by Karey White
“You may need a hat to protect against sunburn,” a girl offered. “Even in the winter, St. George is sunny.”
“And some wax to shine it up,” a boy said.
Another boy laughed. “We might need sunglasses to avoid the glare.”
Dane chuckled. “I can see you’re pretty confident, but talk is cheap. I’m not trading in my gel for wax until I see the cash.”
The kids were all smiling when Dane turned to Julie so she could share in the fun, but when he looked her way, she ducked her head. Frustrating. He wanted, no, needed some kind of reaction from her. What had she thought of his letter? Had she even read it yet? Did it make up for him laughing at hers? Did it soften her feelings toward him in the least?
He blew out a breath. It looked like his questions would have to wait until the two of them could be alone for a moment, and apparently now wasn’t the time. He sort of wished he’d waited for her to come to him now. “Okay, everyone. Carry on. Sorry for the interruption.”
He turned to leave, but when he did, he glanced at the corkboard and paused. Two letters were posted there, both under the large label of FICTION. Unable to help himself, and needing to ease his suspicions, he moved forward. His heart started to pound. No way. She wouldn’t. She couldn’t. She didn’t have that sort of vindictiveness in her.
A foot away, he stopped to scan the page and recognized his handwriting before he read the words he’d pored over. Fists clenching, jaw thrust forward, he slowly turned to look at Julie.
She looked back, her brows raised in question, of all things. Her expression saying, Yes? Can I help you with something?
Anger, sharp and burning, rose through his pounding chest and seemed to lodge in his head, building heat and a sharp pain in his right temple. His lips tightened, and he nodded toward the note. “Nice, Julie. Real classy.”
She looked from him to the letter, her brows pulling together.
He wanted to tear the letter down, wad it up, and throw it at her feet. He managed to control himself, sharply turning and leaving without another word. If she wanted the world to read his letter, let her have her moment of satisfaction. Her revenge was more like it. He’d obviously made a mistake and, in the process, he’d made a fool of himself. No way would she ever reciprocate his feelings.
He’d been mooning after her for six long, wasted months, telling himself he’d missed his chance, ruined his chances with her. He’d finally worked up the nerve to make up for his behavior, only to find she wanted nothing to do with him.
And she’d posted it under fiction? What was she trying to say, that she didn’t believe a word of it? Fine. He was done beating his head against the stone wall that was Julie Ashburn.
Fingers shaking, he dug his cell phone out of his pocket, found Chad’s number, and dialed.
“Chad here. Speak.”
Dane stopped at the top of the stairs and gripped the iron rail. “Are you still interested in lining me up for that double date?”
“Of course. Name the time.”
“How about tomorrow night?”
“You got it. You sound strange. Is something wrong?”
“Nope. Just taking your advice and moving on.”
“I knew you’d see sense sooner or later. I’ll set it up and text you.”
“Sounds good.” He hung up but didn’t feel any better. He rubbed at the ache in his chest. He knew what would make him feel better. He ought to go home, get the love letter she’d written him, and post it in the commons. He savored the idea for a long moment, but discarded it with a sigh.
He wasn’t a child. He’d take the high road and give that spiteful, vengeful, she-wolf her letter and her cat. She could choke on them both. He was through pining for Julie. He was through regretting anything that had happened between them. He’d throw himself into dating, and in a month, he’d barely recognize her.
He’d forget all about Julie Ashburn. And he’d do it fast.
Chapter Fourteen
A gasp caught Julie’s throat as she sat frozen in her chair. Dane’s angry, hurt expression had said it all. Dane had written the letter. And she’d posted it on the board for all to see. She couldn’t move at all as she took that in.
What had she done? Well, she knew what she’d done. But how could she have done it? Why had she assumed the letter was from one of her students? Why hadn’t she questioned the sophomore who’d brought it to her? How had this happened? She clenched her eyes shut. She could just imagine how he was feeling right now. She’d lain awake nights worrying that he’d show her letter to others, and then she’d turned around and done it to him? She couldn’t believe this.
“Um, Ms. Ashburn?” Lindsay’s voice penetrated Julie’s haze. “I don’t think that letter you posted was fiction.”
Julie looked around at the kids, all of them watching her in apparent fascination. She couldn’t seem to think. “What have I done?”
Caleb grimaced. “The question isn’t what have you done. It’s what should you do right now. Did you see his face? Whoa, teach. You have some making up to do.”
“You know,” Angela said. “It’s like one of those letters you’ve been reading to us. Sometimes what makes them so romantic is that the sender was desperate to have the recipient’s love. The principal did seem sort of desperate before he took off.”
“Yeah,” Evan said. “Then he just looked mad.”
“What does his letter say, anyway?” Brittany asked. “Can we read it?”
That finally got Julie moving. She jumped up and crossed to the wall. “No one is reading this letter but me.” With shaking fingers, she carefully removed the tack, took it down, and started to read.
Of course, she’d already read it once. But that was before she’d known it really was from Dane. When she’d thought it was one of the kids writing it in his name.
