Tomorrow
“Do you believe in true love?” Lizzie whispered.
When I didn’t answer right away, she twisted her head around to meet my gaze, trying to discern from my blue irises the nature of the secrets I hid. “Yes, I do,” I murmured in response, kissing her forehead. I hoped that would be the end of it, but she squirmed out of my grasp, attempting to study my face in the dim lighting. The movie glared on behind us, but neither of us paid any attention to it.
“Really?” she asked. “Have you ever fallen in love?”
I could not read her face, which was unfortunate. If she would only think of me as more than her best friend, I would be happy forever. Yet, after scrolling through the potential outcomes of answering in the affirmative, I decided that it would be better to change the subject as soon as possible.
“Yes, why do you ask? Do you believe in love?”
For a moment, Lizzie stared at me, conflicted, before shaking her head. “I believe in love,” she said. “Like with parents and friends and siblings. But true love is just a myth, right? Created for and exaggerated by movies and books, and then when someone gets too carried away with romancing their own life in the real world, it just…doesn’t work…so no, I don’t believe in true love.”
My soul sank a little inside my chest, but I just laughed and kissed her again, pulling her back down to rest her head on my chest. For a moment, we watched the movie in silence, but I just could not let the idea go. “But what about your writing?” I asked. “You write true love into everything!”
She hesitated for a moment, lips pursed as she tried to think of the right way to explain her thinking to me. “Well, true love is a fictional concept to me, and it occasionally fits in my fiction. But I don’t write unconditional love! That’s something only God can provide, and no human on this planet can possibly love someone unconditionally.”
I nodded, trying to disguise my emotions. To tell her how I felt at this moment would cause her to declare my love fictional without a second thought. “Do you think I could get you to fall in love with someone?” I laughed, despite the tightness in my chest. “Maybe that neighbor boy, what’s his name…” I tapped my chin, pretending to have forgotten.
She laughed, as I had hoped. Rather than answer though, Lizzie pulled my hand away from my face, playing with my fingers.
“If I were to fall in love with anyone—which I think is impossible—” she interjected, smiling. “Then I would fall in love with you.” Lizzie did not look at me, but if she did, she would have seen an unquenchable smile spreading across my face. A gunshot came from the film, and we both turned to look at the actors dashing across the screen. A moment passed, and then her words cut the silence between us again. “You’re so kind and caring; I have honestly never met someone like you,” she said all in one breath.
I wrapped my arms around her and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “And I would fall in love with you.”
She shivered as my warm breath hit the nape of her neck, so I just held her closer to me, watching blindly as the movie scrolled on. All I could see was Lizzie, and all I could hear was her voice, saying, “I would fall in love with you.” When the end credits began to scroll across the screen, it took me a few moments to realize the movie was over.
“Did you like it?” Lizzie asked me, sitting up and stretching. The cool air coursing over my skin reminded me of how our sweat had mingled, and I grinned.
“I loved it.” And I definitely was not talking about the movie.
Lizzie smiled, and then she began to ramble about a similar film she had watched with one of her other friends. I laughed, asking her questions, drawing her out more…anything to get her to stay a little longer. However, she had always been a good girl, never one to stay out past her bedtime, and eventually yawned, glanced at her phone and apologized.
“See you tomorrow, David?” she asked casually, typing quickly on the miniature keyboard.
“Absolutely! What time should I make sure I clean everything up by?”
She laughed and shrugged. “I’ll text you when I know.”
Pausing at the door, Lizzie frowned for a moment, looking around. I held up her keys and grinned. “Looking for these?” I asked.
She nodded, and I stepped forward to give them to her. We were close to each other, closer than we should probably have been. I slid the metal into her palm, hesitating. My heartbeat had a mind of its own, but now was the perfect time to tell her…
However, just as I worked up the courage to open my mouth, she cut me off, stepping back. “I had a great time tonight, and I hope we can do it again! I know I can always count on you to help me out of a tight spot. You’re my best friend, David.”
I swallowed my disappointment and forced a smile. “And you’re mine, Lizzie. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I watched until she had pulled out of the driveway, and then I pulled the door closed and fell against it in exasperation. Sliding to the floor, I cradled my head in my hands, marveling at how easily it had all gone wrong.
“Well, there’s always tomorrow,” I said aloud in an attempt to slow my heartbeat. It did not work.
Author's Note: Romance is a new genre for me that I am working on! Let me know what you thought of this piece in the comment section below! Should I feature these characters again in the future?
2 comments
I love this story so much! :D It is sweet and with a touch of philosophy, though not so much as would make it more a philosophy commentary through characters than a romance. Excellent balance of action and dialogue! Yes!!!! Please write more of these characters *falls to knees and holds up hands* I'm so aching for both of them! DX :D
ReplyDelete(one not on the dialogue - you might want to limit your exclamation marks and if you really want the dialogue to be exclamatory, make the words so. You have so many, especially near the end, that it feels slightly fake. :) )
Thank you so much for the feedback!! And okay! I am already considering how a second scene would go! xD
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