Love Lasts Read online

  As soon as we walk in, the scent of disinfectant hits my nose. I quickly find the reason for it. A guy stands behind another counter with all of the roller skates on different racks, and he’s spraying disinfectant into each of the shoes. He coughs.

  The room, although better looking than the outside, still doesn't impress me much. Between the horrendous purple carpet covering half the floor and the old-fashioned wooden tables and benches filling the space, I might’ve thought we’d traveled back in time. Maybe that’s part of its charm.

  Dane and I get our roller skates from the other employee and sit down on a bench to put them on. Suddenly, music starts playing overhead, and it’s a song I’ve never heard before. Then, the lights are dimmed, and I look cautiously towards Dane. We both look above us at the lights fading.

  “This place is weird,” I say with a laugh. A second later, disco lights start streaming across the roller rink, and Dane starts laughing too. After we both have our skates on, I stand up slowly and hold out my hand for Dane. He grabs it and stands as well.

  “Ready?” I ask.

  “Not at all. I’m horrible at skating,” Dane says. My jaw drops, and I tilt my head at him.

  “Then why did you say ‘yes’ to going roller skating? We totally could’ve done something else!”

  “Well, you wanted to do it, and I’m willing to try… for you.” We both smile, and I jokingly swipe my hand across his arm.

  “Well, you better be a quick learner.”

  “Why? Are you really good?” Dane asks. We start inching our way across the carpet towards the closed-in rink, and my legs are incredibly unstable.

  “No, I’ll probably be really bad at first, but I can usually get better pretty quickly. We’ll see,” I say. When we reach the rink, I slowly put one foot on and then the other, making sure to keep a hold onto the half-wall. Dane does the same so we’re both sliding slowly across the edge of the rink with one hand on the wall. I feel embarrassed like I’m a little kid who’s learning to skate for the first time, but I try not to let myself feel bad because Dane is doing the same thing as me. I look over my shoulder to see him concentrating heavily on his feet, but he looks up at me with a nervous smile.

  “If I wipe out, please don’t make fun of me,” he says.

  “I would never!” I say, smiling mischievously. At that, I get a bit braver and let go of the wall. I’m a little wobbly, but I slowly gain a rhythm. Two younger kids, probably brother and sister, join us on the rink, and they immediately start skating laps around us. The girl skates backwards, and I look at Dane with my mouth wide open and point at her. He shakes his head.

  After a full lap around the rink, I speed up to catch up with Dane, who is still holding onto the wall. When I reach him, he lets go of the wall and reaches for my hand. I take it, and we start moving carefully. He immediately starts to wobble, though, and squeezes tightly to my hand. I let out a yell mixed with laughter, knowing he’s about to fall and wants to bring me with him.

  “Let go!” I yell, laughing wildly. He does and comes crashing to the ground. I slowly bend my knees to reach him on the floor.

  “Are you okay?” I ask. I can’t help the smile that covers my face, and Dane covers his face with his hands. When he moves them, he’s smiling, though.

  “Yeah, I’m okay.”

  “Follow me,” I say, moving towards the wall to help Dane not feel so bad. I use it to guide me towards the rest area, and he follows me. When we’re both safely on the carpet, we sit and watch a few kids trying to dance to “YMCA” without falling over.

  “So, tell me something about you that I don’t know yet,” I say to Dane over the music. He doesn’t say anything for a minute.

  “Um, well, I have two best friends named Monty and Carlos. Monty and I are closest. He’s going to join the Army when I join the Air Force, so we’ll both be going through our training at the same time,” Dane says, “What about you? Tell me something.”

  “Well, my best friend is‒” Then, I remember what happened earlier today, and my face falls. Dane notices and reaches to hold my hand.

  “What’s wrong?” He asks. I let out a sigh and rub the back of my neck with my free hand. I watch a young girl fall face-first into the roller rink floor and starts crying. Her mom doesn’t notice, but one of the boys near her helps her up.

  “My best friend’s name is Lin, but I don’t know that we’re best friends anymore.”

  “Why? What happened?”

