No Such Thing As Perfect Love (A Christian Romance Novel)

Dinner and a Movie

Chloe POV

I woke up at around 9:00 on Saturday morning and made myself a cup of hot tea. My eyes landed on the papers waiting to be graded and a sigh overtook my body. The TV seemed like a better alternative to me.
About half an hour later, I got a text from Olivia saying that she was on her way to my house.
I pressed my brain, trying to remember if we had planned something. Nothing popped in my mind from class on Friday. I had been over at Olivia's for movie night yesterday. Still nothing.
What did she do now?

"Open the door!" Olivia yelled, ringing the buzzer for the fourth, fifth, and sixth times.
I rushed to the door if only to prevent the neighbors from complaining until later.
Olivia shot into my apartment as soon as the door was open enough for her to squeeze through.
"Come on in," I invited sarcastically. "No need to be shy."
She bounced up and down on my couch, and I thought for a moment that she was going to
burst.
"What is it?" I asked cautiously.
"I'm going on date!" she blurted excitedly.
"Really?" I questioned. "With who?"
"His name is Josh. I met him last Tuesday, and he asked me out last night after you left. He moved into my building."
"Aw. Where are you going?"
"He's taking me out to lunch later before he goes to work. He is a lawyer."
"Seriously? You're going on a date with a lawyer?"
"Yep," Olivia responded gleefully. "All I have is an English teacher. And I'm an English teacher."
"Oh, come on. Everyone knows that you and Luke are perfect for each other," Olivia said while rolling her eyes.
"Who is everyone?" I asked nervously.
Since when did people talk about Luke and I?
"Teachers, students, I even heard the principal say so to Mr. Reynolds. You know how us teachers love to gossip."
Oh, man was I blushing now.
"Is that all you wanted to say?" I wondered, desperate to change the topic.
"No, I don't know what to wear."
That was shocking.
"You don't know what to wear?"
"That's right," she verified.
"Why are you asking me?"
"You're all I've got," she said matter-of-factly.
I paused for a moment.
"Yeah, but why are you asking me? Wouldn't it be better to just make your best judgment?"
"Come on!"
"Alright, alright. It seems pretty casual, so I would wear a nicer pair of jeans and maybe a nicer shirt. Not too nice but still not a t-shirt."
"Thank you so much! You are a huge help!" She exclaimed, jumping up and hurrying towards the door.
"Yeah, yeah."
She smiled and rushed out of my apartment.
Wait, why did she have to come all the way here?
I shook my head, a grin on my face. She must really like him.

Luke POV
I don't know exactly why I was so nervous. Chloe had been in my house before, and it wasn't like she'd be seeing my room. Even so, I was tapping my foot and wringing my hands when the buzzer sounded. I let her in and waited by the door to my apartment. Hearing the door to my floor close, I opened my own door and spotted her smiling face. Even in comfy sweatpants and a t-shirt, she looked absolutely gorgeous.
"Hi," she greeted softly.
"Hi," I replied, grinning at her and gesturing for her to come in.
I closed the door and sat next to her on the couch.
Don't be awkward, I told myself mentally. It's Chloe we're talking about.
"So . . ." I began.
"So . . ." she replied.
Don't be awkward. Sure.
"

