Love Lasts Read online

  “Center Grove High School. He’s a senior,” I say and push open the doors.

  The air hits my skin with a cold chill, but the sun battles it with a bright heat. I have to squint from the brightness. Still, though, I see Dane right away.

  A smile fills my face, and he smiles back. A basket full of goodies sits on top of the hood of his car, and he holds a bouquet of flowers. I hurry over to him and take the flowers from his hands.

  “Happy Valentine’s day,” Dane says with a smile.

  “Happy Valentine’s day,” I say. Dane leans down and holds my face in his hands before giving me a long kiss. My cheeks burn because Allie stands only a few feet away, but when our kiss ends, she smiles from ear to ear.

  “You guys are adorable,” she says.

  “Thanks,” I say. Dane smiles at her, and I realize they don’t know each other. “Oh, Dane, this is Allie. Allie, this is Dane.” Dane holds out his hand, which Allie shakes.

  “Nice to meet you,” he says.

  “Nice to meet you too,” Allie says.

  “Well, let me get the rest,” Dane says and hands me the big basket of junk food. My cheeks feel warm, and I look at Allie who still smiles happily.

  Then, Dane comes around the back of his car with a huge teddy bear in his arms, and my jaw drops. Allie laughs.

  “That’s mine?” I ask, “That thing is huge!” There’s no way I’m going to be able to go back inside with all these gifts and not attract a bunch of attention, and that realization suddenly makes me nervous.

  Dane tries to hand the bear to me, but my hands are full. So I hand Allie the flowers and basket in my hand and take the huge bear. My arms wrap around it and meet on the other side like I’m hugging a full-grown human, and it makes me laugh.

  “Do you like it?” Dane asks. I nod and say, “It’s perfect.” I hug it tight and lean my head against it. Dane smiles with bright eyes. This whole moment makes me miss him even more, and I really wish I could spend the rest of the day with him. But I can’t.

  “Well, I’ll let you guys get back to practice,” Dane says and steps towards me. He gives me another kiss, a bit shorter than the first one, and steps back.

  “Thank you,” I say, “And I’ll give you your gift… whenever I see you next.” I smile lightly, and Dane nods. The uncertainty makes my heart hurt.

  “Okay, I’ll text you later. Bye, Penelope,” Dane says. He walks around his car to the driver’s side, and I watch his every step.

  “Bye,” I say, as this moment turns bitter-sweet.

  Dane gets in his car and waves, so I turn around and head towards the school. Allie follows close behind with her arms full of my gifts.

  When we step inside the foyer, a smile stays glued to my face, but my heart aches slightly. Allie, not knowing the details of Dane and I’s forbidden romance, continues smiling and complimenting me on my adorable and perfect relationship. A couple people look in my direction and then return to their practice. But a few other people blatantly stare at me, as I walk towards my backpack with Allie.

  Allie places the bouquet of flowers neatly in the basket and then puts it on the floor near my backpack, and I lean my giant teddy bear against the wall.

  “Thanks for your help,” I say to Allie.

  “No problem! That was adorable,” she says again, still smiling.

  “Thanks.” I guess it kind of was.

  We walk together back to our dance partners and start practicing again. I ignore the stares of the cheerleaders for the rest of practice, but at the end of rehearsal, one them comes up to me.

  “I’m so jealous. You have such a cute relationship,” she says to me.

  “Thanks. I’m really lucky,” I say with a shrug. She smiles and walks away without another word.

  When I get home from school, luckily, my parents aren’t home from work yet, so I rush upstairs with all my gifts. Jessica stares at me with her mouth slightly open, and her eyes dart between everything in my arms.

  “Did you get all of that for Valentine’s day?” She asks. A small basket of candy and Valentine’s Day cards sit in her bed from her third grade holiday party, but she clearly doesn't find her gifts very impressive anymore.

  I nod and smile, placing the basket on my desk. I throw the teddy bear onto my bed, and it fills up almost half the space. Jessica watches closely. I finally take a good look inside the basket of goodies and find an entire cookie cake on the bottom, two bags of skittles, mints, gum, and a bunch of full-sized chocolate bars. I pick up a Twix and point it at Jessica.