  “She’s very protective of me, and I mean, I’m protective of her too. But she kind of freaked out this morning when I was talking about you. She knows how every guy in my past has ended up hurting me one way or another, so she basically told me not to get my hopes up with you.” I look at Dane, and he looks hurt. I continue, “I was mean to her, though, so she texted me, saying some really mean stuff too.”

  “Can I see?” Dane asks. His eyebrows narrow, and I worry that I’ve made him mad too. My chest tightens, and I feel myself getting emotional.

  “I deleted the conversation. I didn’t want to make things worse.” Neither of us says anything for a minute.

  “That makes me mad,” Dane says. I swallow hard.

  “I’m sorry.” My eyes start to well up with tears, and I let go of Dane’s hand, moving my hands onto my lap. His eyes move straight to where my hand was moved, and he takes it back into his own hand. He looks at me sadly.

  “No, I didn’t mean I’m mad at you. I meant I’m mad that she would be mean to you. You don’t deserve that. You should be able to talk about a new person in your life, and she should be excited for you. I’m not sure I want to meet this Lin girl,” Dane says and tightens his grip on my hand.

  “Well, you may not because we may not be friends anymore. She’s just a very negative person. She sees the bad in every situation, and she’s always wanted me to be as sad as she is. But as soon as I find someone who makes me happy, she wants to make it seem like it won’t possibly work out. It’s annoying,” I say, trailing off at the end. I don’t like gossiping this way about Lin. It makes me feel like a crummy person.

  “She sounds jealous,” Dane says. The word ‘jealous’ hits my ear, and suddenly, it makes perfect sense. If I start to date someone good, then they make take Lin’s place. That’s why she’s mad. She doesn’t want to be replaced. I realize my shoulders are tight, so I let them fall, forcing myself to relax.

  “Yeah, maybe we can talk about something else.” Dane nods and smiles reassuringly.

  “Are you hungry?” He asks. I nod. “Then, let's get out of here.”

  Dane and I get Chick-fil-A through the drive-thru and eat it in the parking lot. My head pounds, and it must be from the loud music in the roller rink. I roll the window down an inch, and when the cold air hits my face, my head feels much lighter. I breathe deeply, let it out, and roll the window back up. Dane doesn’t say anything.

  My nerves aren’t so bad today, so I gladly eat my chicken tenders and french fries. After we both finish eating, he drives me back home, and we spend the car ride holding hands and talking about what we’ll do for our next date. He wants to go downtown tomorrow night, and I eagerly agree.

  When we pull into my driveway, the curtains around the kitchen are open. I see my family sitting around the kitchen table, eating dinner without me. Alec notices us first and points, causing everyone else to look outside too. Mom points to Alec’s plate of food and says something I can’t decipher. She walks over to the window and waves at us before closing the curtains. I look at Dane, and he’s smiling.

  “I had a lot of fun with you today,” he says, squeezing my hand.

  “I did too. Thank you for paying for roller skating and for dinner.” I squeeze his hand back and smile.

  “My pleasure,” he says. That sounds familiar, and I realize I heard the same phrase from each of the Chick-fil-A employees who helped get our food. I look at my house for only a second to delay the inevitable kiss. When I turn back, Dane is already leaning towards me. I sm
ile into the kiss and then giggle nervously.

  “Sorry,” I say and try to kiss him again with a straight face. It doesn’t work very well, but finally, Dane grabs underneath my chin, brings my face forward, and kisses me hard. He pulls away, and my lips tingle. I smile again, feeling nervous for some reason.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I say, as my face heats up.

  “See you tomorrow.” Dane smiles. I grab my purse off the floorboard and get out of the car. Dane drives off, and I head inside feeling light and happy.

  CHAPTER 6

  I walk inside the house with a dumb smile on my face, and everyone turns to look at me. The curiosity on their faces is evident, but I don’t want to give anything away. Mom welcomes me home and asks if I’ve already eaten dinner.

  “I already ate,” I say. Alec stares at me, and the spoon in his hand misses his mouth. His face turns red, and he wipes the food off his cheek. Keagan laughs and points at him.