Dear Julie,
I’m writing this letter to try to rewrite the history between us. You obviously don’t know this, but to me, you are as brilliant as the stars in the sky. No. That is sparse praise indeed for one as lovely as yourself. You are the moon, the sun…
Reading it now, realizing he’d taken the time to write something as similar and heartfelt as what she’d written to him, touched her. And he thought she’d rejected his letter? No one knew better than she did what he felt right now.
Mason spoke up. “In the movies when something like this happens, they always go after them,” he said. “So what are you doing standing here? Shouldn’t you go after him?”
Good idea. Within seconds, she was out the door.
Chapter Fifteen
Julie ran after Dane, only to overhear him setting up a date with another girl. When he disconnected from his call, she asked, “What are you doing?”
He spun around, and his face immediately clenched, his lips tightening, his eyes narrowing. “And that’s your business how?”
“Well, if I’m your stars, moon, and sun, I think I have the right to know about you dating other girls, don’t I?”
His brows slammed together. “Watch it. This isn’t a good time to quote what I wrote.”
“I didn’t know you wrote it. With the deluge of fake letters roaming around the school, forgive me for being suspicious a second time. And I think it’s a great time to quote you. Apparently you need reminding. Plus, I’m a little concerned.”
“What are you talking about?”
“This girl you just made a date with may end up feeling like a third wheel when I come along. It’s hardly fair to her, is it?”
Dane hesitated a long while. “You’ll be the third wheel, not her.”
Hearing the softening in his tone, Julie smiled. “You think so?” She glanced at the letter again. “How could I possibly feel that way when I’m ‘your everything,’ and ‘all that is wonderful and lovely in your eyes’?”
He looked cornered, trapped, but he didn’t try to move away. “What do you want me to say?” His tone was calmer, milder, his handsome features less grim.
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“How about you say that it’s true?”
“What’s true?” he asked. “That you love me ‘with a perfect love beyond all expression’?”
She smiled. “You memorized my letter.”
“I didn’t mean to,” he said. “But after reading it so many times, it sort of stuck.”
“How many times did you read it?”
“Hundreds.” He took a step closer. “Thousands.”
She grinned. “Liar.” This was looking better and better. She held his letter up and looked at it. “Apparently, you fell in love with me the first time you met me. Only you didn’t realize it until it was too late. I think I’d like a little clarification on that point.”
“I thought I’d blown it. That there’d be no going back.”
“And now?”
“I’m starting to feel hopeful.”
“Oh, really? Well, about this other girl. How long, exactly, are we going to be dating her?”
Dane laughed. He held out his arms. “Come here.”
She stepped closer, and he locked her to him gently. “You’re a nut, do you know that?”
“That’s not what you called me in this letter. You said—”
Relaxing his hold, he framed her face between his palms. “Forget the letter. Forget what I said.” He leaned down and kissed her, his mouth moving slowly, thoroughly over hers. She couldn’t help it. She kissed him back, kiss for kiss, as if they had all the time in the world. As if they weren’t standing in the hallway of a high school.
A moment later, he pulled back to stroke a hand through her hair.
She grinned. “Best. Kiss. Ever.” She shivered. “Now, about this other girl…”
He chuckled. “I’ll cancel the date.”
When she smiled, he leaned down again. Just before their lips touched, she said, “I was hoping you would.”
Chapter Sixteen
Red and pink balloons decorated the gym. Tables set with heart-shaped cookies and pink punch lined the far wall. A cameraman worked out front in the hall with a backdrop of cupids, roses, and hearts, with the line of couples patiently waiting for their turn.
As Dane leaned against the wall and watched the students dance he played with the top button on his shirt, rubbing the shiny circle repeatedly with his thumb. The day of reckoning was here, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Karen McDonald was on the stage with the vice principal, busily counting money and stacking it to take to the bank. They were almost done counting. He knew she’d already counted it out and was doing it now for show. The unholy gleeful look she’d cast him the last few days spoke volumes.
Julie came up beside him with Kayla Stone. “Ready?”
He blew out a breath. “Ready.”
“You look nervous,” Kayla observed. “Remember, never let them see you sweat. Once you lose control, it’s almost impossible to get it back. And packed in like they are, it’s a small step to mob mentality. Watch yourself.”
Julie laughed, then turned to place a hand on Dane’s shoulder. “Do you want to dance before your life changes forever?” She gently teased him.
He shook his head. “No, I’m good. At this point, I just want it over with.”
Karen, looking self-important and pleased, headed for the podium. She tapped the microphone a few times and cleared her throat. The crowd quieted quickly.
“This is the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Principal Parker, can you come up here, please? And Ms. Ashburn, who has been in charge of the fundraiser this year, can you come up too?”
Shoulders back, Dane headed for the stage, climbed the steps, and tried to look nonchalant about the entire thing. Julie followed.
Dane stepped up to the microphone. Was it his imagination, or did the kids, breathless and eager, look more like a horde of animals smelling blood than like teens at a party? “Let’s see if I remember this correctly. I agreed to shave my head if a certain amount of money was reached. $7,000? Was that right?”
The teens booed, hissed, and generally made a lot of noise.