  “Do you want one?” I ask, and she nods quickly.

  “Thanks,” she says and takes it from my hand with a greedy smile.

  I sit in my bed and stare at the basket. I can’t possibly hide all of this from my parents, so they will find out that I saw Dane. And that makes me nervous. They could be furious, or they could finally see that he’s a great guy who only made one dumb mistake.

  I take a deep breathe. I don’t know what will happen, but I’m going to risk it.

  I pick up the cookie cake that says “Happy Valentine’s Day” on it and head downstairs to leave it on the counter. Then, I go back upstairs and start my homework.

  When Mom and Dad get home from work, my homework loses importance. My stomach aches with nerves from not knowing what they’ll say to me, but I try to listen to their conversation happening downstairs. They must’ve already seen my obvious cookie cake.

  Twenty minutes later, Mom comes upstairs to my bedroom, and her eyes widen when she sees the giant teddy bear next to me and the basket on my desk. But then, she smiles.

  “Did you get all this from Dane?” She asks, and I nod.

  “He dropped them off at school during the dance rehearsal, and then he left,” I say.

  “Well, that’s very sweet of him. So,” she leans against the door frame and crosses her arms. My heart beats hard in my chest, anticipating her next words. “Your father and I were actually talking, and we’re going to allow you to start seeing Dane again. We think we might have overreacted a little bit, but we also think you’ve learned your lesson and will never do something like this again. So, you can see him again, but we expect you to tell us everywhere you’re going and never to lie to us again. And even though this happened, we hope you won’t start keeping secrets from us because we still want you to be able to have fun. But be safe about it.”

  I smile from ear to ear. She might as well have told me that I won the lottery.

  “Are you serious?” I ask. Mom smiles.

  “Yes, I’m serious. Don’t act so happy about it,” she jokes and turns to walk back downstairs. She walks down the stairs, and I turn to glance at Jessica.

  She looks at me with a blank stare. With earbuds in, she probably didn’t hear any of that conversation, so unfortunately, she can’t share in my joy. I stand up and start to dance around the room, causing Jess to narrow her eyes at me. I quickly find my phone and send a message to Dane. My heart bursts with joy.

  GUESS WHAT? I don’t even wait for him to respond before sending another message. My parents just said we can see each other again!!!

  I start dancing around the room again with a dumb smile on my face until he texts back.

  Friday night. I’m taking you out.

  A smile stays plastered on my face for the rest of the night, and I even offer my cookie cake to all my siblings. They seem happier too, but maybe it’s only because I’m finally done moping around the house. No matter, I’m on top of the moon, and I finally get to go out with Dane again. Nothing can ruin this.

  CHAPTER 9

  In the next two months, Dane and I spend as much time together as possible. We go to state parks, see movies, and shop at so many antique stores that I’m losing count.

  Over the last two months, though, I’ve captured as many moments as possible with photos on Mom’s old Sony camera and with videos on my phone. Truthfully, I want to be able to remember all of this no matter what happens. Dane will be leaving at the
end of the school year to join the Air Force, and I honestly don’t know if our relationship will survive. I don’t want to think about that now.

  Right now, I’m getting ready for my first time at church.

  A week ago, Dane and I went on one of our usual day-long adventures, and the whole time, he seemed giddy with nerves. I couldn’t figure out what was going on, but I didn’t want to ask either.

  When he pulled up outside my house to drop me off, he stopped me from getting out. He looked at me with a serious stare, and my insecurities crept in instantly, making me worry that he was about to break up with me. But instead, he said something else.

  “I think I love you,” he said. Pure terror tore through my body, and I sat and stared at him for much too long with an eerie silence between us.

  “You don’t have to say it back. It’s okay, but I wanted you to know because I’ve known it for awhile now,” he said. I swallowed loud. My heart beat out of my chest. The uncertainty filling my heart and mind made me feel like a horrible girlfriend, but I opened my mouth.