  “Okay,” Mom looks at me closely, “You look happy. Did you have a fun time?” I nod and look around for my dad. I hear the shower, so that must be where he is.

  “I had a lot of fun.”

  “I’m glad,” Mom smiles and walks back into the kitchen. Kevin looks at me and quickly looks away, but everyone else focuses on their food. I quickly take my shoes off, throw them into the chest next to the door, and find a spot on a couch in the living room. Since it’s Friday night, my family will most likely be watching a movie later, so I guess I’ll wait to watch it with them.

  My siblings bicker at the kitchen table, and when Kevin finishes eating dinner first, he heads straight upstairs to his room without talking to anyone. Slowly, the younger three finish eating too and join me in the living room. Keagan turns on a cooking show, and I mindlessly watch it. Finally, after my dad gets out of the shower and eats dinner, he and Mom sit in their comfy recliner chairs and find a movie for us to watch.

  As Dumb and Dumber begins playing, my phone vibrates next to me. I pick it up and find a message from Dane. First, I turn the brightness on my phone all the way down, and then I read it.

  You’re my girlfriend. I purse my lips together to hide my smile and text him back.

  I sure am. My eyes stay pressed to the phone screen until another message pops up.

  I wish you could come over and cuddle and watch a movie with me. As I read the message, my face warms up, and I’m suddenly thankful Dad turned the lights off in here. I text Dane back and notice that my hands shake slightly.

  Me too. Maybe one day. My heart beats faster. I can’t believe I’m having this conversation right now. I can’t believe I have a boyfriend. My phone vibrates again.

  Definitely one day. The truth is that his request seems far fetched. Since I was a kid, my parents have always been strict with whose house I could go over to, so I find it hard to believe they would allow me to go to a boy’s house. They’ll ask to meet Dane’s parents. They’ll want to know that his parents are home with us. They’ll tell Dane’s parents to not let us be alone together. It’ll be a whole thing, and honestly, I’m not sure I have the guts to ask for permission anyway.

  Regardless, there’s nothing wrong with staying hopeful.

  Dane texts me early Saturday morning to figure out when he can pick me up, and I let him decide. He chooses five p.m., and I agree. Although, I honestly wish it was much earlier. This means I have to spend the majority of the day by myself.

  I decide to sit downstairs and watch my dad play video games, but I spend a lot of time mindlessly scrolling through Instagram and Twitter. I search for Lin’s Instagram account and find a new selfie posted not too long ago. She doesn't have a caption attached, so I can’t tell if anything else is going on in her life. I haven’t seen her at school, which could either mean she’s not going or she’s avoiding me. Either way, an ache in my heart tells me our friendship is over.

  Although it pains me, I’m not super surprised it happened so easily and so quickly. Throughout our years of friendships, we’ve had too many fights to keep track of. We’ve stopped being friends and started being friends over and over again, and this might have been the last straw. A friendship can only take so much damage before it’s rendered useless.

  I try to distract myself by texting Dane, but he’s busy helping his dad with something. So I put my phone away and go back to watching my dad play video games.

  We talk occasionally about what’s going on in his game, but since the start of my junior year, I haven’t played video games as much as I used to. Nonetheless, I enjoy watching him play. It makes time go by a little bit faster.

  By the time Dane picks me up, I’ve been bored out of my mind for hours, and I’m so thankful for the change in pace and scenery. I hurry out the door, telling my parents I’ll be home before dark, and jump into Dane’s car.

  He greets me with a kiss, and it makes me incredibly happy.

  After eating at a pizza place downtown, we spend the rest of the evening walking around the streets of Indianapolis. The cold causes us to frequently hurry inside open stores and buildings, but it’s exhilarating doing something new.

  First, Dane shows me his favorite candy shop, Rocket Fizz, and I’m amazed I never knew about this place before. It sells probably a hundred or more different sodas in classic glass bottles, and it sells tons of candy, of course. Dane and I buy a few packs of skittles and starbursts and some leftover poppers from New Year’s.

