Soooo chapter 33 was meant to be my final part but I noticed that i was getting to 4000 words (compared to my normal 3000) and thought i would end on one of my normal cliffhangers just to annoy you *evil laugh*
Enjoy, thank you for reading and PLEASE COMMENT ;)
Also please send any covers to me, I would love a change and will award and give credit to the winner.
xo
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I'm still standing on the jetty, my mouth wide open.
"Zeke!" I scream as he doesn't surface, eaten by the lake.
*If you read cake you are my new twin*
What's happened to him?
Immediately my heart sinks, my stomach sickens and my palms sweat.
In a split second my dress is pulled over my head and thrown away as I dive into the water towards my submerged boyfriend. I swim as fast as I can through the freezing lake, the water deep below me.
When I look up a loud splatter breaks the anxious tension before a chorus of coughs fill the air.
"Zeke!" I scream and swim over to him, cradling him in my arms. "Are you okay?"
Thank god for the Beavers Swimming Badge I got when I was eight for swimming fifty metres otherwise I would have drowned along side him.
I grip his shoulders as we float in the water, his breathing heavy and eyes blinking.
"You jumped in to save me?" He frowns like this is all a dream.
"You were drowning," I whisper back and grip the side of his face. "and you don't know how scary that was."
"I'm such a pathetic boyfriend." He sighs and wraps his arms around me, his hands warm on my cold skin.
"A cute one too, though." I grin.
"Wait a minute," Zeke pulls back and frowns at me, his hands gripping my shoulders as his arms are outstretched. "Where's your dress gone?"
"I was in a rush, okay?" I blush, my hands covering my face.
It's lucky the water isn't clear and it's getting darker with every minute.
"You should be a lifeguard." He laughs and strokes his hand down my wet cheek to brush the tiny glistening droplets away from my blotchy red skin. His hand trails down my neck until he's holding me around the waist again with my body against his.
I smile timidly back, gazing at his gorgeous face as I memorize his features. I will always treasure him. I'm so lucky to have someone who loves me with as much intensity as I feel towards him.
As much as I love being in his arms in the centre of a lake with only my underwear on, the cold water is not so kind. Zeke notices my shivering and swims towards the little rowing boat. He climbs in first before helping me up and I sit in front of him in my underwear, panting.
I feel so shy but try not to show it. A shiver runs through me and I wrap my arms around myself to contain body heat before Zeke lets me die of hypothermia.
"Am i making you uncomfortable?" He says as I look up to see his entertained smirk and glare at him.
"No."
"I am!"
"Nope."
"Aw little Hayley's blushing!"
"I don't blush."
Ok so maybe that was a lie...
"You definitely are but y'know if what you say is true then you won't mind undoing my shirt for me, will you?" Zeke watches me with teasing eyes as I scowl.
"Why would that possibly bother me?" I raise an eyebrow. "But no, I'm not going to be your personal slave."
"Pity." He shrugs before pulling off his shirt and wrapping it around me.
The sleeves outgrow my fingertips and it would probably hang just below my hips if I stood up but in this moment the material is thick enough to keep me warm so I don't mind.
"Better?" He asks but doesn't give me time to reply as he grips the collar of the shirt and uses it to pull me towards him, his lips against mine in seconds.
He kisses me softly and it feels like a dream. Like he's not really here. Like he was never here. But then, with just the right amount of pressure, I feel him against me again and I'm reminded of the melodic hallucination known as Zeke Westley.
When he finally pulls back my lips are tingling but somehow I manage to reply hoarsely, "Better."
He smiles timidly. "Sorry our dates always go wrong."
I roll my eyes. "They don't always go wrong."
"What about when I got caught by that really angry chef."
"That was one time!" I laugh.
"Or when I lost your ring..."
I glance down to my hand and the beautifully carved initial promise ring gripping my finger. "We found it in the end!"
"How about when we went to get milkshakes and I accidentally tipped mine over your head? There are no excuses for that."
"Zeke you licked my cheek and said that I tasted of strawberries. Who could be cuter than that?" I laugh.
"You poured your milkshake down me too! As payback, you said. So I don't think that was one of my finest moments." He seems ashamed and looks down at his hands.
Aw.
"Well at least your cockiness is leaving you and your modesty has come out of hospital." I grin. "Now are we going to sit here freezing or row somewhere or what?"
Zeke throws me a cheeky grin. "Well I thought we could--"
"HEY!" A shout adds tension to the air. "GIVE ME BACK MY BOAT!"
I squint to see an old man standing at the end of the jetty jumping up and down angrily as he cusses the disrespectful teenagers chilling in his darling rowing boat (I noticed earlier that it's called Betty-Lou).
"Wait a minute," I start to process the situation, "You stole this?"
"Well technically I borrowed it..." Zeke smirks until I give him a look. "Oh c'mon badass I've trained you better than this."
I roll my eyes. "Row."
He listens to my command and quickly starts rowing towards the edge of the lake. The old man seems keen on claiming Betty-Lou again and continues to shout.
"OI! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING? COME BACK HERE RIGHT NOW I'M CALLING THE POLICE!"
I throw Zeke a look.
"What?" He acts innocent. "He probably doesn't even know what a phone is."
"Zeke he's holding an iPhone." I raise an eyebrow.
He just smirks. "Then it looks like we'll have a chase on our hands."
For some reason his smirk is contagious and I find myself smirking too.
Maybe this will be fun?
Suddenly I move to sit by him and take one of the oars. We row in sync towards one edge of the lake where the old man isn't and quickly sprint as far as we can through the trees.
