“Danielle,” he whispered, his green eyes seeming to capture the sparkle of the stars above them.
“Yeah,” she answered quietly, afraid that even the smallest sound would ruin what she hoped he was about to do.
“I need to tell you something.  Well, more like, ask you something.”
“I’m listening.”
He turned so that his entire body faced her.  His jacket blending in with the grass they were lying in, his long fingers wrapping her hand in his.
“I read your letter.  And I wanted to say that I am so sorry.  I didn’t realize how much you cared for me.  I knew you liked me, but I didn’t know how much.  I thought that you would like me for a while and then, when I’d shown that I too had fallen for you, then you’d pass me up and keep going.  But now that I’ve read what you wrote, I know better.”  He paused, gathering what he would say next.  “The thing is, I did fall for you.  I think about you all of the time, and when people ask about us and I don’t answer, it’s because I am thinking about how great it would feel to be able to say yes.  And...Well...What I’m trying to say is...”
“Adam,” she interrupted, “Are you trying to ask me out?”
“Well,” he stammered, “Yes.”
“Good.”
“Um... Does that mean you accept?”
“I don’t know.  How would you take this?”  And with that, she leaned into him slowly, her eyes closing as she took in the kiss that she’d waited for so long.  Finally, they were “together.”

She finished the story she’d been working on for three months.  Her dreams were now print, her hopes a book.  “If only,” she thought as she read the ending over again. Danielle could only sigh each time she read it, thinking about how true the rest of the story was, until the end, which would never happen.
“Why doesn’t he just ask me out already?”  She said this aloud, not realizing that her Dad was standing directly behind her.
“Why doesn’t who ask you out?  And why are you worried about getting asked out?  You’re too young to have a boyfriend,”he said sternly, just as most would expect a father to sound right before he went into a long speech about how the world would be a better place if people could worry about an education first, and romance later.
“I’m sixteen, Daddy,” she said, turning to face him.
“Too young.”
“You started dating Mom when you were fourteen.  You can’t use that.”
“Well... That was a special case.  Besides, it’s not like it used to be.  Back then you didn’t have to worry about your teenaged daughter getting pregnant.”
“Are you trying to say you have to worry about me getting pregnant.” she asked indignantly.
“No.  That’s not what I’m saying.  I’m just saying that it’s different now, that’s all.  It’s not what you would do, it’s what he would try to do.”
“Know he wouldn’t.  Daddy, even you know him better than that.”
“Well, maybe,” he started to agree.  “Wait a minute, I don’t even know who we’re talking about!”
“Yes you do.  Think about it.”
He paused, thinking.  “I didn’t know you liked Adam again.”
“I never stopped liking him.  Two years and I haven’t stopped liking him.  Where have you been?”
“Somewhere else apparently.”  With that, he turned and walked away to finish reading his paper on the front porch.
She smiled at her father’s comment.  Facing the computer screen once again, she moved the pointer to the upper left corner of the screen and clicked print.  The printer fired up, shaking the desk beneath as it printed page after page of Danielle’s story.  As to what she would do with afterwards was still a mystery to her.  As she waited for the printer to stop, she fiddled with the wire spiral of a notebook nearby.  The cover had “Together” sprawled across in Danielle’s intricate cursive.  She traced the loop of the “o” again and again with her short fingernails, counting as she did so.
“You’re what started it all,” she said to the book.  “If not for you, I could never have made what I’m going through have a happy ending.”  She thought about the plot, based so much off of her own struggle with love, and how he could never read it.  The words, she knew, would be forever concealed, hidden from his sight.  She could only imagine the look on his face if he ever saw it.  
“Printing complete,” the computer stated.  Finally she heard what she’d been waiting for.  She took the pages and held her dreams in her hand.  Forty-seven pages seemed to be an awful lot to write for a boy who would never lay eyes on it.  The pages were warm in her hands, and her thoughts instantly turned to him, and how warm his hugs were.  She could already feel his arms around her, wrapping her up around the shoulders.  His scent tingled in her nostrils, his voice rang in her ears.  Heart racing, she could picture his smile and beautiful blue eyes.
“Dani!”  She instantly recognized the voice as her best friend’s.  “There you are!  I’ve been trying to call you for an hour!”  Jackie entered the room, long blonde waves bobbing as she bounced into the room.  “David and I were going to head out to the lake to meet Adam and Rick.  I wanted to see if you’d like to come.”  She stared at Danielle with her big green eyes, awaiting an answer.
“Well, I don’t know...” Danielle hesitated.  “I’m not sure if it would be a good idea.  I’m a mess, just look at me.  I don’t want-“
”I don’t want Adam to see me like this,” her friend mocked.   “If you’re so head-over-heels for that boy then you wouldn’t miss the opportunity to spend more time with him.  But, if you insist,” she started to turn and walk away before Danielle stopped her.
“Wait, Jackie?”
“Yes?”  You could hear the triumph in her gentle tone.
“Could you help me get ready?”  Danielle was timid about asking.  She knew how much her friends probably got sick of her constantly talking about Adam.  Especially Jackie.
