“Bear’s?” Chris asked when he started driving.

“I hear the milkshakes are good,” she said.

“They’re awesome. Cookies and cream is my favorite.”

“I’ll get that,” she said.

“Have you ever been there?” he asked.

“Yeah, all the time. It’s my mom’s favorite junk food.”

He laughed, realizing she was joking. He glanced at her as he drove. “You’re different today.”

Good, he’d noticed. She leaned back in the seat and looked at scenery she didn’t usually get to see.

When they pulled into the lot at Bear’s Burgers, she saw more students from their high school. They were staring.

“Crap, it’s crowded today,” Chris said. “Do you want to eat here or do drive-through? We could go somewhere quieter to eat our food.”

“Let’s do that,” she said. She wasn’t keen on having her every move watched.

At the little window, he ordered two milkshakes. Raven watched everything that happened. She’d never been to a drive-through window. Mama packed food to eat in the truck when they drove to Montana every summer.

He handed her one of the milkshakes. “Good?” he asked as she sipped.

“Really good. Where are we going?”

“You’ll see. Birthday surprise.”

She looked at more of the town as they drove. She’d rarely seen it, and mostly long ago. Mama had taken her to the library a few times because Aunt Sondra had said Raven needed schooling and socialization. But when Raven went to school, Mama stopped doing that.

Chris drove out of town. But not far down the highway, he turned into a rutted dirt road. A very old sign said STARLITE DRIVE-IN THEATER. He pulled into an open field with rusted metal posts sticking out of the ground. He parked in the middle of the field facing a big dilapidated blank rectangle. “I think they’re showing something good today,” he said, turning off the car.

“What is that?”

“A movie screen. This used to be a drive-in theater.”

She knew what a movie theater was, but she’d never known about going to movies outside. None of her books had mentioned that.

Raven looked around the field scattered with trash. She didn’t feel the presence of earth spirits there. Perhaps they had left.

“I would have brought you somewhere nicer,” he said, “but we don’t have enough time to go farther.”

“This is okay,” she said. She liked that earth spirits weren’t there to spy on her and tell Mama what she was doing.

“Are you too cold from the milkshake to eat outside?” he asked. “I have a blanket we can sit on.”

“I’d rather be outside,” she said.

“I thought you would.”

He took a blanket from the trunk. He spread it some distance from the car, and they sat facing the screen drinking their milkshakes. “So what are we watching?”

She looked at the crumbling white screen. “Nothing.”

“Come on, use your imagination. What kind of movie is it? Sci-fi? Horror?”

She wasn’t used to playing games like that, but she wanted to. “Love story,” she said.

“Really? You got me to watch a love story? You must be persuasive.”

“I am.”

“Are you enjoying it?”

“It’s the best movie I ever saw,” she said.

He grinned. The funniest part was that her statement was true. She preferred the blank screen to the movies she and the boys had watched that summer long ago. When they turned on a movie, they mostly stopped talking and stared at the TV. She’d rather have played games or talked and joked with them.

Chris held up his milkshake for a toast. “Happy fifteen,” he said as they tapped cups. He kept his dark eyes on hers. “Can I confess something?” he asked.

“Okay.”

“Starlite is a famous make-out place.”

“Is it?” She didn’t know what else to say.

“That’s not why I brought you. It was just close, and I knew no one would be here. People come here at night mostly.”

He kept looking at her. Something other than the cold drink and chilly air made her feel quivery. She set down her drink and wrapped her arms around her body.

“You’re cold.” He moved closer and asked, “Is this okay?” as he circled his arm around her.

She thought of Reece, who often did that. And the night Jackie had taken her under his covers and made her chills go away.

“I was telling the truth when I said I didn’t bring you here to make out,” he said. “But would a kiss be okay?”

She couldn’t believe it was going to happen. But she didn’t know how to do it. She was too scared to answer.

He moved closer to face her. “Have you ever kissed anyone on those trips you take to Montana?”

She shook her head.

“You’ve probably never kissed anyone, then? I know you haven’t gone out with anyone around here.”

He smiled when she didn’t answer. “I guess you haven’t.” He looked at her lips. “I want to be your first kiss. More than anything.”

“You . . . do?” She felt peculiar. Her body was as light as air. Almost like flying. As if she had become the half of her that was a feathered spirit.