The lake is just starting to fade away when I realize something horrible.
"Zeke we forgot my dress!" I wail and glance at my bare body.
The beautiful, probably expensive, velvet dress which I was starting to love is now lost.
Zeke scans me up and down before trying to hide his smile. "You look better without it."
"Perv." I scold him as we get back to Dillon's truck.
I sigh when i see it, sad that our night together is coming to an end. Zeke notices me looking down and sneaks his arms around me in a warm hug.
"The night's not over yet, badass." He whispers in my ear as he holds me, swaying slightly.
My hand is gliding through his charcoal hair, my fingers fiddling with the final tufts at the back of his head.
"How so?" I frown and pull back a tiny bit to look him in the eye.
Our faces are so close and Zeke uses this to his advantage. "Because," he starts and sticks out his tongue to lick my nose, making me giggle. "We still have prom to crash and I'm not letting my princess miss out on her final high school prom which she's dreamed about forever."
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I hug Zeke's arm nervously as we enter the school hall. There are pink and white streamers stretching across the ceiling as white balloons balance evilly above tonight's angels and lovers.
Everything and everyone look lovely in their prom dresses and tuxedos, the girls attempting poise in their heals as the boys do their best impressions of James Bond.
There's one girl who stands out tonight though, in her dark blue dress with silver linings. She spins in the centre of the dance floor with her beach blond-haired partner guiding her easily. They move as one like the world is at their feet and they're taking their last few steps together before gentling tipping over the edge. They do smile at each other but the love is in their eyes, not their expressions. The eye contact between them holds strong under everyone's gazes and they seem invincible compared to the rest of the dawdling couples trying to catch the rhythm.
She looks so beautiful; her brown curls falling from her silver headband in a glistening waterfall. Her feet never pause and neither do his as they dance to whatever music the school dares to play. She lifts her gaze at one point though, and catches my eye.
I smile at the girl with the grace and poise of an elegant swan but don't expect anything more back from her.
However as soon as she sees me and scans me up and down she let's go of her partner and sprints towards me, her eyes glued to my body.
"Well look who finally showed up!" She smiles but i can sense the impatience behind her once disappointed eyes.
"Hey Rebecca." I smile and wrap my arms around her delicately, careful not to smudge her make-up or ruin her perfect dress.
"Babe, what's with your dress? It's beaut!" She seems to be in awe as she stares at me and I blush, unconsciously moving closer to Zeke.
So it turns out Zeke has loads of rich contacts all over the city begging for a call. He arranged an appointment at a boutique in town and had the top designers pick out a range of dresses which would suit my figure. They were all stunning dresses but there was one which stood out to Zeke and I from just a glance and, without a peak at the price tag, he bought it in my size and we came to prom looking ready for the red carpet.
My dress has a black bodice but then ombrés into pinks, blues and golds to finish in a pale white scraping the floor.
In this dress I feel worthy of standing next to Zeke. It reflects me, in a way. I started off in the black part, sad about my messed up life with less and less people to turn to.
Rebecca became the pink in my dress and was then there all the way through.
Mace was the single trace of blue starting off the change in colour and Zeke is the bright, eye-catching streak of gold changing everything. He fades and falters at first but blossoms into this bright spark which captivates anyone who looks a little closer. Anyone like me.
All these colours then develop into the white at the hem of the dress- the new, better version of me.
The story line of my life is captured in this one dress and I couldn't be happier now that my best friend is by my side. Zeke left earlier to greet everyone else, but I want this time with Rebecca.
"Seriously though, you're the one with the gorgeous dress." I reply honestly.
I'm kind of jealous of her figure and this only secures my feelings. It's not a hateful jealousy, just a fond one.
"Babes it's not me who everyone is staring at." Rebecca looks around awkwardly but i just frown.
"Seriously Becs, literally everyone is staring at you." I smile at her modesty.
I know she's trying to boost my self confidence but it's okay for her to take a little glory. She deserves it.
"You're so oblivious." She scowls and then grips my head and makes me look around.
Sure enough, I start to notice the eager male eyes scanning my cleavage and the female adoration of my classmates.
My eyes widen. "Oh come on," I moan under my breath, "Seriously just take it back."
"Take what back?" Rebecca frowns.
"Their stares!" I shout like it's obvious. "I don't want them!"
"Babe," Rebecca laughs and removes a fallen eyelash from my cheek. "There's no need to be afraid. Bask in the glory of their stares, don't cower."
I blink at her. Where the hell did that come from?
"Are you picking up poetry lessons from Mace?" I question, finger pointed.
She rolls her eyes just as someone grabs my hand to drag me onto the dance floor. They spin me around, my dress floating around me.
I finally open my eyes to see an intriguing galaxy open for exploration. "Come on badass, show me what you can do."
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THE END
In dedication to my grandparents. Yesterday my grandma on my dads side passed away and I've realized that you have to treasure the older people in your life while you still can.
I now regret feeling the need to have sad back stories for my book characters to make them more interesting when in real life the loss of someone can hurt so much.
Of course I still enjoyed writing this book and when I read back on it it still makes me laugh.
I hope you all enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please add a final comment if you liked it as your encouragement tends to keep me writing and believing in myself and my abilities.
Please keep I love HER in your libraries for updates on bonus chapters and the EPILOGUE which is the next part- so make sure you read it!!!
This is my final goodbye in I love HER, but watch out for other books on my account.
Thank you for reading, commenting, voting and being the amazing readers you all are.
Love,
Maddie
xo