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More people talked to me at the senior class party than have ever talked to me my entire four years of high school.
One girl told me she wished we could have become better friends.
Another person said they always wanted to talk to me, but were too intimidated to.
Most simply just congratulated me on my speech.
That was enough.
Of course, I would have rather had these people make an effort during the actual time we spent together in classes, but the fact that they are doing it now when they could easily just forget about me and go on with the rest of their lives means a lot.
As of right now, I finish off my glass of lemonade, music playing and people filling the yard. We're probably just halfway into the party, just talking and enjoying ourselves. We all ditched our graduation gowns for something a little nicer, I chose a short turquoise dress for myself.
Ms. Richards and Mia sit at our table, along with Luke, Braeden and Jane. Mia happily takes a bite of her slice of vanilla cake, Ms. Richards handing her a napkin to wipe the frosting off her chin.
She turns to me. "When is your big singing performance?" She asks.
I smile. "Next week."
"What song are you singing?" Mia says.
"It's a surprise."
"She won't even tell me, no matter how much I beg her." Isaac adds. I see Jane nod her head in agreement.
Ms. Richards takes a sip of her water. "Well, I'm sure whatever you've chosen will be wonderful."
"Can I come?" Luke pipes in.
"You'll have to wear something besides a stained sweatshirt for once." Braeden comments.
He eyes her. "I can dress nicely if I want to."
"Yeah, but then you'll end up spilling more food on yourself at the performance." She counters.
"There'll be food there?" Luke asks. We all nod. "That's it, I'm sold."
I laugh at the dynamics of this group of people. My friends. My family. They all mean so much to me. I couldn't be more lucky.
I fold my napkin and set it on the table. "I'm going to go get us some more lemonade." I say to Isaac.
"Okay, baby." He says, giving my hand a squeeze before I stand up, heading over to the long line of people waiting to get seconds on food and refreshments.
I patiently wait my turn and then refill the glasses, heading back over to our table when I feel someone put a hand on my shoulder.
I turn around, Claire's blue eyes meeting mine. For once, she doesn't look like she is gonna kill me.
"Yeah?" I ask, hoping this doesn't turn into yet another fight.
"I wanted to say something. You know, there's no more school. And both of us will be moving on with out lives soon enough," She sighs. "I wanted to say sorry. I've been an absolute ass towards you the past two years. I was aware of that the whole time. I didn't stop because I'm a bitch. But, I hope I can grow. Not be a bitch forever."
"Oh," I pause. "Thanks."
"I broke up with Connor."
My eyes widen. "Really?"
She nods. "Yeah. I want a fresh start after high school. Again, I'm sorry for everything. Truly."
"Thank you."
She offers some sort of smile. "Have a good life, Grace Baker."
And with that, she walks away.
What the hell just happened.
I blink. Clear my throat. Make my way back to the table. Breathe. Sit down.
Isaac places his hand on my knee. "Everything okay?"
I nod, faintly smiling. I put my hand on top of his, lacing our fingers together. "Everything is perfect."
And it's never been more true.
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"Okay, but if you leave them up then more people can see inside." I explain.
"Yeah but you also keep the sun out of your eyes." Isaac argues, popping a french fry into his mouth.
"Closing them down let's more light in and gives you more privacy." I counter.
"You can get curtains though."
Isaac and I are currently debating over which way is the best way to close the blinds on windows,
parked on the side of the road eating McDonald's french fries.
"Down." I say.
"Up." He says.
"Down." I say, eyeing him over.
He returns my gaze. "Up."
"Down."
"Up."
"Down."
"Up."
"Down."
"Up."
"Down."
"Up."
"Down."
"Up."
"Down."
"Up."
"Down."
"I swear, Grace Baker, I find it extremely attractive when you argue with me so you say down one more time I will have to just kiss you. Like right now." He says.
I smirk. "Down."
"You little devil." He laughs and immediately presses his lips to mine. I unbuckle my seat belt, attempting to crawl over the center console, instead hitting my foot on the steering wheel. We both have to break away to laugh as my toe accidentally makes the horn honk. Isaac pulls me onto his lap.
"Well, that was ungraceful," I say.
"Okay just for the bad pun, I'm gonna have to do it again." And once more, his lips are on mine, kissing me like there is no tomorrow. It's not often we have kisses like these, fiery and full of passion. Usually, they are more tender and light. I crave both. I hold his face in my hands, not letting go for a second as if he will disappear.
Suddenly, my phone rings in the passenger seat, interrupting the moment. I break away, internally groaning and looking at the name on the screen.
I scrunch my eyebrows together as I read the name, confused, and click the answer button.
"Caroline?"
Isaac's eyes widen and he looks just about as lost as I do. I shrug my shoulders to let him know I have no idea what she is calling for.
"Hi Grace. Long time no talk." I hear her voice say on the other line.
"Um, yeah." I respond, feeling beyond awkward. After all, she cut the engagement off with my dad because of that video I sent her.
"I think we should discuss a few things together. To clear any misconceptions up." She tells me.
"Okay, what's up?" I ask.
"I mean in person." She clarifies.
"Oh," I bite the inside of my cheek. "When?"
"Does right now work?" It's almost as if she is pleading.
I sigh. "Yeah, now is fine."
"Thank you. I'll meet you at the park in probably fifteen minutes." She settles.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'll see you there. Bye." I hang up, collapsing back into my original seat.
"What was that all about?" Isaac asks me.
"She wants to meet at the park to talk or something," I say as I buckle myself back in. "I'm sorry to cut out time together. I doubt this will take long."
He grabs my hand, squeezing it. "It's okay, Grace Baker. We've still got the night ahead of us." He raises my hand to his lips, kissing it, and all my frustrations slip away.
