by Dale, Tracy
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Liv put the finishing touches on her makeup and slipped on her jewelry. Tonight was Homecoming. Connor was waiting downstairs in a shirt and tie, with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. He didn't know she'd peeked down the stairs when he arrived.
"Liv!" he shouted. "Hurry up!"
Liv laughed. It reminded her of when he'd been waiting for her to get ready for her first-ever date.
"Liv!"
She opened her door and went downstairs. He stared hard when she came in to view.
Her parents were right behind him. Mom was taking a hundred pictures a second with her stalker-grade camera, while Dad looked proud. He nudged Connor. "See that beautiful girl right there? That's my daughter. I make good looking kids."
"That's kind of eww, Dad."
"Can't argue the truth."
Connor was still staring hard. Liv had to take the bouquet out of his hands before he finally smiled and said, "One word, Lucky."
"What's that?"
"Wow."
"Short but so eloquent," Mom said.
Mom and Dad followed them out to Connor's truck, taking pictures even as they drove away.
David and Marina were waiting at the restaurant with Chelsea and Jayden when they got there.
Marina gave Liv a hug. "You look amazing," she said.
Chelsea hugged her next and seconded that opinion.
"Well you both look gorgeous," Liv said.
"With the three of us, we're kind of like Charlie's Angel's right?" Marina said.
"I'll be Charlie," David jumped in. "We should do the pose during pictures. You know the one. Me, surrounded by three lovely ladies."
Marina said, "Not gonna happen," at the same time Connor said, "I don't think so."
Dinner was fun. David kept cracking jokes. Chelsea was too nervous to eat much of her salad, but she and Jayden were really cute, flirting with each other.
As they left, David paused to get mints from a basket by the door. While they waited, Jackson's dad walked in. He did a double-take at Liv.
"What are you doing here?" He sounded confused--and a little accusatory.
"On my way to Homecoming." Liv tried really hard not to feel defensive.
"Jackson said you couldn't go because you were sick." Really accusatory now.
Connor clearly didn't like the situation. "She broke it off with Jackson last week because he was cheating on her."
The immediate awkwardness was punctuated by David's uncomfortable laughter.
"He wouldn't do such a thing," Reverend Wreyford said. Now he was starting to look angry.
Jayden stepped between him and Liv. "I saw it. You should tell your son to get a room." He took Chelsea's hand. "Let's go."
They left, but Liv glanced back as she was getting in the car. Jackson's dad was still standing there. He looked lost. "Sounds like Jackson has been lying to him too," she said. "It's so weird. I really thought he was a nice guy."
"He's a typical player," Connor said.
"You always knew, didn't you? That's why you kept telling me you didn't trust him."
He laughed. "I didn't know. I just didn't like him around you."
They went to the dance, and after a few hours of having fun on the dance floor, Liv went back to their table while Connor got drinks.
Marina sat down across from her. "I think I'm going all the way with David tonight."
"O--oh. Are you...ready?"
"I really love him. And he loves me, and we have the opportunity, so it seems like the right time."
"Does David know?"
"He's hopeful."
They laughed together.
Liv said, "Don't do it if you don't feel totally ready."
"Like you with Jackson right?" Marina leaned forward, looking conspiratorial. "I'm glad you dropped him. Connor is way better. He seems more respectful, like he won't push you at all."
"Not even a little," Liv said. Maybe she grumbled a bit. Because although she appreciated there was no pressure, it still occurred to her that if he truly wanted her, he couldn't help but push. Right?
David walked up. Marina winked at her. "I'll let you know."
"Be--" Liv wanted to say protected. "Careful."
Connor came back with their drinks. Liv gratefully sipped hers, and then she asked him to walk outside with her.
"Everything okay?" he said when they were far enough from the dance the music was just a dull throb.
"Do you not want to do...things with me?"
Connor felt like the cement had been ripped out from under him and replaced with quicksand. "Uh. What kind of things are you talking about?"
"More than kissing."
Really quick quicksand. "I-I-- Yes."
"Yes you do want to do more things or yes you don't?"
He yanked at his collar. "Which one is the wrong answer?"
Liv stared at him for a moment before she started to laugh.
Connor relaxed a little. "What are you asking, Lucky?"
She told him about Marina and David. "It made me wonder why you haven't pushed to do more."
Collar yank again. "Oh. Well. I...want to. I mean really, really want to. But... You're not like any of the girls I've dated before. I love you. I can't treat you the way I treated them. I know that sounds bad--"
She kissed him.
