All right, this is pure fluff. Be sure to let me know if you’d like a sequel and how far into the future you think it should be. I have a lot of ideas but your replies will determine which one I decide to run with. Thanks!

EPILOGUE

I can’t believe we’ve made it this far. Eight months without seeing each other and sharing very vague phone conversations has been driving me wild; but today, that all ends!! Today, he is picking me up for our first, real date, and I am so friggin excited I can hardly sit still!

I showered like two hours ago and have tried on three different outfits, curled my hair, and have been pacing the floor like I’m expecting the test results of an important blood test. My stomach is all jittery, and my hands are shaking so much that I can barely write this, and I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited about anything else in my entire life!

And Ralph kept insisting Dan would dump me before the eight months were through! More than once, I have come dangerously close to knocking his block off or shoving his food down his throat at lunch time because he won’t stop it with the stupid warnings about how an older man just won’t stick with me. He’s even dating Amy now and he won’t let up! Geez, he better not be using her, or I swear I will feed him to the wolves myself. I don’t think he’s using her, he seems so genuine when he’s with her; but man, his constant insistence that I’m going to get my heart broken is awfully suspicious.

He doesn’t understand. Dan and I have been growing together in a spiritual sense, reading the Bible and discussing passages and growing closer to God. More than ever I realize how great God’s grace and love is toward me, especially since I daydream about Dan more than I should… and yeah, I don’t mean in an innocent way, either. I feel so bad when I do it, I ask God to forgive me, but later I’m right back there, imagining what our ‘first time’ together will be like. I know that’s human nature, and it’s ok to wonder but to think in the details that I have… well that’s not right. And I hope I’m able to wait until we’re married if we ever decide to marry.

I guess now that we’re free to date, we’re not guaranteed a bed of roses relationship, but I’m not going to let the fear of failure hold me back this time. Dan has proven himself much more honorable than Schroeder, and he’s proven that he’s a truly devoted Christian. I think he’s getting a little preachier as he gets older, but I don’t even mind that. It’s not like he goes and beats people upside the head with his Bible, but he seems a little more outspoken about his faith than he used to be. He told me the other day that Ralph, being the obnoxious teaser he can be, laughed at him when he saw Dan’s Bible sitting on his dashboard. Instead of taking offense, Dan told him, “You’re only laughing because you misunderstand it. Do you want to understand it correctly?”

Needless to say, Ralph just laughed more, but Dan said, “It’s OK because if God is calling someone and they’re open, they’ll listen. I can’t make anyone hear, all I can do is offer.”

I admire him more than ever because he said he wanted to get closer to God and he did something about it. He’s not all talk. He takes action. And his getting closer to God has helped bury any doubts I had about how his money might influence him.

I just hope that after today things get better and better. No more doubts or worries. If all goes well, who knows? In a year, maybe I’ll be Mrs. Daniel Fields. Even though nineteen is pretty young for marriage. How the heck are we supposed to keep our hands off of each other for years and years and years? And if I really love him, should age be an issue at all? I don’t know. Maybe I should go to college first.

Oh, crap! The doorbell just rang and I think my stomach did a triple roll. Here I go…

Bekah locked the diary and hurried over to her closet. The doorbell rang again, so she shoved the little book inside a tote, pocketed the key and patted it- this way her father couldn’t read her secret thoughts again, not that she had anything horrid to read- and ran out of the room. Down the long hall, past the vacant kitchen to the front door, which she ripped open and stood there panting as the handsome man smiled through the screen.

For a moment, it seemed all of the air had been sucked out of the house. There he was! After not seeing him for eight, long, friggin months, there he was, wearing a black, short-sleeved button up-shirt and blue jeans. Her ex-teacher, the best English teacher she’d ever known, the man who had challenged her to write a gushy story and had taught her to trust again, the man who’d encouraged her to grow closer to their God. His chocolate eyes looked more gorgeous than ever as they pressed in on her, his hair thick and a little longer than it should have been, getting scattered by a strong wind which carried the scent of his aftershave.

What intrigued her the most, however, were his slight laugh lines. Did her teacher have laugh lines the last time she saw him? Wasn’t he too young for laugh lines? Whatever, they looked cute as Christmas from where she stood, and she couldn’t wait to trace them with her fingers!

Bending forward slightly, he grinned. “Well… if it isn’t my star student.”

She bit her lip, the butterflies in her stomach becoming more frantic as he studied her outfit- a white pair of jeans and a pink blouse that loosely rode her curves. Yes, pink, because she knew he liked her in pink. And besides that, a little pink now and then never hurt anybody.

“Oh, please,” she said, drawing his attention back to her face. Withholding a giggle, she added, “That was corny.”

“Still a smart alec, too.”

“Of course, what would you expect?”

