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When we reach his Jeep, he leans his back against it and pulls me toward him, until I am standing close to him. He lifts his eyes to the stars, and I look up as well. The stars are so bright, and they seem so close, it feels as if I can reach up and touch them.
“Do you want me to catch a star for you?” he asks.
“Can I make a wish on it?”
“Don’t you just rub your belly three times?” he teases.
“So very funny.” I smirk playfully.
I am still looking up at the stars, when he leans forward and pulls me even closer to him. I look back at him and his expression is so serious it startles me, and then he kisses me.
My arms creep in under his jacket and wrap around the warmness of his waist. His arms are around my shoulders, pulling me tightly into him, with his one hand cupping the back of my head. I hear voices coming from behind us in the parking area, and I pull away from Jared slowly. I smile bashfully. “I love you; you know?”
“I know.” He smiles affectionately as he moves away from the Jeep. He opens the car door for me, and I get in. He does not buckle me in, but says, “Don’t touch it, I want to try something.”
He walks around, gets in and then smiling his crooked smile, he leans over me and pulls the safety belt across me. With his face close to mine, he says, “This is what I wanted to do that very first day.” He kisses me softly on my lips—so softly I almost miss it.
“Why didn’t you?” I whisper breathlessly.
He chuckles. “Because I have restraint and although at times it is difficult to maintain, I am managing—barely.”
I laugh as he continues to buckle me in.
He plants a playful kiss on my cheek before he turns in the driver seat and starts the Jeep.
As he drives onto the narrow two-lane road, he muses, “I think it’s going to be a beautiful summer. Pity your parents wouldn’t allow you to go to France with me, it would have been fun.”
“Well, what can I say?” I sigh miserably. “I am glad you decided not to go though and to rather stay here with boring old me.”
“You could never be boring.” He glances sideways and his hand reaches for my hand.
We drive up the hill and I have so many memories flashing through my mind from that first night we met.
“Are we going to your home or mine?” His voice disrupts the comfortable silence.
“I don’t think my parents are going to allow me to sleep at Jane’s house every night.”
“I suppose we could keep it to once a week then.”
“That would be better and, of course, I am going to have to convince Jane to tear herself away from Aaron for one night to come and sleep over at my house, just to keep up the awful act of deception.”
“Not really deception is it? You are sleeping over at a friend's house, aren’t you?”
I laugh. “A boy-friend.”
“But we are being good.” He insists light-heartedly.
I look at him, illuminated by the dashboard, and he seems lost in his own thoughts again.
He asks seriously, “Would you ever consider marrying me?”
“Aren't we a bit young to be discussing marriage?”
“Not if I want to spend my every living moment with you.”
“But I would never consider marrying you.” He sucks in his breath loudly and, laughing softly, I say, “Because there is nothing to consider. I would marry you in a heartbeat.”
He sighs with relief. “Maybe we should run away tonight. I don’t think I would be able to resist your temptations or your excellent debating skills on the subject of 'everybody is doing it' for much longer.” He glances at me, a smile, my smile, playing on his lips.
I look back at the road, feeling content, about to retaliate, and it is with shock that I see a big silver car speeding toward us. It is busy overtaking another car on a road where there is barely enough space for two cars to pass each other going in different directions.
With an emotion of despair rushing through me, I feel my safety belt bite into my shoulder as my body jerks sideways. From the corner of my eye I see the window to the side of me rush closer to me.
