by Lisa Evans
As I exit the plane, the flight attendant smiles her brilliant white smile at me and wishes me a good stay here in Summerville.
“Thanks,” I say, and head down the stairs. The sun blazes its rays right in my face, just like it always does in summer. Filling my lungs with the warm air, it smells so good. This is it. This is home.
I’m home.
Hugging my parents after having picked up my luggage, I feel a bit better. This was a good idea, I think to myself. I’ve missed them, and it can’t hurt to live with them until Janelle and I are able to move into our new apartment downtown. Thinking about it, I cannot wait to see it. She mentioned it being on Main Street, which is where Clark’s Diner is located, so who knows if I’ll end up loving it or not. If Clark’s married with kids now, maybe it’ll hurt seeing him every now and then.
While dad carries my things to the car, mom and I catch up. She’s been so worried about me being away all this while, and though she and dad came to visit me last Christmas, I’ve missed her a lot. Talking on the phone or through video chat really isn’t the same thing as seeing someone in person.
“So, are you excited to come stay with your parents for a couple of weeks or what?” dad says the moment we get in the car.
“Sure dad,” I say, rolling my eyes.
“Leave her alone,” mom says, slapping him gently on the arm. The three of us laugh, and it feels so good to be back.
Leaning my head against the window, I realize just how beat I am from all the stress and pressure of the past few months. It’s going to be great to spend some time just doing nothing at all, no projects, no early morning classes to attend, no grades to worry about…
All I’m going to do right now is relax and enjoy myself. Maybe read a book or two just for fun – I sure could use that after all those thousands and thousands of textbook pages. As I start thinking about all the fun stuff I can do here in Summerville (go swimming in the lake, go horseback riding, go hiking in the woods – the list is long) dad pulls up on Main Street.
There it is. Clark’s Diner. Looks like it’s closed, which is odd because if I remember right, Clark’s Diner is never closed. Not even on Christmas.
My heartbeat gets faster as I remember the last time I saw Clark, and I blush. I still cannot fathom that I dared kiss him on the cheek. I’ve thought about that moment thousands of times, recalling it while lying in bed alone at night… My lips against his stubbled jaw, the look of surprise on his face afterwards, the way my belly felt all warm as I walked out of there…
My heart is beating so fast right now I can hear my pulse thudding in my ears. Images of Clark smiling and laughing swirl around inside my head, and I close my eyes for just a moment. I hope and pray that he’s still not spoken for, because I kind of think that I’m still hopelessly in love with him.
When we pull up outside the house, both of my parents start acting weird. It’s like they’ve got something going on that they don’t want to tell me, but I can’t figure out what it is. Is something the matter? Did they turn my bedroom into a gym and now they worry about what I’m going to think? Whatever it is, I hope they find a way to let me know soon enough because we’re about to walk inside the house in about a minute.
The house looks the same from the outside, just like when I left it some four years ago. It’s where I’ve lived my whole life, it’s where I grew up. The only place I’ve called my home apart from the dorm room back at college, but that wasn’t ever really home. It was just a room with a bed, a desk, and a bookshelf. Although I had some good times there, and made a couple of friends there as well, it never did feel as good as being back home in Summerville. This is where I belong, I can feel it in my bones. My gut is telling me this is the right place for me right now.
“Honey,” dad hollers at my mom. “Could you give me a hand over here?”
“Sure thing, hon’,” mom replies. “Sweetie,” she says, looking over her shoulder at me while walking over to dad. “Why don’t you go on inside? We’ll be right there.”
“Whatever,” I say, still thinking about how weird they’re acting. What is up with them? Maybe they’ve re-decorated the whole place and don’t have the heart to tell me.
Opening the door, I walk inside the house. And when I step into the living room, it feels like my heart is going to stop.
Standing there, a mere couple of feet away from me is Clark, along with Janelle and some other friends of the family.
“SURPRISE!” they all yell out and start cheering.
All I can do is laugh and smile at each and every one of them. I’m so happy and definitely surprised. My eyes go back to Clark’s face, and when I see him tilting his head to the side, and looking at me with those smoldering, dark eyes of his, I think that I’m going to die.
I guess my heart still pounds for him. I just hope he’s still available. If he’s not, I won’t know what to do…
Click here to continue reading Forever Yours
Other titles by Lisa Evans
Forever Yours
Forever Mine
Forever His – to be released in 2020
Forever Perfect – to be released in 2020
Forever Together – to be released in 2020
Forever Us – to be released in 2020
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