Summer of Love

Hours of hard work and studying had finally paid off. Today was the day that I was going to graduate. Tomorrow would be the first day a fresh start to the beginning of the rest of my life. This would be the last summer I would be living with my friends before they went off to college. Even Cian had got accepted to a faraway University to become a Chef. From this day forth, I would now officially be an adult and a new chapter of my life would begin.

I passed my exams with flying colors and now I stood along with my classmates and friends to accept my diploma. The band assembly played in the background as we stood clothed in our caps and gowns. My heart raced with excitement. This was it, this was my time to shine. I knew my parents would be so proud of me right now, and Derek would be whooping with joy. I smiled to myself as my name was called. I moved forward and climbed the stage, the audience applauding, my friends shouting my name. I smiled at the Principle and shook his hand as he handed me my diploma, already set in a picture frame. The school gym was filled with parents and family members and those I had been with throughout the beginnings of my life. I turned to them smiling brightly, catching the faces of my friends. Among them sat Travis, my very own emotional rock, the man I was growing to love. He smiled, lighting up the entire room and I saw the love in his eyes.

“Congratulations, Misa. Your family would be very proud of you,” Mr. Hubert said softly with a smile.

“Thank you, Mr. Herbert. I’m going to miss you!” I said honestly. I still couldn’t believe this was really happening. My school days were finally over.

His smile widened and he ushered me down the opposite side of the stage to return to my seat. I sat down with a sigh, my stomach knotted with nerves and excitement, my heart beating strongly in my chest. Holy crap, I was actually doing this. The ceremony continued on until finally the last student took the stage. He shook the Principle’s hand and proceeded on like the rest of us.

“Congratulations graduates and good luck in the future!”

I rose with the mass of gowned students around me, cries and shouts of joy filling the air as caps were tossed high to the ceiling. The applause was loud and filled with excitement. Students turned to congratulate their friends and families shed a tear or two, filled with pride in their children. This was a monumental moment in our lives and it will never be forgotten.

People began to file outside the gym into the school yard and I wove through the crowds to find my friends. I spotted Travis with a laugh and launched myself into his arms. He held me tight and lifted me clear off my feet, spinning me around.

“Honey, I’m so proud of you!” He set me down and grasped my face, kissing me sweetly. “You look so beautiful.”

I smiled widely, still flying high in the clouds and kissed him again. Sara and the others found us and she threw herself at me. Hannah joined in and the three of us, best friends till the end, embraced and even cried together. We had accomplished something great and this was only our first achievement in life. There was many more to come because this was only the beginning.

We pulled back, smiling at each other through our tears and laughed. I broke away and smiled at Jack, pulling him into an embrace.

“Ah, I’m going to miss you guys!” I held him tight.

He chuckled and squeezed me back. “We’re all going to miss you too, but don’t worry.” He pulled back to smile at me reassuringly. “We’ll be back for visits and summer breaks.”

I turned to Fox and he smiled slightly. He was a usual stoic person who rarely showed what he was feeling; unless he was looking at Hannah.

“Ah, come here!” I said happily and pulled him to me. I held fast and hesitantly, he brought his arms around me. In that one hug, I realized how much emotions he held but never expressed. He was going to miss me and living in my house.

“We’ll be back. I’ll make sure Hannah will be okay,” he said gruffly, his voice thick. Tears filled my eyes again at the reminder that my friends were leaving me.

“I know.” We pulled apart and I hid my tears with a teary laugh and he smiled reassuringly much like Jack had.

Cian appeared with a sad expression. I could tell he was afraid of leaving me alone in my house. He was afraid of leaving me period and I’ll admit, I was reluctant to let him go. We stood looking at each other and I smiled, tearing up all over again.

He flashed a smile, though his eyes were watering over. “Ah, come on...everything is going to be okay.”

He grabbed me and pulled me flush against his body, his arms wrapping around me protectively. I squeezed my eyes shut and held on to him for dear life as the tears spilled over. His breath was hitching slightly and I could tell he was shedding a tear as well. So unlike Cian. I gave him the strongest squeeze I could and he chuckled, returning it with equal force.

