Love Lasts Page 3

  My phone buzzes from across the room, and my heart jumps. It must be Dane. I walk over to check the message and surprisingly see that it’s from Lin.

  Today’s the big day! You better not chicken out.

  I’m confused as to why she is awake so early, but I don’t ask about it. Lin is the ultimate enigma to people who don’t know her, but fortunately, I know her best. She’s been dying her hair different colors and dropping in and out of band for the past two years, and although she doesn’t say this exactly, I know she’s having an identity crisis. I try my best to be understanding with her, and I don’t ask too many questions that could cause her to get mad at me. I quickly text her back, ignoring my curiosity.

  I would never. I am terrified, though. What do I even wear? Three dots appear in the conversation and sit there for a while. Soon, they disappear, and a message pops up.

  You have to be casual but cute. Black leggings. Cute shirt. I nod to myself and search through my closet for my one pair of black leggings. When I can’t find it, the realization hits me that it’s in the dirty laundry. I glance over at the hamper and purse my lips.

  My leggings are dirty. I text Lin back. She replies right away.

  So? I tilt my head, and another message comes through. Smell them. If they don’t smell, then you can still wear them.

  My face stays blank, and my patience wears thin already. If this is how my morning is starting, there’s no way the rest of the day can go well. I turn my hamper upside down, and all the dirty clothes and towels drop all over the floor. A whiff of BO hits my nose, and I scrunch it up, pulling the leggings from the pile. Embarrassed but determined, I sniff all over the leggings, and I’m pleasantly surprised to find that they don’t smell like anything. I slide them on and find a shirt. Good thing Dane will never know about this.

  My phone vibrates again, and it’s another message from Lin.

  Good luck. Don’t freak out. If he ends up being a murderer, then call me, and I’ll come get you. I roll my eyes and text back.

  Why does everyone keep saying that? But thanks.

  I take a look at myself in the giant mirrors that cover my sliding closet doors, and the girl looking back at me actually doesn't look too bad. My long dirty blonde hair is tamed for once, and my outfit compliments my skinny frame nicely. Hopefully, Dane will think I look good too.

  “Are you nervous?” Mom asks me when I walk downstairs. I widen my eyes and blow out a loud breath.

  “No, of course not,” I say and sit down on the couch.

  “Well, that’s good because I’m nervous enough for the both of us,” she says, laughing. I narrow my eyes and smile lightly.

  “Why are you nervous?”

  “I’m always nervous for no reason. Haven’t you figured this out?” She asks jokingly. I roll my eyes.

  “Yeah. Well, you shouldn’t be nervous either. He’s not going to be a serial killer.”

  “If he is, you’re a goner,” she says, and my jaw drops with a laugh. She laughs too. “Just kidding, it’ll be fine.”

  “I know it will be,” I say.

  Mom and I spend the next few hours catching up on The Voice by my request, and by the time eleven o’clock hits, my nerves are back in full force. It brews in my stomach, but I try to breathe through it.

  About an hour ago, Kevin came downstairs, wearing his work clothes, which means he’ll be working when Dane and I are on our date. The idea of introducing them to each other makes me want to throw up. I don’t know what I’m doing.

  I put on my shoes and grab my purse and keys right before Mom gives me a hug.

  “Break a leg,” she says, and I smile.

  “Hopefully, I don’t break a leg, but thanks. See you later.”

  I walk out the front door into cold January air. Winter in Indiana will last until mid-April if we’re lucky, but thankfully, there isn’t any snow on the ground. That doesn’t keep the sharp wind from whipping my cheeks and causing me to shiver, though. I hurry to my car and start to drive to the movie theater.

  The radio plays pop hits, but the music doesn’t register. I’m too focused on my thoughts, which are wondering whether Dane will actually be a normal guy or if he will, in fact, turn out to be a murderer. Or maybe he’s a catfish. I would have no idea. I also wonder for a second if he’s going to be the guy I’ve been looking for, but I push that thought away. I can’t get too ahead of myself.