He continues to hold my hand as we make the short drive to the city park. There's people walking dogs, kids on the playground, and couples paying a visit to the duck pond. It's such a cute spot, I've definitely under appreciated it.
I tell Isaac I'll be back in five minutes, saying we'll continue the kissing later, and exit the car, seeing Claire's car pull up just as I make my way to a bench, taking a seat and twiddling my thumbs until I hear her walk up to me.
I look up. She looks different. Her hair is cut shorter. It's the first time I've seen her wear a sweatshirt. And her eyes, although a dark brown, are brighter than usual. She looks more like a 28 year old woman than I've ever witnessed her to be. She looks normal.
She sits down next to me. We sit there in silence for who knows how many minutes until I speak up.
"I'm sorry." I whisper.
I keep my eyes reverted towards the ground, but I feel her gaze on me. "It's okay."
"No," I counter. "I hurt you. It's not okay."
"Grace, I was going to be hurt eventually." She crosses her arms across her chest. "Your father...he isn't the man I met at first. He was charming, sweet."
"He's a con artist." I mumble.
"I didn't realize that at first. But when I did, I thought I could change him." She admits.
"Trust me, I've tried." I say.
"I now know that people don't change." She sighs.
I finally look at her again. "But they can grow."
She smiles softly. "That's right." A deep breath. "The video upset me, but it opened my eyes more than anything. I'm just glad both of us are out of that situation now."
"Me too," I nod my head. "Well, now what are you up to?"
She shrugs. "I will probably go back to work. Might move somewhere. Not sure yet. I'll figure it out though."
"Yeah." I agree.
"What about you? College?" She asks.
I faintly grin. "September can't come soon enough."
"And your man?" She glances over her shoulder at Isaac, who seems to be on his phone.
This time I fully smile. "Looks like I am stuck with him." I tease.
She chuckles. "He's a very lucky guy to have you. I hope you remember that."
And I will.
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The rest of the evening carried Isaac and I all over town. We stopped by the pet store to get more food for Romeo. We went into the grocery store and bought the best junk food we could find. We even stopped by the diner to pay a visit to Jane.
And now we find ourselves stumbling up Isaac's driveway into his house. The lights are off and his house is empty, Mia at a sleepover and his mom working all night on a case at the firm.
We head up to his room with the intent of digging into the oreos and gatorade we bought, setting the grocery bags on his desk. He turns a lamp on, giving the room a gloomy, yellow tint.
But then those goddamn teenage hormones kick in.
"Which box should we open first?" Isaac asks, a gushers box in one hand and a cheeto bag in the other.
I walk over, completely ignoring the question, and taking the two foods and setting them aside. Instead, I drape my arms across his shoulder, firmly pressing my lips to his. His hands immediately find themselves as my hips, wrapping around my waist.
I pull away. "Grace Baker?" He suggestively smirks.
"I promised we would finish what we started earlier." I say.
Mischievous grins are plastered on both of our faces as our lips reconnect, moving quicker and more passionately in unison now. He spins me around and I back up against the wall, his lips moving to my jawline and then my neck, angel kisses being left along my skin. Drunk from the moment. High off of his lips. This is what it feels to be kissed by someone you love.
I slightly giggle when he kisses a particular spot of skin. "I'm ticklish." I whisper.
I then immediately knew I'd made a mistake.
His fingers began to run all over my torso and arms, causing me to laugh uncontrollably. I attempt to wriggle out of his grasp, making a dash towards the other side of the room. He tried to pick me up but I am moving too much, resulting in both of us collapsing on the bed. With the last few laughs leaving our lungs, he props himself up against the pillows, me on his lap.
"I hate it when you do that." I say, and then not waiting another second to kiss him once more. His fingers run through my hair as mine fumble with pulling his shirt off. He eventually helps me, tossing it away from the bed. My hands trace the muscles on his body, his skin warm. My heart beats faster with each movement of our lips, and we move positions to where I am on my back.
His hands find their way underneath my tee shirt, gently rubbing my hips. I pull away to allow him to lift the shirt off of me. I feel my pulse racing, heart throbbing as he lingers on the clasp of my bra. He looks up at me.
"Grace, I don't want you to feel like you have to do this if you don't want to." His voice softly says.
A smile forms on my face. "It's okay, Isaac. I want
to. I love you. I'm ready."
He nods, his fingers slowly unhooking it and letting the fabric fall off of my chest. A moment passes and I hold my breath.
His looks me over and then looks back at me. He whispers, "You are so beautiful, Grace Baker."
We kiss once more as each remaining article of clothing is discarded, emotions of excitement and passion and pure love coursing through my body, my skin buzzing with electricity.
We roll over to where I am on my back and he is hovering above me. He kisses down my chest and to my stomach, and my eyes close, fingers tangling themselves in his hair as he goes lower and lower. I feel treasured.
And when we make love, it's one of the best things I've ever felt. I feel worthy. I feel wanted. I feel over the moon.
I love Isaac. He loves me. And that has even made me love myself even more. Because, when Isaac is with me, I am the happiest girl in the world.
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HELO TO MY FAVORITE PEOPLE!!! Okay so first of all, sorry if you felt awkward at the end of this chapter. I kind of did but hey, we've gotta satisfy our teenage hormones every now and then. Secondly, I totally cracked the screen on my phone and so I couldn't write for a few days (until I remembered that wattpad is a website too, duh) so that's why this was a little late getting up. Plus, as always, school is eating me alive haha. This book is almost over, sadly. I am trying my best to make these last few chapters the best so we can end off with a bang. Thank you all for reading and voting on not just this story but any of mine.
-Acreativeblur