“I thought you’d never ask,” she spouted.  “First, go spritz some water in your hair.  You want it to be damp so when you take the braids out it’ll be wavy.”
“Thank you,” Danielle smiled.
Jackie rolled her eyes and smiled back at her best friend.  “Now go do that, I’ll pick out an outfit.”
Danielle left her pink-walled bedroom and headed right, towards the bathroom.  She picked up a water bottle and began spraying her hair.  As she looked in the mirror, she thought about what could happen today.  Would he even notice her?  After thoroughly dampening her long brown hair, she grabbed her comb and brushed it through.  With a part down the center, and two hair ties in hand, she began to braid her hair.  She twisted the locks until she was an inch and a half from the ends, then secured it with a tie.  After concluding with the right side, she moved to the left and did the same thing.  When she finished, the mirror revealed two, tightly braided pigtails.
She left the bathroom, flipping the light switch to “off” as she did so, then returned to her room.  Jackie was standing at her desk with her back to Danielle, looking down.
“Jacks?”
She turned, facing Danielle.  “Did you write this?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Danielle confessed.  “I know it’s horrible, but I just needed to write it.”
“What are you talking about? This is great!” Jackie exclaimed.  “It is so real.  I know it’s about Adam and you, but it’s so weird to read about it like it’s other people.”
“Do you really like it?”
“Like it?  I love it!  In fact, I think you should let him read it.”
“Are you crazy?  I could never do that.  Could you imagine what Adam would do if he knew I felt that way about it?”  Before giving her friend time to answer, she started again, “No?  Well I don’t either and I don’t want to find out.”  Her friend just stared at her pleadingly.
“Maybe it would be a good thing.  Look what happened with David and I after I told him I liked him.”
“There is a difference Jacks.  Everyone knew that David already liked you and he had already asked you out twice.  I don’t even think Adam notices that I’m a female.   He just treats me like one of the boys.”
“That’s because you’re one of his best friends, remember?  He probably doesn’t want you to feel left out while you’re hanging out with his other friends.”  Jackie did have a point.  Danielle just looked out the window behind her friend.  Her heart was trying to tell her head that Jackie was right.  After all, he did look at her differently.  Or did he?  Maybe, she thought, it was all in her head.
“I’m just not ready for him to know.  I don’t want it to ruin anything,” Danielle said quietly.  “I couldn’t imagine what it would be like without him being part of my life.”
“Okay.  If you’re not ready, then you’re not ready.  But, Dani, you have to tell him sooner or later.  If you don’t, it’ll eat you up inside.”  Jackie stepped closer to her friend, then extended her long arms to grab Danielle’s tiny shoulders.  “Now, let’s get you ready.”  The girls smiled at each other, coming to an understanding.  Jackie released Danielle then headed toward the huge pink bed, where a bikini and shorts were sprawled.
“This will grab his attention, don’t you think?”
“Jackie, that is way too revealing.  You know I don’t wear bikinis either,” Danielle whined.
“Danielle, you asked me to help you, I’m helping you.”  Jackie’s voice was firm as she spoke.  “You have a wonderful body, one I wish I had instead of these awkward limbs.  You need to flaunt it, especially if you want Adam to notice you.  You have to make an impression other than the sweet, innocent girl next door.  Now put the outfit on and I’ll do your make-up.”
Danielle, somewhat shocked by her friend’s command, instantly picked up the articles and headed to the bathroom once again.  She quickly undressed, then pulled on the bottoms, pink polka dots popping on the teal background.  The matching top soon followed.  As she tied it behind her back, she thought about how ridiculous she felt.  Adam would probably laugh at her as soon as he saw it.  Danielle quickly yanked the denim shorts from the rack, and pulled them on.  She felt somewhat naked wearing shorts that only hit mid-thigh.  As she opened the door and walked out, she could hear Jackie on her cell phone.
“Yeah, we’ll be out in about three minutes.  Okay, love you.”  Jackie flipped the phone shut as Danielle walked through the doorway.  “Wow.  Forget make-up.  It would just take away from that body.”  She looked her friend up and down.  “Just look at you!  You’re gorgeous!”
Danielle, not yet having seen herself, walked toward a mirror.  She was shocked at what she saw.  The teal perfectly complemented the copper skin beneath.  The pigtails added a sweet touch to her outfit, offsetting her first impression of the “revealing” outfit.
“Wow,” she whispered quietly to herself.
“Here, grab your phone and your purse and lets go.  David is waiting outside.  We’ve got towels and a cooler already packed.”  She began to walk out the door.  “Danielle?”
“Oh, sorry.”  She snapped out of the trance she was in standing in front of the mirror.  Walking over to her desk, she put her story into a drawer and grabbed her purse.  “Okay, I’m ready.”  They briskly walked down the steps and out the front door.  Danielle told her Dad where she was going, then hopped into the backseat of the 2004 Mustang Convertible, greeting David as she did so.  The seatbelt clicked and she was on her way.