“Come on, Misa,” He pulled away to look me in the eye. A tear fell down his cheek and he smiled with embarrassment. “We still have the rest of the night.”

I laughed and wiped his eyes gently and he pressed his face into my hand. I was going to miss this man more than I ever imagined. Taking a breath, I stepped away to let the others in and turned to Travis where he stood conversing with his band mates. He stopped talking and turned with raised eyebrows. When he saw that I was free, he turned with a warm smile, his eyes dancing behind his glasses. I walked over to be congratulated and man handled by the others in the group until I saw Caroline and the others from work, even Chief.

She pulled me into an embrace and smiled. “My god woman, I’m so proud of you.” She kissed the top of my head and smoothed my hair. I laughed and pulled away, feeling shaky and unsteady. So much feelings, so many emotions today. It was overwhelming.

I embraced each one of them and Chief presented me with a special gift. A promotion. I stared at her, shocked as she explained my new position as Top Manager of the cafe. I laughed and held her tight while she cried into my shoulder.

“I’m just so.” Cue hiccup. God, she was too cute. “proud of you!”

I laughed and ruffled her hair seeing as she was short than me. She sniffled and smiled at me through her tears. Looking around, I was glad to be surrounded by my friends. Somewhere, I knew my family was with me too.

Sara who was all teary eyed, clapped her hands together to catch everyone’s attention. “Alright people, it’s party time! Girl’s, follow me!” She beckoned to us and started walking away.

I laughed and followed after her, pausing to plant one on Travis before rushing after her with Hannah. We talked and laughed all the way back home. We had gone shopping for our dresses earlier that morning and they were waiting to be worn back home in my master bedroom. Sara dove straight into it with a vengeance. When it came to things like this, she was a perfectionist. Makeup was brought out and applied with a steady hand and hair was done to perfection. Of course, this meant she was the last to get ready but Hannah and I helped out.

I slipped into my dress and stepped out, twirling. Their eyes lit up and Sara started to cry again. I rushed over to comfort her with a laugh, though my own were watering.

“Come on, we’re going to ruin all your hard work!” I teased with a shaky laugh and she smiled and composed herself.

The three of us stood side by side in front of my wide full length mirror, smiling. Hannah’s hair was pinned up in curls with a few strands gracefully falling about her face. My little pixie. Sara’s hair was left long and curled in large, twisting spirals and set with sparkling hairspray. My sexy confidant. She had curled my hair like hers with half pinned up with a beautiful real stargazer lily. Together, we were going to turn the world upside down.

“Well, we are totally three hot bitches,” Sara pointed out through the silence and we burst out laughing. Oh god, I was going to miss these days.

Downstairs we went into the kitchen where I had put a bottle of sparkling wine to chill in a bucket of ice and popped the cork. I poured each of us a glass and moved to the living room where we would wait for our dates. Travis of course was my date and I couldn’t wait to see him. In the end, Caroline had pestered him to take her as his date until he gave in.

She had nudged him. “Hey, just think how good you’ll look with a hot, sexy older woman as your prom date,” she had said.

The doorbell rang and I jumped up, almost spilling my second glass of wine. My heart slammed into my throat and I turned with an excited smile to the others. Sara touched her hair to make sure it was still in place and Hannah smoothed down the front of her sparkling green dress. I looked at Sara and saw her red strap was slipping and fixed it for her. She looked sexy in the spaghetti strapped hell red dress. I swallowed and smoothed my own hands down the front of my sparkling ice blue dress and moved to open the door.

There stood Travis dressed in his finest. He wore a tuxedo with a matching ice blue tie. His hair was gelled in a sexy mess and it was the first time I saw him without glasses. I thought the glasses were sexy, but wow. I felt a blush creep up into my cheeks as his eyes swept over me and he smiled.

“My lovely, Misa,” he whispered, reaching up to touch my cheek. “you look like an angel.”

My blush deepened and I laughed with embarrassment. I leaned forward to kiss him and stepped aside to the others could enter. Travis smiled and held out a white box. I opened it with a smile and found inside, my corsage which was a sparkling silver bracelet with a white lily sitting in the center. He took my hand and slid it on, facing the lily upwards so the petals caressed my skin.