Um . . ." I said nervously.
She smiled at me and moved closer.
"Why is this so awkward?" she laughed.
Her laugh was like a breath of fresh air, and I found myself laughing, too.
"I have no idea," I admitted.
"We need to relieve the tension."
I wasn't sure what she meant until she was giving me a reassuring kiss.
"There," she whispered when she had pulled away, "nothing to be nervous about."
"Worried? Me?" I laughed and pulled her in for another kiss.
We were, you could say, making out at that point. I don't think either of us were expecting it, but it wasn't a bad thing. Not bad at all.
"I haven't kissed or been kissed like that in a long time," I murmured when we had pulled apart.
She rested her forehead against my own and grinned.
"Well, you know, I have had, what, thirty boyfriends in my life," she said flirtatiously.
"Really?" I asked, obviously nervous.
"No," she admitted, laughing gently at my reaction. "You're only my fourth."
"Good," I sighed.
"What about you?" she questioned, avoiding eye contact.
"Hmm?"
"How many girlfriends have you had?"
"Oh, you're my fifth."
We stayed quiet for a moment longer. I tried to decide if I should tell her or not. It would be nice to get it off my chest. I leaned back against the couch.
"Two girlfriends ago was Selena," I began. "She was a great girl when we started dating, but as time went on, she went to more and more parties and took more and more drugs. I did not like her anymore when I confronted her about it. She would not listen to my concerns about it becoming unhealthy for her, but I felt as though I should keep trying."
I stopped talking, afraid to keep going.
"What happened to her?" Chloe asked softly, gently edging me on. "Did she stop?"
I shook my head painfully. "She overdosed and died one night."
Chloe moved closer to me and leaned against me. It felt nice to hold her tightly, hoping I would never have to let go. It was awhile before either of us talked.
"I thought my last boyfriend was the the one, you know?" Chloe whispered. "We had been dating for a year or so, and I was so in love with him. Well, it didn't end the way I thought it would. He lost his job, so I let him move in with me. I came home one day to find him sleeping with some random girl. In my bed. Let's just say I moved away from there."
I gasped. How could anyone do that to sweet, loving, beautiful Chloe?
"So you guys were pretty serious?" I mumbled.
She tensed in my arms and murmured, "As serious as you and I."
Gears clicked in my head and I held her close to me.
"Is that why you were so scared to kiss me? So scared to fall in love?"
She dug her head into my chest as if to disappear from the world, and that was all the answer I needed.
I couldn't help but grin at something she had said.
"If you guys were as close as us and you loved him, does that mean you love me?" I wondered.
She looked up at me then ducked her head in embarrassment.
"Hmm?" I coaxed.
She mumbled something inarticulately against my chest.
"What was that?" I teased.
"Yes!" she huffed.
"Yes what?"
She looked me in the eye and the annoyance faded.
"I love you," she admitted.
"And I love you," I replied, kissing her lightly on the nose.
The two of us stayed there, cuddling each other for a little while longer until I realized I had dinner in the oven.
"I'll be back," I promised, lifting her off me.
She pouted at me, and I couldn't help but grin and kiss her again.
When I arrived in the kitchen and opened the oven, a horrific site greeted me. Dinner was hopelessly burnt. I should have taken it out a long time ago. Still,
I would never give up the time I had with Chloe. Now the problem was to explain it to her.
"Um . . . Chloe?" I began.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
I paused after she called me sweetheart.
"So, I may or may not have hopelessly burnt dinner."
She stared at me for a few moments before bursting into laughter. I found myself joining her, realizing the absurdity of the situation.
"I'll order a pizza," she offered.
"Good plan, my dear."
And just like that, we both had nicknames for each other. Well, besides Juliette.

Chloe POV
After we stuffed ourselves with pizza, Luke and I curled up on the couch. I squeezed next to him tightly as he put the foot stool up.
"What are we watching?" I asked curiously.
"You'll see," he replied mischievously.
I sighed and cuddled against him. Advertisements rolled across the screen, and, finally, the menu popped up.
"Are you serious?" I said, laughing. "Romeo and Juliette."
He grinned at me and pressed play.
"You are the only person I'd ever be willing to watch a romance movie with," he admitted sheepishly.
That was actually very . . . sweet.
I kissed his cheek and set my eyes on the movie.
Halfway through, I was getting tired. I knew that if I didn't leave now, I would end up spending the night here, but I was just so comfy. I readjusted my head, hoping that would start to wake me up. It didn't.
My eyelids were heavy, and my breathing got deeper. I found myself drifting off to sleep and waking up again. Great. Just great.
Luke's arms wrapped themselves tighter around me, and I knew that there was no way I was getting up or going home.
As I was drifting off to sleep once more, I heard Luke whisper, "Chloe, you are the most important thing in the world to me. I know you're asleep, but I need to tell you that. I love you."
I felt him kiss my cheek, and that was all I remember before I blacked out.

When I woke up, it was still dark outside, and the clock read 2:34 AM. The TV was on the menu for Romeo and Juliette while Luke was fast asleep. My glasses were sitting on the table by the couch, so I slipped of my watch and my bracelet. Luke looked peaceful in his sleep. Before I knew it, I had been staring at him for at least a minute. Tiredness swept over me once again, so I turned off the light and laid my head against my boyfriend once more.

I would like to give a shoutout to notebooknut01 Their stories are amazing. Seriously, check them out! I suggest The Runaway-Runaway!