It's love Read online

  It’s love

  By K.C. Harper

  © Copyright 2014 K.C. Harper

  Edited by LTE Editing

  Cover created by Monkeybusinessgraphicdesigns

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Prologue

  Timmy Porter was my best friend in the world. We were inseparable from the first moment we met. We spent every moment with each other. We learned to ride our bikes together, ate lunch and most dinners together, walked to school every day, and even sat next to each other in class. Summer was always fun. We spent most of our days in the backyard in a fort we built with my Dad the summer before fifth grade. The fort was small, yet big enough for the both of us to play in together. That was the last summer we spent together. It was the summer he asked me to marry him in my backyard. He proposed to me with a rock. A shiny, glittery rock he found in the garden. I was ten and thought it was the most beautiful wedding rock I ever saw. He was my best friend in the world.

  Timmy was sitting on his front porch messing with what looked like scrap metal and junk. He was the school nerd. He was scrawny for being thirteen and wearing glasses didn't help his nerdy reputation. No one ever paid much attention to him, other than to pick on him. I was looking over to see what he was doing when my friend, Casey, showed up. I met Casey in middle school and we’ve been friends ever since. We were complete opposites. She was more popular, outgoing and into the cute boys. Her hair was so blonde, it looked white and her eyes were dark blue. She was the all ‘American’ girl. I wasn’t too far behind on the looks. I was a little short for my age, about ten pounds heavier than Casey and my hair was brown, with hints of blonde and a little past my shoulders. I wasn’t outgoing, like Casey; I was more reserved and kept to myself.

  “Hey, Danni, you ready to go? What is that dork Timmy playing with? He’s such a weirdo.”

  She moved her bike closer to his house and looked back, giving me a ‘watch this’ grin. I knew she was going to embarrass him. “What on earth are you doing with that junk, Tiny Timmy?”

  He hated when she would call him that. Sure, he was small for his age, but it was still mean. “Don’t call me that, Casey, my name is Timmy, and it’s not junk, I’m building a metal robot.”

  “It looks like junk to me. Don’t you have anything better to do for the summer?”

  He looked over at Casey and then me. When he looked at me it always made my heart beat a little faster.

  “He is such a dork,” Casey said, a little loud.

  He was mad. He threw his scrap metal down and went inside. Something inside my chest ached; I rubbed the spot at the center of my chest as I watched him run inside. A part of me wanted to run after him and tell him Casey was stupid, instead I turned and left with her. We spent the summer hanging out at the mall. Sometimes we would hang out at my house or hers watching movies or painting our nails. I hated it when we went to my house. She always found ways to tease Timmy and get him upset. The week before school started again I found myself getting excited to be in high school. I spent the last weekend of summer vacation with my mom, shopping at the mall and spending time with Casey.

  Monday morning came quickly; I was standing in front of my closet trying to find the best outfit. I picked out a pair of faded jeans, a light purple V-neck T-shirt and my purple Converse sneakers. I was going for comfort and style. I wasn’t one to dress to impress; it always made me feel like I was pretending to be somebody I wasn’t. After gym class, I made my way to the lunch room looking for Casey. I found her waiting in line. It was nice to have someone to sit with at lunch on the first day of school. We talked about the new people we met, the cute hot jock guys and of course, the bitches on the cheerleading team, who were already showing their bitchy side. She was excited about joining the cheerleading team and wanted to try out the following year. In the middle of our conversation, my eyes found Timmy. It never mattered how many people were in a room, our eyes always found each other. He was with three football jocks, they were laughing at him and he had Jell-O all over his shoes and his glasses were knocked sideways.

  At that moment I felt sorry for him, a small part of me wanted to get up and tell them to stop, but I didn’t. It would only have made things worse for him. He spent most of his days avoiding the jocks, hanging with the other kids in the science club, always building weird gadgets and robots.

  ***

  It was already time for spring break. Everyone was looking forward to the week off. I made my way to my locker when I heard someone calling me.

  “Hey, Danni…wait up.”

  I thought I was dreaming, standing in front of me was Jackson Wright, a tenth grader and one of the cutest guys on the football team. He was tall, lean, built like a football player, and hadthe bluest eyes. His hair was blonde, falling perfectly over his forehead.

  “Hi Jackson” I was so nervous, I walked passed my locker.

  “Danni, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to hang out this weekend, go catch a movie or something."

  I almost pinched myself, I couldn't believe Jackson was asking me out. “Oh… what time Saturday?"

  “I can pick you up at two, if that’s cool?"

  I nodded and gave him my address. Just then the bell rang.

  ***

  Saturday was finally here. I was excited, today was my date with Jackson. I think it was more nerves than excitement. I looked out the window as I put my earrings on and saw Timmy with his father in the yard. He looked upset, and his father was yelling at him.

