, and she stuns me by pressing her mouth to mine and kissing me so hard the boy wakes up and gets ready to get lucky in a span of a couple of seconds. She grips my hair and licks my lips, and looks at me with heat and tenderness in her beautiful eyes.

"Let's get out of here," I whisper against her parted lips I'm dying to kiss without prying eyes.

Leah nods, and I hop off the log, taking her hand in mine and helping her up.

"We'll be going, guys," I say. To my surprise, everyone except Bella and Ferdinand follows our lead.

Leah and I walk to my bike, holding hands. Mac and Annie are ahead of us, talking about something.

"My little kitten is getting bold," I whisper to Leah. She stops walking and grins at me. Then, her arms are around my midsection, and she tilts her chin up, looking at my face.

I lean down to kiss her, closing my eyes when my lips meet hers.

"Your little kitten is a kitten with you," says Leah. "But you showed her that with the rest of the world, she can be a big, scary tiger."