  As we’re walking down the street again, Dane’s hand stays strong in mine. Despite the cold, our hands stay warm pressed together. I look up and see so many tall buildings surrounding us.

  “I wish we could be on top of one of these buildings and oversee everything. I bet it’s beautiful,” I say.

  Dane looks at me, and I can almost see the light bulb going off in his head. He smiles mischievously, doesn’t say anything, and leads me through the cold with a newfound determination.

  We turn the corner down a street, and Dane opens a door for me. But it’s not a store that we walk into. Instead, it’s a small space with two elevators on one side and another door straight ahead. Dane presses the button for the elevator, and the elevator doors on our right open up immediately. When we step inside and the doors close, Dane faces me and gives me a kiss that makes me forget about the cold and my confusion.

  He leans back, and we both smile at each other. I lean close to him for warmth until the elevator door opens on the top floor, and he leads me out to the top of a parking garage.

  There aren’t any cars on this level, so I let go of Dane’s hand and run around, laughing and flying my arms around. The cold bites my cheeks, and the wind hits us even harder from all the way up here. I run to the edge of the parking garage and look over the half-wall. The view is breathtaking.

  On my left is Monument Circle, where we were a couple minutes ago, and the Soldiers Sailors Monument stands tall in the middle of it, somehow invincible against the harsh weather. All around us are other buildings, some taller and some shorter than the parking garage we’re on. Some people fast-walk by themselves down the street, and others casually walk with a group of friends. I can hear their laughter from all the way up here. Car lights and stop lights fill the streets.

  I’m so mesmerized by the view that I almost forget about Dane, who is standing a bit behind me. I turn around, and it seems he was watching me. He smiles and takes a step towards me.

  “It’s so beautiful up here,” I say.

  “Yes, you are,” he says. I laugh at his cheesiness, but my heart fills with joy. He takes another step and wraps his arms around me in a hug. His coat is cold against my cheek, making me shiver, so he squeezes me tighter. Dane leans back and gives me a kiss that I can’t feel. It makes me laugh, but it also creates butterflies in my stomach.

  “I can’t even feel that,” I say.

  Dane smiles and kisses me four more times all over my face. I laugh and swat him away, but he takes my hand and smiles, staring intently at me. His stare makes me feel even more
nervous, so I take my hand away and open up a pack of Skittles, trying to create a distraction. It works because Dane starts opening his Starbursts and begins to eat them, but I feel too nervous to eat my own. Instead, I walk across the parking garage and start to throw skittles onto the roof of another building below us.

  “What are you doing?” Dane asks, jogging over to me.

  “Throwing skittles.” I throw another one to make my point, but Dane shakes his head.

  “Why don’t you eat them? That’s probably illegal.”

  Dane’s disapproval causes my stomach to twist, so I stop throwing the skittles and force one into my mouth with a slight frown. I suck on it for a long time and swallow hard, deciding I don’t want to eat anymore. I hand the bag to Dane and look over the side of the wall to see an alley below.

  My thoughts are heavy. Everything with Dane so far has felt so right, and it terrifies me. I don’t know if I’m being naïve or if he really is everything I’ve ever wanted in a guy. He checks all the boxes. He’s attractive. He makes me laugh. He makes me feel wanted, special, valued, and noticed. He’s breaking me out of the box that’s held me hostage my whole life: the box that has told me that I can’t be anything but the smart girl. I can’t even be the pretty girl. But he’s convincing me otherwise. Maybe I can be more.

  A rush of courage runs over me, and I decide to lift myself up onto the ledge of the parking garage. Dane’s eyes widen, and he immediately steps over to me, wrapping his arms around my body.

  “Are you crazy?”

  “I just want to put my legs over the side,” I say. My heart beats fast, and all sanity drains from my mind. Dane looks at me nervously, but he lets go. I slowly turn my body around until my legs are dangling off the side. I look down again, and surprisingly, I’m not scared. I pull out my phone and take a photo of my legs over the wall, and then I turn back around and jump back onto the safety of the parking garage floor.