Lost To Me (17 page)

LAUREN

Saturday came with a crack of lightning and roll of thunder that had my heart jumping through my chest at one-thirty in the morning. There was no going back to sleep after my mind woke and began churning through all of the excitement and fear of prom in one week.

I grabbed my phone off my desk and sent Kolton a text.

I know you’re not awake. It’s storming here, and I can’t sleep. I’m so excited and nervous for prom. I love you.

 Before I set the phone back down, it rang in my hand. Kolton’s name appeared on the screen. I jabbed the answer button and raised it to my ear. “Hey!”

“Hi, Ladybug.” The voice on the other end of the line was quiet, almost shy.

“Why are you awake?” I got in bed and snuggled down under my blanket.

“I’ve got a lot on my mind. Can’t sleep.”

“Oh.” It didn’t sound like good things on his mind. “Like what?”

“Just how I let my friends push me around all the time. It’s like I’m breaking the rules by going out with you.”

“They don’t like me.” I twisted my sheet in my hand.

“It’s not that they don’t like you, it’s that they don’t like me breaking up the group.”

“They want you with Tabby.” I squeezed my eyes closed. This wasn’t what I needed one week before prom. One week before
Monopoly
.

“Yeah, but it doesn’t matter. It’s not what I want. This is the first time I’ve refused to do what they expect me to. It feels strange.”

“Do you regret it? I could return my dress if you don’t want to go.” My voice cracked, betraying the confidence I wanted my words to convey.

“No! No, Lauren. That’s what I’m telling you. I want to be with you so much, I don’t care what anyone else thinks. I don’t care if I never talk to any of them again as long as I’m with you.”

“But it shouldn’t have to be that way. I’m taking you from your friends.” I pressed the heel of my hand to my eye.

“You’re not taking me from them, I’m choosing you. Anyway, what kind of friends are they if they don’t want me to be happy?”

We lay in silence for a while, lost in our own thoughts.

“Lauren?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I know.”

I rolled over, wrapping up in my quilt. His steady breathing lulled me.

“Don’t hang up,” he said. “Just stay here with me until morning.”

“Okay. Kolton?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you too.”

I woke to his tiny voice coming through a tin can under my pillow. My hand found my phone and pulled it out.

“Morning,” I said.

“Morning, Ladybug. Thanks for sleeping with me.”

“Did you sleep? I think I crashed out on you.”

“You did. You were snoring.”

“I don’t snore!”

“You do.” He laughed. “I slept a little.”

I would’ve done anything to be with him right then, warm and snuggled in his arms. “I don’t want to ever hang up.”

“I have a better idea. What are you doing today?”

“Not much. Kristin’s going to Connor’s aunt’s birthday party. Amy and Oriann might come over.” I scooted up and leaned against my headboard. “Why?”

“If I start driving right now, and you start driving right now, we could be together in ninety minutes.”

He was right. Why hadn’t we thought of this sooner?

I threw my blankets back. “Give me an hour to get ready. I’ll meet you in Williamsburg for lunch in ninety minutes.”

“Seriously? You’ll do it?” He was so excited, I giggled.

“Seriously! Colonial Pancake House. One hour and ninety minutes. Be there.”

“You are the coolest girl I’ve ever known.”

“Yeah, yeah. Stop talking and let me go so I can get there and kiss you.” I was already at my bedroom door.

“Okay, see you soon. Drive carefully. I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

It hadn’t taken me an hour to shower and get ready. I was so excited; I was out the door in forty minutes. Even with a stop to get gas, I was twenty minutes early.

I sat in a booth sipping Diet Coke and looking over the menu for the tenth time, butterflies doing battle in my stomach. I didn’t know why I was so nervous. I couldn’t wait to see Kolton walk through the door.

Looking out the window, I jumped up when I saw his car pull in the parking lot. I speed walked to the door and pushed it open. He saw me and jogged across the lot, grinning. “Am I late?”

“No. I was early.” I let the door go and threw myself at him as soon as his feet hit the sidewalk. We both laughed and hugged each other tight. “I can’t believe we did this,” I said, kissing his cheek then his lips.

“I don’t know why we didn’t think of it sooner.” He kissed me again.

“I know!” We went inside holding hands and sat across from each other in the booth. “It’s not really that far,” I said, thinking back on my drive. “And I listened to an audio book, so it made the time fly.”

“The drive was nothing. We act like we live on opposite side of the world or something.” He squeezed my legs between his under the table.

Neither of us could stop smiling. It was like we both had proof that we could really make this work. It wasn’t going to be as hard as we thought.

The waitress took our order. I got a Belgian waffle with strawberries and whipped cream. Kolton got a giant stack of pancakes. When she left our table, Kolton got up and came around to sit beside me.

“I can’t be all the way over there with you sitting right here.” He kissed me and held my hand.