Dane chuckled. “Okay, okay, $5,000 it is. I know you’ve all been busy making this fundraiser a success, so let’s see what the damage is. Julie?”
She stepped forward. “I want to say how proud I am of all of you kids. I’ve never seen a more motivated group, and the money you’ve raised for our school will make a huge difference.” She turned to Dane. “Any last words?”
The sympathetic look she cast him made him take a deep breath. “Nope. Let’s do this.”
Karen handed Julie a piece of paper, which she unfolded. “And the total is… $5,210.26!” She lifted the paper high in the air. “Way to go, Wolverines!”
Dane groaned. So much for sympathy. The kids roared their approval, clapping, yelling, and stomping. Five boys brought out a chair and grinned as they helped Dane sit on it.
Julie brought the microphone over and held it to his mouth. “Principal Parker?”
“I’d like a recount.”
Everyone laughed.
Dane looked up at Julie. “Can’t you help me out here?”
“I’d like to, sweetie, I really would,” she said into the microphone, playing to the crowd. “But there’s nothing I can do.”
She held the microphone out to him, and he said, “Well, if you don’t do something fast, you’re the one who’s going to have to live with the results.”
The kids were laughing, anticipating.
“Hmm,” Julie said. “Did I ever mention that before you, I used to have a thing for Bruce Willis? And Dwayne Johnson? And Vin Diesel? I’m actually okay with the bald thing. You’ll be in good company.”
“If I find out this was your idea, you’re dead meat.”
She giggled and motioned for Karen McDonald’s sister, a cosmetologist, to come forward. Julie shushed the kids who wanted to do it themselves, and ordered them to bring out the clippers, which were connected to a long extension cord.
“Drummers?” Julie called. “Drum roll, please.”
Two members of the marching band drum line started drumming while a friend of theirs played “Taps” on the trumpet.
Resigned, Dane sat still as he was draped with a cape, and as the clippers were applied to his scalp until every bit of the hair on his head was buzzed off. Everyone took pictures, the flashes blinding him.
When the last bit of hair dropped to the floor, the kids cheered loudly.
Dane was brushed off, the cape removed, and he was helped to his feet. He felt the top of his head, and Julie handed him the microphone. “Yep, I’m bald, all right. Is everybody happy now?”
Amid more clapping and laughter, Julie smiled at him, then held up a hat. As everyone laughed, he took it and put it on. “The things I do for you.”
She smiled. “All for a good cause.”
He decided Julie’s smile was worth the shaved head. “Come on, you’re dancing with me. I mean it. If I have to look like this, you have to stand beside me.”
She grinned up at him. “How can I refuse such a gracious invitation?”
Chapter Seventeen
Months Later
“Please, Ms. Ashburn? Come on, it’s the last day of school. Let us watch it one more time.”
Julie laughed. “Okay, fine. I guess I’m easily persuaded.” She opened the laptop on her desk, navigated to YouTube, and typed in couple gets engaged during girl’s first skydive.
The kids gathered around and watched as Julie came on screen in an airplane, dressed in a jumpsuit, and grinning like crazy.
“You ready?” Dane asked, his helmet camera moving when he looked her up and down.
She raised her thumb to show she was indeed ready.
“No wait. Wrong finger.”
She looked confused. “What?”
“Wrong finger! Here, let me help you.”
The camera angle switched, and Chad laughed as his helmet camera filmed Dane getting down on one knee in the airplane.
Dane took her han
d. “Julie, I love you with all my heart. You really are my stars, my moon, and the sun I revolve around. Will you marry me?”
Julie, visibly shocked, burst into tears, yet somehow she smiled at the same time. “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Yes! Yes, I will!”
Dane slipped the ring on her finger and kissed the back of her hand. “Okay, time to go.”
Still looking at her ring, Julie said, “Wait, what?”
Dane turned her around and buckled her to his body, helped her to the door, and they jumped out the open door together.
The camera angle switched again, and there was more footage of Julie flying through the air, still admiring her ring rather than the view. Dane laughed as he looked over her shoulder, filming the whole thing.
The kids laughed. This was the part that got everybody every time. Thousands of hits and messages left under the video attested to the fact that Julie, mesmerized by her ring, was hilarious.
She couldn’t help laugh too.
When they landed and finally got unbuckled, Dane took Julie into his arms and kissed her. It was pretty sweet and could still make her cry. The teenage girls sighed.
Of course, Dane picked that moment to walk into the classroom.
“Watching the video again? Someone break out the Kleenex,” he teased.
Julie couldn’t help but laugh, because he had, indeed, caught her in tears.
The bell rang, and the kids took off. “Good luck!” Julie yelled after them. “Do well in college!”
When they were gone, Dane leaned down and kissed her. When he pulled away, she asked, “What do you think you’re doing?”
“School’s out, teacher. I’m getting ready for my honeymoon.”
She raised a brow. “You have to get married first.”
He grinned. “Let’s get that out of the way tomorrow, shall we?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Out of the way? You—”
He kissed her again and, slowly relaxing, she melting against him and kissed him back. He pulled away to smile down at her. “I still owe you another skydiving trip.”
