Ever since Lana was little, it's just been her and her mom. Wanting to be closer to her family in South Carolina, they decide to move. One little issue.. Lana was forced to leave behind all her friends and even her overbearing boyfriend. She has the...
"Alana Martin." My principle calls from the speaker. I carefully get up and walk on stage to grab my diploma. I smile as I hear the applause from all my classmates. I look out in the crowd, spotting Tyler. He shoots me a wink before I go back to my seat. My senior year at Ridgewood has honestly been one to remember. It also helped that I knew people going into school, all thanks to my summer job.
After all the names have been called, people start dispersing. I look around for my mom and see that she's sitting down near my aunt and uncle. And surprisingly, I see a man standing next to her. It takes me a second to process that my dad is there.
I begin running up to them and they all look at me with a smile.
"Dad?" I say, shocked.
"Hi sweetie." He says, pulling me into a hug. As angry as I was at him for leaving my mom and I, I was happy he was here.
"He asked if it would be alright to stop by for your graduation and I said yes." My mom whispers to me.
"I am so proud of you Lana." My mom says, tears welling in her eyes.
"Here come the waterworks." My dad says which causes me to laugh.
"I am not going to cry." She says, shooting my dad daggers with her eyes.
"Vicki! Michael!" My aunt and uncle exclaim as they pull their children into a tight embrace.
"C'mon Lana." Vicki says, dragging me along through the crowd.
"There they are!" Vicki says, spotting Nicole, Emma and Hazel. They all turn to look at us, waving us over.
"Guys we did it! We're now college students!" Emma exclaims.
"I can't believe it!" I say.
"It all feels so surreal." Vicki adds.
"Senior year by far has been the best." Nicole states.
"Agreed." Hazel says.
After taking many photos and selfies, I decide to go look for Tyler.
"I'll catch you guys later." I say, leaving our circle. I walk through the crowd of my classmates and soon enough, I can see him talking with his friends. Once he sees me, he walks away from them and runs up to me. I start running as well. He then picks me up as I wrap my arms around his neck. He places a soft kiss on my cheek.
"There you are!" He says.
"I cannot believe we are freshman in college now." I state.
"And we'll only be an hour away from each other." He adds. Tyler and I have already talked about what our relationship has in store for us and we decided we're going to continue dating. I'm going to Pepperdine University, so we will only be an hour away from each other. I'm going to drive up on weekends to visit him and he said he'll do the same. So in a way, everything worked out.
"Okay just a few photos." My mom says as she runs up to us with her phone in hand. We both let out a sigh, knowing that a few photos means a million.
"Brace yourself. We'll be here for a while." I whisper to him, while also keeping a smile on my face for the photo.
"How lovely." He responds, sarcastically. He then puts his arm around my waist for the photo. It felt so good to be in his arms and be able to call him mine.
After about 100 photos lates, my mom puts her camera away.
"Hey guys." Blake says, coming up to us. He daps me and Tyler up.
"Congrats on graduating." He says.
"You too." I say with a smile.
"Tyler we should probably head out now. The guys are waiting." Blake says.
"Alright one second." Tyler responds before turning to me.
"We're still on for tonight right?" He asks.
"Of course." I say with a smile.
"Alright see you babe." He says, planting a kiss on my cheek before following Blake.
Later tonight........
"You look beautiful." Tyler says He's wearing a tuxedo and I am wearing a flora dress. He told me to dress fancy.
"Follow me." He says, holding his hand out. I take his hand as he leads me down the beach. We stop after walking a short distance. I look down to see that there is a blanket set up along with some food:
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My heart melts.
"Aww Tyler, did you set this all up by yourself?" I ask, sitting down.
"No, my dad did the whole thing." He says in a serious tone but I know he's being sarcastic.
"Way to ruin a romantic moment." I say.
"What can I say?" Tyler states, sitting down on the blanket now too.
"No but seriously, thanks for doing this." I say.
"Of course."
"You did not-" I exclaim, looking over at the cotton candy grapes. I remember telling Tyler once how much I loved those grapes and he bought them for me.
"You got the cotton candy grapes!" I say, excited.
"I had to. And plus, I want to see if they're really worth all the hype." He says with a shrug.
After an hour of conversation, Tyler goes quiet. He then reaches for his pocket and pulls out a ring box.
"I-I wanted to give you this ring. Don't worry, I am not proposing. It's a promise ring. Because Lana, I am totally in love with you." He says. I am almost shaking right now. My heart melts at that. Tyler Clark is giving me a promise ring?! AND he said I love you which we have never said to each other before.
"This ring is a symbol for future commitment and I wanted you to know how serious I am about you. I want to continue growing this relationship into the future." He says, looking at me, nervously anticipating my response.
"I do too," I begin, "And Tyler Clark, I love you too." He looks at me and smiles and I can't help but smile too. I then lean over and connect our lips. He tucks a strand of hair behind my ears as he deepens the kiss. I lay down as he now begins trailing kisses down my neck. My breathing grows heavy and my heart is racing. I am completely and utterly in love with Tyler Clark.