I picked a black hair off of his t-shirt. He took it from me and stuck it to mine. “Tiny wanted you to have that.”

“Tell Tiny thanks for me. Nothing from the lizard?”

Kolton’s eyebrows shrugged up and down and a sly smirk formed on his lips. “Depends on which lizard you’re taking about.”

I didn’t get it at first and narrowed my eyes in confusion.

“Pocket lizard...?” He laughed. “Lame middle school joke. Sorry.”

I glanced down at his lap and cracked up. “That is
so
middle school.”

“I know. Why else would I want to teach kids that age? Do you know how much material I’ll have to bring home to you? Not only funny names for private parts, but fart jokes, too.”

“You’ll bring them home to me?” It felt like I’d swallowed the sun, bright inside.

He nodded. “Hopefully, someday.. If we went to the same school, in a few years we could live together—rent an apartment or a house just off campus—and I’d pay for it so you wouldn’t have to work and go to school, too. Unless you wanted to, but I don’t know what your parents would think about that. They might want you to only focus on school and--”

I put my finger over his lips. “You want to live together, someday?”

He took my hand and lowered it. “Yes. Not now. I know that would be too soon, right? But maybe next year if that’s what you want, too.”

I couldn’t believe it. We were making plans to be together. It was really happening. I smiled and felt my nose and eyes tingle with the urge to cry happy tears. “Will you bring Tiny?”

“I’ll bring Tiny.”

“And your lizard?” I was smiling so big, it hurt my face.

“Both of them!” Kolton grabbed me and pulled me to him, laughing.

“Then count me in!”

The waitress sat a plate in front of me and Kolton and I broke apart, still laughing. “I’ll go back over to my side and give you some room,” he said.

When the waitress left, he reached across for my hand. “I told you I wouldn’t lose you again. I meant it.”

“I’ll go online as soon as I get home and officially accept to UVA. Unless there’s somewhere closer to home for you that you’d rather go. It’s only an hour and a half away for me, but three for you.”

His eyes fell shut and he shook his head. “No. I have to get away. I want my own life with just you and me.”

“Me too.”

I loved Kolton. I’d never love anyone else.

KOLTON

My countdown until next Saturday was nothing now compared to the countdown until next fall when Lauren was all mine. When I was out of this town and away from all of the people who wanted my life to be something I didn’t.

No more Tabby.

No more Mom.

No more Kyle.

LAUREN

“Hello! Lauren!” Kristin waved my Shakespeare study guide in front of my eyes. There should never be tests on Shakespeare on Mondays. “What are you daydreaming about?”

I hadn’t told her about going to UVA with Kolton. She still thought I was trying to get into William and Mary to room with her. “Nothing. Prom.” I picked up a carrot stick from my lunch tray and crunched it between my teeth.

“Are you going to see Kolton again before the big day?” She twisted a lock of curly hair around her finger.

“No. I saw him Saturday. We met in Williamsburg for lunch.” I dropped my carrot back on my tray and leaned on my hand.

“So, what’s wrong? You look down.” She tapped my cheek with the eraser end of her pencil right over my birthmark.

“Long distance relationships suck. I miss him like crazy.” I reached up and scratched where she’d tapped. I hadn’t tried to pile concealer on to hide it since spring break.

“Where’s he going to school in the fall?” She gave me a conspiratorial look.

“It’s already in the works, so you can stop giving me that look.” I laughed when she kicked me under the table.

She sat up straight and scooted her chair in. “What about William and Mary? Did you hear back from them?”

No. But, Kristin, you and I both know I have no chance at getting accepted. I’m going to UVA with Kolton.”

“Holy shit, Lauren. You’ve only been together a couple weeks. Now you’re basing where you go to college on your relationship?”

“Can’t you be happy for me? I have a great boyfriend and UVA is a great school.” It felt like the Ides of March was quickly approaching. “After next year we’re going to move in together.”

She grabbed my wrist. “Listen. I’m not against you. I’m your best friend. If I were talking about planning my life around some guy I just met on spring break, you’d tell me I was crazy. You’d probably have your mom call mine and bring the world down on top of me until I saw how nuts it was.”

“It’s not crazy. And we didn’t just meet.” I tossed my bag over my shoulder.

“Knowing someone when they’re eight is a lot different than knowing them when they’re eighteen. You know I’m right.”

“What I know is that I don’t need this from you.” I spun around and strode out of the lunchroom. I couldn’t believe she was giving me crap about Kolton.

There was so much against us. His mom, his brother, his ex-girlfriend, his friends, and now my best friend. Could we make it work with just the two of us? Would we be able to convince them all that they were wrong?

Were
we
wrong?

No. Nothing wrong felt so right. I had zero doubt, zero hesitation. I knew being with Kolton was where I was supposed to be.