  Clouds cover the sky, leaving the world looking grey and sad. There isn’t much traffic, but I wouldn’t notice if there was. When I pull into the parking lot, I realize I don’t know what Dane’s car looks like, so I have no way of knowing when he’s here. I guess I’ll get the tickets and wait for him inside. My heart beats fast, so I take a few slow, deep breaths and courageously hop out of the car.

  The ground is wet, and my feet slap too loudly against it. When I near the box office, a friendly face greets me and smiles.

  “Hi, Penelope. What are you doing here?” Tessa, one of my coworkers, asks. Her brown hair looks recently cut, and it suits her better. Although she and I haven’t talked much since she started working a few months ago, she seems like the nicest of all my coworkers.

  “I’m actually going on a date,” I say, avoiding eye contact. She smiles brightly.

  “That’s awesome! Who is he?” She asks.

  “His name is Dane. He goes to Center Grove High School.”

  “Really? I go there, but I don’t know if I’ve heard of him. Well, what movie are you seeing?”

  “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children,” I say and slide my employee ID under the glass. Tessa takes it, clicks the screen a few times, and swipes my ID. Each of her movements takes a lightyear to complete, but in reality, the whole process only takes a couple of seconds. I tap my foot on the ground. She finally hands back my ID and two tickets to the movie, and I smile politely.

  “Enjoy your movie and your date,” Tessa says, smiling as well.

  “Thank you.”

  I head inside, and the familiar scent of newly popped popcorn fills my nose. It smells like heaven, and I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that smell. The movie theater is decorated like an old, vintage theater, so neon lights hang on the walls, red and white paint battle the room for dominance, and black and white tile covers the floor. A game room stands on the right side, but most of the time, a few of the games are broken. Today, Temple Run is out of order, but that doesn’t stop a little boy from trying to play it.

  Only a few people walk through the lobby, and my coworkers behind concession pace mindlessly with bored stares on their faces. I spot two of my closest friends, Tyler and Cindy, standing behind concession, so I walk over to them. They perk up quickly, and Tyler smiles mischievously.

  “Are you here for your date?” Tyler asks, dropping the word “date” with extra emphasis. Tyler is like my fourth brother because Kevin and I are both friends with him. He’s the same age as me, but we couldn’t be more different. He’s one of those troublemaker, heartbreaker kind of boys, and that might be the reason why I’ve loved being friends with him.

  “Yep, obviously,” I say.

  “I’m so excited to see him in real life,” Cindy says, “I bet he’s going to be cute.”

  “So cute,” Tyler repeats in a girlish tone. I raise my eyebrows at him.

  “You know who else will be excited to see him?” Tyler asks, and I squint at him. “Luke.”

  My chest tightens at the mention of his name. It never even occurred to me that Luke could be working today.

  “Is he here?” I ask, looking around. I only see Kevin standing at the podium.

  “He sure is,” Tyler says, smiling like a fool. Tyler was the one who told me about Luke loving me. Apparently, Luke told him while they were playing Xbox together, and Tyler told me the next day. Thinking about it now makes my head hurt. I don’t need this extra stress added onto this date.

  “I’m going to go ask Kevin where he is,” I say and walk away from Cindy and Tyler w
ithout another word. Kevin sees me, as I walk towards him. But he doesn’t act like it until I’m a foot away.

  “Is Luke here?” I ask. Kevin swings his keychain around on his hand and doesn’t make eye contact.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Where is he?”

  “He went to take out the trash. It could take awhile. He’s so slow,” Kevin says and paces around before stopping. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m, uh, seeing a movie with someone,” I say and lean against a nearby wall. All I can hope for is that Luke doesn't walk in while I’m standing here, or worse, when I’m with Dane. This all makes my heart beat fast. Right then, my phone buzzes in my back pocket, so I grab it to read the message.

  I’m here. Where are you? Dane texts. I text back quickly, ignoring my brother’s stare.

  Come inside. I already bought the tickets. I put my phone back in my pocket and start to pace back and forth across the space in front of my brother. My thoughts immediately shift from hoping Luke doesn't see Dane and I together to hoping I give Dane a good first impression. He liked my Instagram selfie, but that doesn't necessarily mean he will like me in real life. But I really hope he does.