“For one, I expect you to let me in,” he smirked with his hand on the outside handle, and she broke into a full grin.

“My parents aren’t here,” she cleared her throat but her voice sounded just as wobbly as she continued, “…so it wouldn’t be good to stay inside for long…Neighbors might get the wrong idea.” She pushed the door open to let him in, since she needed to get her purse, anyway. But as soon as he stepped inside and she closed the door, she found herself rooted to her spot, eyeing his firm chest and biceps. No bigger than before, and no smaller. Just right.

How had they managed to stay apart this long? How had they managed to keep from crying about how much they missed each other over the phone? Most of their conversations had revolved around the Bible, Ralph, Alice’s improvement, and tidbits about their personal lives. That way, no one could misconstrue anything that was said to make Dan look like a predator- he was still nervous about her father’s easy-going attitude toward their relationship.

Dan stepped closer, and they stared at each other as though seeing the sunshine for the first time in their entire lives, their eyes full of wonder. As least she imagined she looked equally as awestruck as he did. With his breath rolling against her forehead, she inhaled deeply and admired his glossy eyes.

“I’ve missed you, Woman,” he said huskily, the bob of his Adam’s Apple a visible exclamation point.

She gently pressed her finger to his neck, chills seizing her as his hand traveled up and down her back. “You know I’ve missed you.”

“We’ve got a lot to discuss,” he returned, and she imagined grabbing him by the collar and plastering him the best kiss of his life. But, no… no, they’d just been reunited and he was right… they had a lot to discuss, so the kissing should wait. For the perfect moment, even though she could see clearly that he wanted to kiss her now. Instead of kissing her, though he pulled her into his arms, wrapping her tightly and exhaling into her hair. Snickering, she returned the embrace around his waist, soaking up his closeness like this was the first and last time she’d ever feel him like this.

His heartbeat in her ear buried her jitters in a blanket of warmth, and the emptiness and longing of the past eight months seemed exactly how she knew it would seem- like a drop in a bucket. Time that had seemed like an eternity had been nothing more than a blurb on a long spectrum of life and love. Holding him again was like waking up after a stormy night; holding him again was like finding a chunk of her that had been missing for months. A part of her she hadn’t known until this man had entered her life. A soft, loving, mushy-gushy part that had always longed to be set free. A part of her that thrived in his presence like her spirit in God’s light.

His hands lowered dangerously close to rear, but just as she knew they would, they stopped; but his heart rate was about to blow through the roof.

“Let’s get out of here, Rose,” he whispered, lifting her hand to fiddle with the pink sparkler, which had been sitting on her left ring finger since the night of the play.

Taking a breath, she leaned back, blushing under a seductive gaze that traveled down to her hips as she turned away…a gaze that likely glued itself to her backside as she made her way into the living room to snatch her purse.

OOOO

“So you’ve still got the same, old Jeepers,” Bekah teased as he pulled out of the driveway.

“And you’ve still got the same, old house,” he winked. “Which is something we need to change so I can stop worrying about you.”

“I’m sure my parents would welcome your help now that I’m a legal adult.”

Flicking on the turn signal, he glanced at her. “Nice outfit, by the way.”

“Thank you, Teacher, I bought it with my own money.”

“Yeah,” he grimaced. “How’s the job going?”

“Irritating as ever.”

“Do men flirt?”

Rolling her eyes, she asked, “It’s a server position, what do you think?” Why lie?

“Bastards.”

“Hey, I thought you were trying to stop the cussing!”

“I am,” he smirked. “Keep on me about it.”

“Oh, I will. You’ll wish you’d never met me.”

“I could never wish that.” He stopped at a sign and sent her a warm smile that almost made her melt in her seat.

Instead, she squared her shoulders. “There was a time I regretted meeting you, as much as I hate to bring that up.”

He frowned, producing those adorable lines above the bridge of his nose. “Why did you? I thought we were past that.”

“We are. I just brought it up so I could justify saying something really mushy.”

“Which is?”

“I’m glad I gave you another chance.”

He faced forward again, his jaw bulging, and said, “That’s it, we’ve got to get where we’re going fast.”

“Why?”

“You’ll see.” He grinned.

“Hey, no fair teasing me like that.”

“You’re teasing me!”

“How so?”

He winked across the seats. “Because you look so gorgeous and I’ve missed you so much I can barely keep my damn- my hands to myself, Woman.”

“Oh, is that all?” She flirted with a wiggle of her brows.

“Yeah, that’s all,” he laughed and flipped on the radio.

“Is that a nervous habit of yours?” She teased as John Denver crooned, “Take me home, country roads.”

“What?”

“Turning on the radio.”

“Why do you ask that? Lots of people turn on the radio when they get in the car.”

“Yeah, but not usually when they’re trying to hold conversations.”