  "Get your junk out of the yard, Timothy. Find something better to do with your time. Play ball; join a sports team at school, something. I’m tired of having these piles of junk metal everywhere."

  Timmy looked angry and hurt. His dad was hard on him and thought he should be playing sports, but he never was interested in sports.

  “It’s not junk, Dad. I don’t like sports, I like building metal robots."

  His dad was standing there with his hands on his hips looking disappointed.

  "It’s a waste of time Timothy, this makes you look like an idiot!”

  I was shocked to hear that from Timmy’s dad. I could tell he was truly hurt by what he said. At that moment, he looked up at my window and caught me watching. I couldn't help but look back at him, feeling sorry for him. His gaze was intense, like he was looking past my eyes and into my soul. He broke his gaze, turning away shaking his head, and went back to picking up the mess in the yard. I couldn’t make myself move away from the window, something drew me to him, deep in my soul.

  ***

  “Hey, Danni, you look nice. Are you ready to go?" Jackson asked.

  I was wearing a red summer dress, with a faded jean jacket and my favorite pair of black cowgirl boots. My hair was loosely braided, letting some strands fall around my face. "Thanks, Jackson, you look nice too."

  He was wearing jeans, a black t-shirt, sneakers, and a hat from our high school football team. He looked like one of tho
se hot, high school football stars from a movie. Timmy was throwing out the trash as we walked to his truck.

  "Are you fucking kidding me, you live next to this dork?"

  Please. Please don’t make fun of him.

  Timmy looked over as he pulled the trash can down the driveway. He almost looked shocked and disappointed to see me with Jackson. I waved but he didn’t look up, he bent his head down waved back. Jackson laughed as we got in the truck. Reaching around his seat to grab something, I couldn’t tell what it was, until I saw him throw it out the window. It was an old can of Mountain Dew and it hit Timmy on the head.

  "Fucking Pussy," Jackson said, as he laughed and drove off.

  I looked back in the rear view mirror at Timmy as he bent down, picking the can off the floor and slamming it into the trash can.

  ***

  We ended up watching some action movie, Jackson’s pick, of course. We drove around for a little while before he drove me home.

  He pulled up to my house around nine. Jackson turned off the car, turning himself to look at me. My butterflies started again. I was wondering if he was going to kiss me goodnight. He reached over, grabbing my hand.

  "I had a nice time, Danni."

  "So did I, Jackson."

  We both smiled at each other and he leaned in to me. My first kiss! I couldn't believe this was happening, especially with Jackson Wright. His lips were soft and full. He kissed me slowly at first, and took things further as his tongue slid across my lips and inside my mouth.

  Wow, my first kiss.

  I felt like I was the luckiest girl in the world. All the girls in school would have died to go out with Jackson and here I was kissing him. It was the icing on the cake…Chocolate icing of course!

  He was really kissing me now; his hands were on my thighs, rubbing the skin above the hem of my dress. I knew if we kept going things would go to a place I wasn’t ready for yet. He must have noticed my body tensing because he moved his hands away from my thighs, and moved them into my hair, holding me in place as he kissed me one last time before getting out.

  “You’re sweet Danni. I really like you. Will you go out with me again?”

  I was sure he wouldn’t ask me out since we didn’t go past kissing. I stood there in shock before I answered him. “You think I’m sweet?” I couldn’t believe it.

  He was holding my hand as we stood on my front porch; the only light was coming from the street light.

  “You’re not like the other girls at school. I like that,” he said. “Do you want to be my girlfriend?

  My cheeks began to feel warm, this was so unexpected. I really liked Jackson. I saw him in the halls at school, everyone loved him. The guys wanted to be like him and the girls wanted to be with him. Despite the fact that I was shy and quiet, he liked me. “Ok,” I said, still in shock.

  He kissed me one more time before he left and told me he would text me later that night. I was still excited for my first kiss and now about having a boyfriend. I pushed the front door open, grinning, when I heard a noise next door. Walking over there, I could see a light was on in the garage. I slowly pushed the door open and peeked in. There was Timmy, sitting alone building his crazy creations. He looked different, almost sad. He was struggling with a piece of metal and looked up a little confused to see me there.

  “Timmy––”

  “What are you doing here?” he said.

  “I just got home when I heard a noise. I saw the light on so I came over to see what was going on. I’m sorry; if I’m bothering you, I’ll leave.”

  “You’re not bothering me. I saw you leave with Jackson earlier.”

  His look of confusion quickly changed to anger.

  “I’m sorry for what Jackson did. It was rude.”

  “Don’t worry about it. He’s a jock. They don’t have brain cells anyway.” His next words were almost a whisper, “I don’t even know what you see in him.”

  I knew when he found out I was dating Jackson it would really get to him, so I decided now was not the best time to bring it up. “Why do you let them pick on you so much? Why don’t you say something?”

  He put down the metal scraps and looked up at me, searching my eyes. “I don’t care what they say, Danielle, they’re stupid.”

