Love is Silent

Chapter 12

            I laughed. “I know. I remember how Luke used to love that. He not only had girls at school after him; he also had girls on the circuit that followed him around like puppies.”

            Cindy wrinkled her nose. “I remember he used to pretend to be offended that I wasn’t falling at his feet like all the others.” She stopped suddenly. “Sorry, I know you don’t like talking about him.”

            “It’s okay. It’s getting easier and easier to talk about him. Besides, I’m the one who brought him up.”

            We continued chatting for another fifteen minutes and then my cell phone signaled that I had a text. I checked it and saw that it was from Chase. I raised an eyebrow when I read it. “Apparently Chase wants to cook dinner for me tonight. His foster parents went out for the night so he has the house to himself.”

            “Can he cook?”

            “I have no idea. I guess I’ll find out tonight.” I glanced at the time. “I should probably get going home so I have time to get ready before he picks me up.”

            “Sure, I’ll take you home now.”

            That evening, I discovered that Chase did know how to cook. He didn’t make anything fancy, but the food was good and he’d even dug out some candle and lit them to give the evening a romantic feeling. I helped him do the dishes afterwards and then we went downstairs to watch a movie.

            “How was your shopping trip earlier?” he asked as we settled onto the couch.

            “It went pretty well. Got most of it done, so I should only have to make one more trip back there. I’ve never really liked shopping too much, so I’m glad I don’t have a lot more to do.”

            He slid his arm around my waist and tugged me a little closer to him. “That’s good. I can take you to do the rest next week if you want.”

            I laid my head on his shoulder. “Maybe. I don’t want to think about it right now; I just want to relax with my boyfriend and watch the movie.”

            “That sounds like a good idea to me,” he replied.

            I snuggled into him and let out a contented sigh. His arm tightened around me a little and he kissed the top of my head as the opening credits came on.

            Near the end of the movie, I turned my head to kiss him gently. He raised a hand to my cheek and cupped my face. “I didn’t think I’d ever be this happy again,” he murmured against my lips.

            “Me neither,” I responded. “Part of me feels guilty, because Luke isn’t here and yet I’m starting to be happy again. But I also know that he would want me to live my life and not mourn him forever. It’s just hard to pretend that everything is okay when nothing is the same as it used to be.”