The Ride of My Life (an Ansel Elgort story)

Chapter 23

{ Hello! I want to thank my friend Sarah (sarahwritesfanficss) for making the new cover picture for this story! You all should definitely check out her Ansel fanfiction-it is amazing! Also, thank you all for reading, voting, and commenting! I really appreciate it!}

Lucy's POV

We go to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, one of my favorites. Ansel sits next to me.
Nicole, Brandon's girlfriend, is nice. They seem a lot alike. Maybe a perfect match. She's a little quiet though, which is the very unlike Brandon.

I haven't stopped smiling since I saw Daniel. I feel whole again, everyone is here. I don't have to think about missing someone. I'm so used to spending my days alone, sad and miserable, but today that's the exact opposite. I'm surrounded by love and happiness.

My family explained the whole 'plan' to me in the car. They wanted to surprise me because Daniel being gone has effected me the most.

I'm happy my family asked Ansel to help them, because it makes me adore him even more that he would do this prior to even meeting my family.

"So, Lucy and Ansel, where'd you two meet?" Brandon asks.

"We met at the amusement park. On a roller coaster. It was the ride of my life." He laughs. I feel his hand grab mine underneath the table. We lace our fingers together and I smile at him.

"You must've been at the right place at the right time." Daniel says.

"Oh yeah." I say. I feel Ansel's thumb rub the back of my hand.

I don't know what my feelings are for Ansel, but I think I'm falling in love.

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The rest of the dinner is spent hearing stories of deployment from Daniel, stories of medical school from Brandon and Nicole, and stories of flying around the world from my dad. I can tell Ansel is genuinely interested in each of the stories, he gives his undivided attention to the people speaking. My heart swells with love for him.
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When we get home, it is dark outside. Ansel and I decide to go on a walk through the park near my house. We hold hands as we walk in the darkness. The only light provided is a few street lights and the glow of the moon.

Normally I'd be afraid to walk out here at night, but with Ansel I am safe.

With Ansel, I feel like I can be a person I never was able to be before.

"So, now that you've met my crazy family, what do you think?" I ask.

"I think they're awesome. They're all so friendly and down-to-earth. I can see where you get that from." He smiles. Every time I see him smile, I smile.

"Well, I'm glad you like them, because if not, it'd be a deal breaker." I joke. We both laugh.

We find a bench and sit down. We're the only people in this whole park, but it feels as if we're the only people in this whole world.

A few minutes after sitting down, I feel raindrops. Crap.

"Ansel! It's raining!!" I get up and pull on his arm. We jog through the grass trying to get back to my house before we're completely soaked.

"Wait," Ansel says. He stops, holding my arm, making me stop too. He pulls me to him and puts his arms around me. "Have you ever kissed someone in the rain?" He asks.

I shake my head no. He puts his hand under my chin to tilt my head up. He bends down slightly and softly kisses my lips.

"Well, now you have," he says with a flirty smile.

While standing here, I failed to notice that the rain had started pouring. We are both soaked.

But I don't care.

I reach my arms around his neck and kiss him again, passionately. He is the only thing that matters to me in this moment.