Bessie was my boyfriend Aaron's old truck. She was a blue Ford with leather seats and a sweet hum as she drove. Bessie was quite beat up, but we loved her all the same. She gave us many great nights that summer and memories I will always carry. Aaron and I were sweethearts as teenagers and our love lasted only through the summer, but I truly loved him. We met at baseball practice. I brought my older brother his catcher's mitt and Aaron winked at me. I stayed and watched them play and joke around. I stood as close as I could, pressed up against the fence. Aaron kept looking at me. I was blushing like crazy. All of a sudden, practice was over. The team cleared out but Aaron stayed behind. "Hey there." he said in a honey-sweet southern accent that made me melt. "Wanna help me practice?" I stared at him with wide eyes as he looked back at me, waiting. I finally gave a nod. My brother called to me, but I said no, that I would take the city bus home. Once the team had gone, Aaron put a bat in my hands. He smiled and pitched me a hit. I missed and said "I'm sorry!" right away. He gave a small laugh and told me not to worry. "What's your name, by the way? I only know you as Jeff's little sister." he said. "Well, I'm not that much younger, only two years. And my name's Rebecca." I explained. He smiled. "Okay, Becky." he said. I smiled back at him, lost in those sparkling eyes. He pitched me a second ball and I missed by a mile. "Tighten your grip." Aaron advised. I did as he instructed and CRACK! the ball and bat made contact. Soon after, though the ball made contact with something else...Aaron's head. SMACK! He fell to the ground. My hand went to my mouth as I ran to him in shock. "Oh my God! I am so sorry! Are you okay? Oh God, please let him be alright!" I yelled. As I got close, I heard him laughing. Laughing! "I'm fine." he said. "No, you are not!" I argued. "I just smacked you in the head with a baseball!" Still laughing, he rose to his feet. "No, it's okay. Look! I'm not even bleeding." he said, showing me his head. "I probably should ice it though. Could you drive me?" he asked. Feeling completely guilty and still a bit smitten, I agreed. "Good" he replied. "You can drive Bessie." I gave him a look and asked "Who's Bessie?" He pointed to his blue chariot Ford. I nodded and we made our way toward her. We got in and I adjusted the seat and mirrors. He was about a foot taller than me. He smiled as he watched me fiddle with the stick shift. "Have you ever driven a stick?" he asked, grinning and knowing I hadn't. "Sure." I said, but he saw right through me. "Here, I'll shift, you drive." he said. I looked at him in awe. "What? No! Why don't you just drive?" I asked. "Hello! Possible head trauma here. I mean, you did hit me with a baseball." he said, goading me. "Fine." I said. So I drove. It was certainly difficult, but Aaron was a surprisingly good teacher. We got to the drug store around the corner quite easily. We parked and he told me to wait while he ran inside. He came back out a minute later with two blueberry slurpees. He got back in the car, handed me one of the large styrofoam cups and closed the door. "So," he said, holding his cup to his bruised head. "Where do you go to school"?" he asked. "Oh, I go to a private girl's school in town" I told him. "That's why I haven't seen you around." he said. I nodded. The conversation went on from there. And finally, after icing his head for a couple hours, he drove me home. He called me the next night and we went out. Soon we were together every day and sometimes until late at night. We went bowling and to the movies, but our favorite thing to do was watch the stars. We would drive old Bessie up the hill to Sunset Crest, park, and lay down in the bed of the truck. We would let the radio play and just hold each other, singing or talking. We spent hours there, in our secret place. I remember one day in particular, we were singing along with the radio when all of a sudden he sat up, took off his jacket, and wrapped it around my shoulders. "I'm not cold" I said. It was the middle of the summer, after all. In fact, why had he been wearing it? "I want to give this to you." he explained. What? "But Aaron, this is your letterman jacket for baseball. You love it!" I said, confused. "Yes, but I love you more" he told me. I believed him. "I love you too" I said, pulling on the jacket, then kissing him. It was a passionate kiss, full of promise and hope. He loved me.......but soon the summer was over. It was almost time for school to start. I was okay with that. I could hardly wait to go to school and show all those girls my boyfriend's letterman jacket. But my ideas soon changed. Aaron drove me up to Sunset Crest and parked. We did not sit in the bed. We did not listen to the radio. We sat in silence for a moment or two. Then, Aaron turned to me. "Stanford" he said. "What?" I asked. "I'm going to Stanford. I leave in two weeks." he said. I hung my head and realized I couldn't breathe. "Two weeks?" I whispered. He reached over and lifted my chin. His sparkling eyes were bluer than ever. "I will always love you, Becky and I wish you the best." he said. "That sounds like a goodbye." I said, part in anger, part in sorrow. "I'm sorry." he muttered. Tears painting my face, I started to take off his precious jacket. "No," he said. "I want you to keep it." Staring at him in agony I whispered "I want to keep you"