He took control of it, sliding his hands around her waist and up over her bare back. He abruptly broke away. "I promised I wouldn't push you at all."
"Who did you promise? Please don't say my dad." She thought of him having The Talk with Connor. Again.
"Myself. But I know your parents would expect it too."
"They would." She smiled. "I just wanted to check."
His hands stroked over her back again. He leaned down to kiss her bare shoulder. "If I'm going to keep my promise, we need to stop talking about this."
Liv laughed. They went back inside. A slow song was just beginning. She draped her arms around Connor's neck and rested her head against his chest. He held her tightly to him, as if she were a gift he wouldn't let go of.
As the song ended, he looked down at her and said, "I understand David now."
"Don't even think about calling me Pet."
He laughed. "No. You'll always be my Lucky." He stroked a hand down her hair. "My lucky angel."
How he made her melt. "Connor...I'm keeping you."
"For how long?"
She wanted to say forever, but she was afraid it would freak him out. "For however long you'll let me."
"I know exactly how long that is."
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EPILOGUE
Four weeks later, Chelsea and Jayden became official. They were so in love they decided to go to the same junior college together.
David and Brody eventually migrated to Liv and Connor's new hang-out location by the skaters. There was still some separation between the groups, but Jayden and Chelsea were the bridge between.
Ana quickly found a new boyfriend and they became attached at the hip. Liv was glad to see that it looked like the only place the guy wanted to be.
Jackson fell off her radar. The last time she remembered seeing him, he'd been hanging out with his basketball friends. Girlfriendless.
Connor continued to be everything she dreamed of. He loved her so much, and she knew it because of how he was with her. He treated her like she was a treasure. Everyone noticed it too. Their friends teased him, saying he wasn't just whipped. He was whi-ipped. He didn't even care.
The only thing that was truly difficult for her was knowing he was going to be leaving for the Army when school was over.
When Mark came back halfway through the year, Liv actually hated seeing him, because she knew he was going to take Connor to sign up during his visit.
On the day he did, Connor said, "I was made for this, Liv. I know it, deep down in my...I don't know...soul or something. This is what I was made to do."
She kissed him and hugged him and was happy for him.
And sobbed in Mom's arms as soon as he left. Mom cried too.
When graduation time came, Liv was excited about it, but...
She'd been accepted to USC and was looking forward to moving into a dorm in the fall. But Connor was scheduled to leave in only a couple weeks.
After agonizing about saying goodbye to him, she finally accepted that their separation was going to be painful no matter what and felt some peace. She worried if she would regret not being with him in every way before he left. She finally realized if she took that final step with him, only to say goodbye for long, endless months, it would be torture for her.
She decided to wait. And hoped it wasn't the wrong decision.
On the last day of school, she tried to pay attention to the fact that it was the last day. She wanted to remember it, but somehow it seemed so ordinary she wondered if she could.
At lunchtime, Connor pulled her aside. In one hand he had a piece of paper. In the other a pale blue box. "These are for you."
She took the paper first, thinking it was a note to go with the gift. She opened it and stared. It was a list.
The list.
"Look at the bottom, Liv."
She skimmed down.
And there it was, under Best Legs and Hottest Couple. Her name.
"I'm on the list?" She couldn't speak above a whisper. "The real list?"
He rumbled with laughter. "It's real. They've been handing them out all day."
She'd known that, had deliberately avoided them because she decided it didn't really matter.
Except now she was on it! Decision reversed.
She tried to play it cool. She really did, but when he moved in to kiss her she threw her arms around him and laughed.
When she pulled back she had to wipe the moisture at her eyes. "It's such a stupid list," she said, still laughing. "But I am so glad I'm on it."
As Connor stroked her hair over her shoulder, his amusement faded and his expression became serious.
"What is it?" she said.
"There's one more."
The pale blue box.
She opened it and gasped. Inside was a silver necklace, with a pendant in the shape of a heart. Simple. Beautiful.
"Turn it over," he said, his voice gruff.
On the back was engraved, I love you. Forever.
"That's how long," he said.
She stared at the words before she raised her eyes to look into his. "Connor," she said softly. "I'm keeping you... Forever."
"I'm holding you to it, Lucky."
And he did.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tracy Dale is a native of Southern California where she lives with her husband and two young sons. She graduated with a degree in Psychology, but when the stories in her head enthralled her more than the stories in real life, she happily jumped into the world of writing and has never looked back.
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Uncial Press brings you extraordinary fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Put a world of reading in your pocket.
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