  “I think I love you too,” I said. His face softened.

  “Really?”

  I nodded.

  He leaned over and gave me such a hard kiss that my lips felt absent when he pulled away.

  “Would you want to go to church with me on Easter?” He asked. The first time he asked, I blatantly told him no, but this time, I contemplated it for a second. I’d never been to church before, but maybe it would be a good experience. I nodded. He smiled.

  “You’ll go?” He asked again.

  “Yeah, I guess,” I said. Then, he gave me another kiss that made me woozy. My mind spun.

  “I love you,” Dane said, but the words didn’t seem real.

  “I love you too,” I replied. My chest felt tight, and I felt light-headed.

  I went inside that night and crashed into bed. That was the first time anyone besides my family and girl friends had ever said they loved me to my face, and I didn’t know whether to smile and jump with joy or not believe him. It was finally happening. I was finally experiencing love.

  And now, I’m knee deep in obligations created out of love. I would rather sit around and listen to my siblings bicker all day than go to church right now, but I can’t back out now. Dane will be here to pick me up at any minute.

  Yesterday, I told my parents that I was going to church today, and they both stared at me in shock like I’d told them I was pregnant or something. My parents aren’t religious, so I’m the first of all my siblings to explore any sort of religion. It makes sense for it to be me, but it doesn’t make it any less awkward and terrifying.

  When Dane arrives, I hurry outside, and the bright sun and warming air greets me. Spring is here.

  Dane checks me out when I get in the car, and I make an effort to pull my dress down. It ends a few inches above my knees, and I worried it would be too scandalous for church when I put it on. But since I started dating Dane, all my money has disappeared, and I didn’t have enough to go buy a new dress.

  “You look hot,” Dane says. My face burns, and a pit forms in my stomach.

  “That’s not good. I don’t want to look hot the first time I meet your parents and the first time I go to church!” I say, and Dane keeps staring at my legs.

  “It’s definitely good,” Dane says. I swat at him, and he laughs.

  “Stop staring at me,” I say. Dane obliges and starts to drive towards his church.

  “Don’t worry about anything. There’s going to be a lot of people, so no one will pay any attention to you unless we’re talking to them. I do know most of the people there, though, so some people might want to meet you. And my parents are going to love you. They already love you, and they haven’t even met you yet.”

  My stomach aches with nerves, and I pick at my nail polish.

  We ride the rest of the way there without any conversation. Only the radio fills the silence, and I watch each house, tree, and car pass by my window. I hope I don’t mess this up.

  When we pull into the parking lot of his church, Dane searches hard for an empty parking spot. We end up at the back end of the parking lot, and Dane finally parks and looks at me. His face is soft and relaxed, and he smiles sweetly.

  “Ready?” He asks. No, I think.

  I nod and push open my door. Dane walks around the back of the car and takes my hand, so we walk towards the church like a true power couple. But when we near the front steps, he lets go.

  A man, looking in his late fifties, greets us at the door, and Dane shakes his hand eagerly.

  “Good morning, Dane. Happy to see you,” the man says.

  “Good morning,” Dane replies with his cheeky smile.

  The man only nods when I pass by, which seems odd. Why didn’t I get a handshake and a “good morning”? I push the thought away and follow Dane through the open doors.

  The smell of freshly brewed coffee hits my nose, and dozens of adults fill my view. Immediately, I notice how much older everyone is than us. Only a few random children stand by their parents, but everyone else standing around and talking are probably over 40. I couldn’t feel more out of place.

  The source of the coffee smell comes from a coffee bar on the left side of the lobby. Then, a big room full of probably two hundred chairs is to our right, and music plays in there.

  Dane leads us in the opposite direction, though. He leads us down a hallway until we reach what looks like a classroom.

  A short brunette woman stands behind a podium, looking through a stack of papers. When she sees us, her face lights up, and she rushes over.

  “Dane! I’m so glad you made it,” the woman, who I now assume is his mother, says. She hugs him and then takes a step to give me a hug as well.