  I was shocked to hear someone actually call me by my full name, Danielle. Everyone called me Danni, except my Mom when I was in trouble. “You should say something, Timmy, stand up to them…”

  “Just drop it, Danielle; I don’t want to talk about it.”

  I could feel the pain and hurt in his heart, and it broke mine. I made it to the garage door, and then turned, looking at him over my shoulder. My heart clenched and I gave him one last glance and left.

  ***

  High school had turned out to be better than I expected. Casey and I tried out for the cheerleading team, getting a spot for next year. Having a boyfriend on the football team may have helped. He would be playing again next year as Quarterback. Before I knew it, it was the last day of school. Everyone was excited for summer vacation.

  I was walking to my locker when I saw Timmy with a couple of guys from the football team, including Jackson. They were holding his backpack up and laughing at him. He was trying to reach for it, but Jackson kept holding it higher, pushing him back every time.

  “Whatcha got in here dork? Let’s see.”

  “Just give it back, Jackson.”

  “I think we need to see what’s in it first," he said, laughing as he unzipped the backpack dumping everything on the floor. Timmy’s books and something that looked like one of his robots fell out. Everyone was laughing at him. One of the other guys on the team kicked his books as he walked away. I could see the anger in Timmy's face and I felt that ache in my chest.

  “What a fucking dork! What is this piece of shit here?” Jackson wouldn't quit. He kicked it and Timmy stood up. “

  “Don’t do that! Why are you such a dick hole?”

  “Dick hole? Did you just call me dick hole… dweeb?” He stepped closer to Timmy, looking down before he stomped on his robot, breaking it to pieces, and grabbed his head slamming it against the locker. “Call me dick hole again and I’m going to knock you out, dweeb.” He pushed Timmy out of the way, walking past him with his other friends.

  Timmy bent down to pick up his things, shoving them in his backpack as I walked up to help him.

  “Don’t, Danielle. I got it. Just go.”

  I couldn't just leave him like that. Something inside me felt like it was breaking… I was pretty sure it was my heart. “I’m sorry, let me help you,” I said, as I bent down, picking up pieces of the robot; our hands touched, and I felt that ache in my chest again. It was almost hard to breathe, this only happened when I was around him. We looked into each other’s eyes, for what felt like an eternity.

  “Dude, seriously. Danni, let’s go, this dweeb can pick up his own shit.”

  Seeing him like that and the way I felt when we touched, left me heartbroken.

  ***

  Summer was fun. I spent most of my time hanging out with Casey and the other girls on the cheerleading team or going out with Jackson at night. Jackson and I spent most of our nights going out to dinner or watching movies. My Mom always made me come home by eleven. She told me she never really cared too much for Jackson and that he didn’t seem to fit well with me. If I was late, I wasn't allowed out the next day, so I made sure to always be on time. This was the last week of summer vacation, and tonight was Friday night. I was at home with nothing to do. Casey was with her family on vacation and Jackson was busy with football practice. I looked out my window and saw Timmy.

  He was in his bedroom, sitting at his desk with the light on. I couldn't help but wonder why we had stopped being friends. I remembered spending every day after school playing with him in the backyard. I just wasn't sure what happened after sixth grade. I waved to him and he waved back. We both stood there for a few minutes staring at each other before he finally turned and left his room t
urning off the light.

  That was the last time I saw Timmy Porter. He moved to Los Angeles with his Mom after she left his Dad that summer.

  One

  I couldn’t believe I was only one week away from graduation. I did really well in school. I got accepted to the psychology program at East Carolina University. I was excited to be starting college. Jackson and I were still dating, but things had seemed to be going downhill. He wanted to take it to the next step and said he was tired of waiting for me to be ready for sex. He had decided it would be best to take a break when we went off to college. I would be going to ECU and he would be attending Michigan State on a football scholarship. Graduation was fun and exciting. Then came the parties.

  I spent that summer hanging out with Casey getting things ready for my move to ECU. I didn’t see Jackson after graduation. I was pretty sure he was having sex with some girl he met at a party that year.

  Moving day was finally here. My mom was sad and nervous at the same time. I told her everything would be fine. I would call her every day and come home for holidays. On our drive to Greenville , we talked about college. She told me she was proud of me and how much she wished my dad was here to see all of this. It had been three years since he passed away and it was still hard to talk about it. We finally made it to my dorm room and got me moved in. When she left, I felt excited to finally be on my own.

  ***

  My first year of college went by too fast. I was finally starting my psychology courses this year, and I would be living off campus in an apartment with my friend Judy. She was also in the psychology program. Judy and I moved into a small two bedroom apartment in the fall. We enjoyed the private living as opposed to the crowded dorms. I dated on and off in college, even had a steady boyfriend for a, Mike. But I was so busy with classes and working to pay for my apartment, that I didn’t have much time for each other.