  The podium where Kevin tears tickets stands between us, so I swipe my hand across it as I walk. Every time the door opens, I check to see if the person looks like Dane. An elderly woman walks through. Definitely not.

  Finally, the door opens, and a tall, skinny boy with brunette hair starts walking towards me. I stop pacing when he smiles at me, and I smile back. His hair falls across his forehead in a Bieber kind-of-way, but it suits him. He wears a blue flannel and jeans, and I wonder when was the last time I saw a guy wearing a flannel. The thought quickly escapes me when he gets closer, and I realize I’m staring.

  “Hi,” I say and look away.

  “Hi,” Dane says. His voice sounds deeper than I expected. I turn around and hand Kevin the tickets that I’ve been gripping on to and realize my hands are very clammy. He tears them and hands them back without saying a word. The thought to introduce them to each other runs through my mind, but I ignore it and thank Kevin.

  Dane follows me down the hallway toward our movie. It’s the most poorly lit area of the theater, but I take another look at Dane anyways and see that he’s already looking at me. He stands a foot taller than me, forcing me to look up, and words fall out of my mouth.

  “You’re tall,” I say and instantly want to smack myself in the face. He smiles‒a sweet smile that fills his eyes‒and I finally look into them. They’re blue like mine.

  “And you’re short,” he says, looking into my own eyes. I smile and nod before looking away. When we reach our movie down the short hallway, Dane hurries around me to open the door.

  “After you,” he says.

  “Thank you.” So chivalry isn’t dead.

  The theater we’re in is one of the smallest of the eight we have, but even still, almost all the chairs are open to sit in. One guy sits down on the left side, so I find a seat on the right side, hoping Dane doesn’t have any preferences for this sort of situation. Every small decision‒from picking the seats to what I say‒makes me a little anxious because I really don’t want to mess any of this up.

  “Is this okay?” I point to two seats, and Dane nods and sits next to me. My heart beats hard and fast through my chest, and it almost feels like my whole body beats alongside it. I wipe my hands on my pants and take a slow, deep breath. I can tell Dane is watching me from out of the corner of my eye, so I face him.

  “I’m glad you said yes to going out with me,” he says, and a hint of twang comes out of his voice.

  “I’m glad you asked me,” I say. My mouth twitches when I try to smile, as it does when I’m nervous. I bite my bottom lip.

  “Have you been on many dates before?” He asks as if reading my mind. I wonder how I gave it away. Was it the way I dressed or what I’ve said?

  “No, this is my first real date,” I admit and look away. Heat fills the back of my neck, so I take my coat off. Dane does the same. I wonder if he’s nervous too. I’m sure he’s been on plenty of dates, so this probably doesn't affect him much. His smile is unwavering when he looks at me.

  “Well, I hope I’m a good first date,” he says.

  The previews start to play, so we stop talking. But that doesn’t stop my chest from feeling like it could explode at any second. Dane faces forward but puts his hand near mine on the armrest. I swallow hard. Without looking at me, he intertwines our fingers, and a nervous smile creeps onto my face. He glances at me, smiling too, but I keep facing forward. Is this how it’s supposed to happen? Am I supposed to feel like I’m having a heart attack? I try to push all the anxious thoughts away when the movie starts, but it’s hard when all I can focus on is his big hand in my small one.

  Two hours later, the credits start rolling, and we separate our hands. Mine is sweaty, and it aches from being curled up in the same position for so long. But after holding hands so much, I’m comfortable with doing it now, and it definitely doesn't make me so nervous. That’s progress.

  Dane gets up and walks up the middle aisle towards the door, and I follow closely behind. When the door opens from the other side, I don’t think anything of it until I see him.

  Luke holds the door open and nods to the people walking out in front of us. When he sees me, his eyes dart between Dane and me quickly, and his expression falls. The air between us instantly feels tense, so I quickly walk past him and down the hallway. Thankfully, Dane doesn’t seem to have noticed. I really don’t want to have to explain that to him on our first date.

