“Come on babe,” Jimmy said. “It’s the second to last day of senior year! There’s no point in doing homework!”
“I just feel like I should really–” He interrupted Annelise by kissing her. She dropped her textbook and kissed him back.
He pulled away and looked at her with big sad brown eyes - those eyes that showed an earnestness that had attracted her to him to begin with. “Don’t go,” he pleaded.
“I have to,” Annelise said.
“But I love you!”
“I love you too, but I have to chase my dreams!” She took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Besides, we’ll talk every day. It will be like I’m not even gone!
“Please? You can’t go!”
“Why not?”
Because I’m going to marry you, Annelise Andrews!” he proclaimed. Annelise gasped.
“What?” she asked, surprised. She had dreamed of this moment, but she hadn’t expected it to happen right when she was about to leave.
“I’d marry you right now if I could!” he proclaimed. “But…I don’t have any money…”
“I don’t care about money,” Annelise said.
“But I’m going to make money! I’m going to save up until I have enough money to marry you!”
“Oh, Jimmy,” she said, smiling and falling into his arms.
“I want you to have this,” he said, digging in his jeans pocket and pulling out a ring. “It represents my promise to you. I will marry you one day, Annelise. I promise.”
Annelise began to cry. She was so overwhelmed with emotions, and contradictory ones at that! Happy that he was making such a serious promise, sad that she had to leave, nervous about starting her new life…
He wrapped her in his arms and held her quietly.
Then he finally spoke again. “Do you know why I fell in love with you?” he asked. “All of the other girls I dated only wanted to be with me because I was the star of the football team. All they cared about was being popular. They didn’t even know me. But you did. You saw right through all my big talk. You saw who I really was, not who I was pretending to be–and you didn’t leave.”
“This is harder than I thought it would be,” Annelise said, holding on to him like she would never let go. “I thought if I prepared myself I could do this and everything would be fine. But it’s not fine. Not without you!”
“You know I have to stay here and help my dad down at the shop, but as soon as I make enough money, I’ll go to Del Sol Valley and marry you!”
“How long?” she asked quietly.
“I don’t know,” he said with a frown. “But one day, I’ll just show up at your door. Will you wait for me?”
“Of course I will!” she said.
He took her in his arms and kissed her passionately. “I love you,” he said again.
“I love you too,” she said.
She pulled herself away from him and turned her back so that he wouldn’t see her tears. They had promised each other they wouldn’t say goodbye, so she simply walked away.
She wanted so badly to run back to him, but she kept walking. She knew if she looked back, she would never leave.
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