“Not necessarily true.” He steered the Jeep around the corner. “Are you trying to analyze me, Rebekah Rose?”

“I have been for months. Especially when you sound tense over the phone.” She raised her brow.

“I usually sound tense because there’s something I want to say that I can’t say, but that has all now changed.”

“Yeah, it has. So what do you want to say?”

He wiggled his brows. “You’ll see.”

She folded her trembling hands in her lap, smiling and nibbling her lips as they shot down the highway with the summer wind blowing through her hair and across their faces, passing stores and restaurants and fancy homes. All this while he filled her in on his plans to teach in a private school, hopefully as soon as he received his Science degree. He’d already mentioned this intention before, but she supposed he was engaging in small talk until they reached their destination, where he could hold her hands and pour all of the wonderful words he’d been holding inside.

What did she want to say to him in return? That she loved him, that she’d been daydreaming about him, that she hoped to start attending church with him again? Tell him everything she’d poured into her journal about him?

She’d already told him how much she and all of his old students missed his upbeat lectures. She’d told him that Sally had admitted to feeling a bit hot under the collar working with him, and that every female in the school wished they could have taken her place on the stage. She’d told him that Alice wanted a man just like him, too... and to realize that she, Rebekah Rose, had won his heart instead one of the other billions of women in this world was better than being handed a million dollars- though she rarely remembered that he was rich anymore. That fact had just sort of faded into the background, while the wonderful Dan Fields shone through like pure gold. He was the real thing, not his money.

Once they broke into open fields lined with green trees, Bekah asked the most important question of the day, “Where the heck are you taking me?”

“You’ll see.” Dan hit the repeat button on his CD to replay “Country Roads.”

“Not that again!” Bekah complained, and he feigned a pout before bursting into chuckles. “Are you telling me you don’t like John Denver?” He asked.

“Of course I do, but I want to hear a different song.”

“Annie’s song?” He winked.

“Annie’s?”

He pushed a button a couple of times and there it was… the same song he’d turned on the night of the play:

You fill up my senses like a walk in the forest.

Like the mountains in springtime

Like a walk in the rain.

“Nice,” she smiled, admiring the clear blue sky and feeling Dan’s strong hand wrapping around hers. He squeezed, and she squeezed back, their thumbs caressing one another like two, very excited lovers while her heart knocked like a mad man against her chest.

As the song faded, Dan pulled the Jeep into a gas station, which was basically vacant except for the outline of the cashier sitting behind the counter perusing what looked like the newspaper. The pumps quickly blocked her view of the building, and then the vehicle came to a stop.

Hot breath against her neck sent shivers down her spine, and she caught her breath as she faced the handsome man leaning over to ask, “Can I get you something to drink?”

“I… you didn’t bring anything, like usual?”

His nose brushed hers, both of their mouths falling open to allow their breath to mingle. “I brought Smart Water,” he whispered.

“Better than Dumb Water.”

“Very cute.” He hands encircled her waist, his mouth brushing her jaw.

She gulped. “Wow… I didn’t know you’d come on this strongly so soon.”

“I didn’t either… exactly.” He pushed her hair away from her face and began smoothing it between his fingers. “Rose…. Jacob was right.”

“Jacob?” He’d mentioned the priest a few times over the past eight months… said they hadn’t seen him much but that Allison sometimes went to him for advice… supposedly. “What did he say?” She prompted with her right hand resting on his plump bicep and left feeling his smooth cheek.

“He said if I let go, God would hold everything together.”

“But you already knew that. Remember? By Him all things consist.”

“Jacob said it to me before that verse really had an impact on me.”

“God is right… Jacob was just passing on truth.”

He smiled against her mouth. “You’re sexy when you talk like that.”

“What?” She laughed breathily, hands now sweeping up on his shoulders.

“I love how you think.”

“You’ve said that before.”

“Glad you remember.”

“I remember everything you say. I’m more of a lush than I realized.”

“No. You’re just smart.”

“I love you.”

His rapid breathing halted, and he framed her face with his hands. Searching her eyes, he replied huskily, “I love you, too… and I think it’s only going to get better from here.”

She licked her lips. “Me too. I mean, now we can really date. I can go to church with you, I can go to your house, I can-”

“You bet,” he laughed. “And I’m relieved that some other knot-head didn’t sweep you off your feet.”

“No way… there’s no one like you anywhere, Dan.”

Resting his forehead against hers, he exhaled down her front and began to fiddle with one of her shirt buttons. She held her breath. Now that they were free to be together, he’d be bolder than ever, she beamed while at the same time cautioning herself. If she encouraged him too much, then...

“You’re one of a kind yourself, Rose.”

ooo

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On that note...

You know how Bekah woulda felt if no one clapped at the end of her play? Well, that's kinda how I feel when I finish a story and see hits but no one says anything for AGES. :( Please talka to me.