  We walk outside to the sidewalk, and I push the image of Luke out of my mind. Tessa no longer sits in the box office. Instead, it’s a new girl, so I don’t pay her any attention.

  “Well, that was good,” Dane says. Out in the sunlight, I finally see the details of Dane’s face, and I’m a bit taken aback by how attractive he is. His eyes now shine bright, and I realize they’re actually hazel. Tons of freckles cover his nose and cheeks, and a few dot his forehead. I look into his eyes and smile.

  “Yeah, it was. So what do you want to do now?” I ask, kicking my foot against the ground. The nerves that were in me just a few hours ago are almost completely gone, and I’m kind of surprised by that. Dane looks away for a second and smiles.

  “Have you ever been to Uncle Bill’s?”

  “Actually, no.”

  “Well, then today will be filled with a lot of firsts,” He says. I smile nervously.

  “Sounds good. Do you want me to follow you?” I point to my car.

  “Or you can ride with me, and I’ll drop you back off at your car later,” Dane suggests. I consider the option for a second, knowing my parents probably wouldn’t agree, but I nod and follow Dane to his car.

  He drives us to Uncle Bill’s Pet Shop, which is only a few minutes down the street, and we start talking easily.

  I tell him how I started working at the movie theater, and I tell him about my four siblings. He tells me that he works at McAlister's and that he has one younger brother named Joseph. When we pull into the parking lot of Uncle Bill’s, I start telling him about all the pets I’ve had in my lifetime but how I don’t have one now, and he tells me that he has a great dane. That makes me laugh.

  The conversation flows with ease, and it’s almost like we’re old friends, catching up after not seeing each other for awhile.

  Dane courageously reaches for my hand when we’re walking towards the door for Uncle Bill’s. It catches me by surprise, but I allow him to take it. He smiles at me, and that makes me smile back.

  When we walk into the store, I immediately scrunch my nose. The store’s aroma can only be described as stale, wet dog food. The smell doesn’t seem to bother Dane, though. He leads me through the store like he’s been there a million times, and we see everything from the dogs to the birds to the fish to the lizards. After exploring the whole store within twenty minutes, he leads me back outside to his car.<
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  “So, what did you think?” Dane asks when we get into his car.

  “It smelled bad, but the animals were cute,” I admit. He lets out a short laugh.

  “Yeah, true. Well, are you hungry?” He asks. My stomach grumbles quietly. I feel it but can’t hear it over the radio, so I assume Dane couldn’t hear it either.

  “Not yet.” The nerves come back.

  “Okay, there’s somewhere else I want to take you then.” Dane starts driving, and although I should probably be a little worried, I’m not. I don’t know how Dane feels, but to me, we feel like old friends. I feel like I could tell him anything, which is weird for me. Maybe it’s because he’s actually listening to me when most other guys don’t care to listen.

  We spend the rest of the car ride talking, and I learn about the music he likes and the concerts he’s gone to. He tells me that he grew up in a strong Christian household, and I grimace. He notices and tilts his head, looking away from the road for a second and instead at me.

  “I’m guessing you’re not a Christian then?” He asks. I shake my head and watch the road. “So are you an atheist?”

  “I consider myself agnostic,” I say. After many political and religious debates in AP World History freshman year, this is what I’ve labeled myself because I haven’t cared enough to search for more information. I worry what Dane will think of that.

  “What’s that?” He asks. I think for a second of how to describe it.

  “It basically means that I don’t know. I don’t know if a god exists, and I don’t know if a god doesn’t exist.”

  “Well, how do you not know that God exists? Haven’t you read the Bible?” I almost laugh but don’t want to be offensive.

  “No, I haven’t even touched a Bible in my life. I’ve never gone to church either. I’m pretty sure my dad is an atheist, and my mom might believe in God. But I don’t really know. They’ve never really said what they believe because they didn’t want to force me or my siblings to believe the same things as them. They wanted us to figure it out for ourselves,” I say.