Tuff Chaser (The Outsiders FF)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four 

Dallas's POV

I walked away from Tammy's house, bubbling with excitement from the pit of my stomach. I knew I was smiling wildly but I didn't care. Today had been perfect so far. My feet were leading me down towards the Curtis house, where I'd probably spend the rest of today. I was thinking about everything I'd said to Tammy, and all of a sudden remembered that I told her I was in love with her. I sighed contentedly, although she probably hadn't heard me. But at least I had had the guts to tell her.

It started from a day last week. I was patiently working on a car at the garage and Jeremy was on the opposite side, whistling as he usually did.  

"Jeremy, are you in love with your wife?" I asked suddenly.  

His composed face twisted into some sort of weird grin. "Yes, absolutely. Why're you asking? Are you in love?" 

"I don't know. What's the difference between loving someone and being in love with them?" 

He chuckled, as he did all too often. "Everybody looks at it differently, but I'll tell you my views. Loving is taking care of and having a deep concern for someone, and having a person that means so much to you that you would do anything for them. When you're in love with someone, you do all that and you're also fully consumed by them, mentally and emotionally. They're the only thing on your mind and you place them before you in everything. The relationship is beautiful, confident, passionate and empowering. The person you're in love with would be someone you don't ever want to spend a minute apart from and someone you want to spend your future with; a person who you'll look at in seventy years and still find mesmerizing. Someone who is the only person that can help you accept yourself and someone who you feel a strong connection to on all levels." 

I took in every single word he said and sighed. "Well then, you think seventeen's too young to be in love?" 

"No, not at all," he laughed heartily. "Juliet was barely fourteen." 

I hadn't read Romeo and Juliet but I'd heard it was 'romantic and terrible'. I couldn't be bothered with that kind of thing.  

I voiced my last question carefully and slowly. "What do you do if you're in love with someone?" 

"Heh, I guess you can't do anything except marry them."

That idea Jerry had shared was the best piece of information anyone had ever given me. I had mulled over it all that night and tried very hard to convince myself that I wasn't in love with Tammy, that I just loved her. Hell, it had taken me a while just to get over the fact that I could love. My heart had been frozen, wrapped in ice for over a decade and now it was slowly thawing away, like snow melting into spring. I'd forgotten how it felt to genuinely care about somebody, but this felt nice. Warm and fuzzy; this was a feeling I never wanted to let go of again.  

I reached into my back pocket and dug out a wallet-sized photograph of Tammy and I. It was taken at her birthday and she was smiling at the camera while I had my lips pressed to her cheek. I couldn't stop the grin spreading over my face as I continued walking, silently blessing whoever had brought this amazing girl into my life.  

I remembered that evening when we'd first met. I had felt an instant attraction to her from the moment I laid eyes on her. That was pure lust. She had turned me down and I had become disheartened after seeing her with Buck. Nevertheless, I had continued to tirelessly pursue her.  

I found myself wondering how such a strong passion could have developed in such a short span of almost four months. It was impossible to deny that I was drawn to her from the beginning. She was quite unlike anything I'd ever known. I knew that what I felt for her now was much more than just physical and it had been wonderful to feel so different. I shook my head, I was probably in love with her.