  “Penelope, right?” Dane’s mom asks, and I nod. “It’s so nice to finally meet you. This one won’t stop talking about you! And please, call me Pam.”

  “Aw, it’s nice to meet you too,” I say with a genuine smile. Dane’s mom exudes so much happiness with her big smile and bubbly personality, and that makes me feel incredibly relaxed and at ease now. I smile at Dane, and he takes my hand.

  “Aw, you two are so cute together!” Pam says, “Well, are you ready to go in? I can leave my things here and come with you.”

  “Sure,” Dane says.

  Pam grabs her purse off the floor, and Dane leads us out the door back towards all the people.

  A couple people tell us good morning and wave, so I try to keep a smile on for everyone. The people who introduce themselves to me seem nice, but the second they walk away, their names escape my mind.

  We walk into the big room full of chairs, which Dane tells me is called the sanctuary, and find seats right in the middle. After a few minutes of looking around and chatting, Pam’s face falls. I watch her glare at someone across the room, but there are too many people for me to know who she’s looking at. She lowers herself slowly into her seat and leans into Dane.

  “Don’t look right now, but Lily is here right now with her mother. I don’t know why they’re here, and I didn’t know they were going to be here. Do you want me to go talk to them?” Pam says.

  Dane’s body becomes rigid, and he clenches his jaw. His head turns slowly in the direction his mom was looking, and when he spots whoever Lily is, anger fills his eyes.

  I search my mind for that name, but I can’t think of anyone. I don’t recognize anyone in the direction Dane is looking.

  “They shouldn’t be here,” Dane says. His voice sounds heavy and piercing.

  “I can ask them to leave,” Pam says. I’m so confused. Dane shakes his head.

  “You can talk to them, but I don’t know,” he says. He’s so tense.

  Pam stands up and walks over to two women, one about my age and one about Pam’s age. The joyful woman I saw in the other room only a few minutes ago now appears hostile and agitated, as she talks to these women. The girl and her mother look over at us, and the girl and I make eye contact. I look away.


  “She’s the one I told you about,” Dane says through gritted teeth. I barely hear him, but after a moment, I remember. She’s one of his crazy exes.

  Suddenly, the pit of nerves returns to my stomach, and I swallow hard. If she didn’t know who I was already, now she knows for sure. I hate this already. I wish I was at home under the covers of my bed, cuddling my giant teddy bear.

  Music starts playing from speakers around the room, and a countdown clock appears on the screen above the stage. There are two minutes until the service starts.

  Pam walks back over to us and squeezes in front of Dane and me to get back to her seat. Her eyebrows are knit together, and her body language says she’s beyond stressed out about this.

  “They said they don’t want to cause any trouble. They’ll leave if you want, but they want to be able to enjoy an Easter service.”

  “There are literally dozens of other churches they could’ve gone to,” Dane interrupts.

  “I know. You’re right. Lily’s mom asked to talk to you because she wants to apologize, but I told her that it wouldn’t be a good idea,” Pam says.

  “No way would I ever want to talk to her,” Dane says. My hands grip tightly together in my lap, and my skin feels hot. I listen to them but continue looking down at my hands.

  “I understand, and you shouldn’t have to. I’m really sorry this is happening. I wish it wasn’t,” Pam says.

  “It’s okay. It’s not your fault. Let’s just try to enjoy the service. Okay?” Dane says.

  “Of course.”

  Dane places a hand on my knee, so I look up at him and force a smile. Honestly, I feel like dying on the inside. This situation makes me want to barf.

  “I’m sorry,” Dane whispers.

  “It’s okay,” I say.

  “I love you,” he whispers. He takes my warm hand and squeezes it. I squeeze back.

  “I love you too,” I say.

  The countdown clock finally reaches zero, and a group of seven people holding instruments and microphones walk onto the stage from somewhere in the back. A short middle-aged bald man starts a long guitar riff, and my anxious thoughts escape me. When he finishes, I stare at him with narrowed eyes, feeling utterly confused, while everyone around me cheers and claps.