High Enough

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

 

When we arrived at the town recreational center where most of our school dances took place Jason parked the car but didn’t get out.  He turned to look at me and smoothly said, “You know you are amazingly gorgeous, right?”

I smiled and blushed. Even though he had been paying me outrageous compliments for the past two years they still made my heart skip a beat. He leaned across the car and softly kissed my lips.

“I love you so much.”  He whispered against my lips 

“I love you too. Now let’s get going before my mom finds out we haven’t even gone in yet.”

“How would she even know that Ari?” he asked.

Ari was a nickname he called me all the time. I pretended it drove me nuts but I secretly enjoyed it.

“Don’t call me that! You know she has her little spies everywhere! She’s like a freaking mob boss!”

He just laughed. Then he got out of the car, came around to my side and helped me out.

“Ready?” he asked

“Ready” I replied. Then we walked hand in hand towards the doors.

As soon as we got inside we were bombarded by a ton of people. All our friends had seen us walking and were eagerly waiting by the door.

“Arabella!!!” my best friend, Valerie, squealed. “You look absolutely amazing!!”

“Thanks Val! You look pretty too!” I responded as I looked over at her. She was very small-short and thin. She had long, black curly hair that framed her heart-shaped face. Her sparkling green eyes that stood out against her tan skin were shining with excitement. She lived for dancing.

“Let’s dance!” she exclaimed and drug me out to the so-called “dance floor”. Some Black Eyed Peas song was on and the beat was pretty good. We danced for a few songs before the rest of our group came to join us. It was so much fun, one of my fondest memories. We were all so happy and having the time of our lives. Pretty soon a slow song came on and I felt myself being scooped up into strong arms.

“Hello beautiful.” Jason whispered into my ear, resulting in a shiver being sent down my spine.

We just stared into each other’s eyes as we swayed back and forth. I truly loved him with my whole heart. “I’m going to marry this boy.” I thought to myself as the song ended and he placed a soft kiss on my lips. Another song began to play and I actually recognized it. It was Last Kiss by Pearl Jam.  I stood there listening to the lyrics; it was such a really sad song. It had always been one of my favorites even though it reminded me of some very painful memories. Jason held me close as we both stood there listening. He understood. “Are you alright Ari?” he asked when the song ended. A single tear had escaped my watering eyes. He wiped it off with his thumb.

“No, but I will be.” I smiled at him.

“Come on, I have something to show you.” He grabbed my hand and led out the back doors to the garden. We had our first date back here two years ago. Even then I think I loved him.

“Remember our first date here?” I asked him

“Yes, I remember when you wouldn’t let me kiss you after I took you home. You were blushing like mad.” He reminisced.

“Hey it was my first kiss! You were going to have to work for it!” I scolded

He just chuckled and pulled me around the corner to the fountain. I froze. It was lit up and looked breathtaking, It casted an ethereal glow on all the surrounding greenery. I felt like I had just stepped into a fairytale; I even had my prince. Jason pulled me over to the bench right next to the fountain and we sat down.

“This is beautiful.” I breathily said.

“Yea, beautiful” he murmured as he looked into my eyes. Of course I blushed.

“Ari, you know I love you with my whole heart, right? You know that I don’t think you’re just my high school sweetheart?” he questioned

“Really?” I asked. I was so filled with joy I felt like jumping up and down, but I was also so awestruck it was the only dumb thing to come out of my mouth.

“Yes, really. Ari, you are so amazing. You are beautiful and funny. You make everyday fun to be a part of. You are also really smart and sweet and the best thing is you don’t act all big headed. You are humble and kind and through all this rambling I guess what I’m really trying to say is, Arabella, will you marry me?”