His hands curled around my face and my gaze met his. His lips were only a breath apart.

“My sweet, sweet Misa...you steal my breath away with your beauty.” His words were a caress and made my heart beat crazily and the butterflies to flutter with joy. My skin tingled as I closed that little distance and kissed him.

“You look quite dashing yourself, my dear.” I pulled back with a bright smile as Cian appeared. Caroline was waiting in the slick black limo outside.

“Let’s get rolling guys, we’re going to miss the dinner.” His eyes met mine and I saw them widen. They trailed over my form and finally a smile crooked his lips. “Don’t you look beautiful.”

I laughed and walked over, holding Travis’s hand in mine. “Don’t you look handsome,” I countered and he laughed.

We all settled into the limo, everyone talking at once to make sure we had everything we needed before we took off. The dinner and dance was going to be held at the Fairmont Hotel downtown. I had never been there, but I’ve heard great things. I was excited to see how they had it decorated and what was going to be served for dinner. I was starving. The drive there was filled with laughter as they told stories about our first year in high school. We had a load of good times together and I was sincerely going to miss them.

When we arrived, we stepped out of the limo to be greeted with heavy bass and blasting music. Students dressed in their finest made their way inside the hotel and I gaped. Hearing the music, I was suddenly so excited. I grabbed Travis’s hand and pulled him after me and he laughed but provided no resistance. Stepping inside, I came to a halt when we stepped straight into the ballroom. Balloons surrounded the area with shimmering streamers. The lights were dimmed as students swarmed around conversing or using the large square dance floor. Chandeliers hung from the roof with sparkling crystals and I looked at Travis with a huge smile.

It was his turn to drag me around, leading me to the dance floor as a love song began to play. His slid his arm around my waist and took my hand in his. Then, he began to sweep me around the dance floor with fluid grace. I was so surprised I almost lost my footing and stumbled slightly. He righted me with a chuckle and I blushed.

“I didn’t know you could dance like this!”

He flashed me that heart melting smile I had grown to love. “You never asked.” He twirled me about, the skirt of my dress blooming like a flower.

He pulled me back to him, holding our hands right over his heart. The gesture was so sweet that I leaned in and kissed him while we danced. Our heartbeats moved as one, our bodies perfectly synchronized with the others. He twirled me about and in that moment, I felt so beautiful. I had never felt like this before and I basked in it, soaking it up like a starving plant soaked up water. The song came to an end and he dipped me back and kissed me senseless. When he pulled me up straight, I was dizzy and flushed. He gave me that handsome smile and led me to the refreshment stand. I gulped down the punch and sighed, watching my classmates having fun. The next song came on with heavy bass and a good beat. Sara appeared and swept me away from Travis’s side back onto the dance floor with Hannah and Caroline. I didn’t remember having so much fun with my friends. We danced the night away, spending what little time we had left together.

Dinner was delicious. We had choices of different dishes and wine was provided in which I drank my fair share. I was more than relaxed but not drunk. After that I refused more wine and settled for punch instead. I danced with Travis a couple more times afterwards and shared a sorrowful waltz with Cian. I danced with Sara, Hannah and Caroline. I even danced with the Principle. It was 3:00 in the morning by the time the night came to an end.

On the drive home, Sara and Hannah had both passed out against their boyfriends. Everybody was exhausted. I rested my head on Travis’s shoulder and he kissed the top of my head, wrapping his arm around me. I curled into him with a sigh and closed my eyes to just rest there. When we arrived home, I had to help Jack with Sara seeing as she refused to wake up. Eventually she woke when I almost dropped her and started laughing. I kissed Travis goodbye and joined my friends inside.

“Alright, bed time, kids,” I said with a loving smile as Hannah helped me bring Sara upstairs. We changed her into sweat pants and a t-shirt before changing ourselves.

Together, the three of us laid side by side on my large bed staring up at the ceiling. The night was long over and tomorrow would bring tearful goodbyes. Just tonight though...I had my best friends with me. Hannah and Sara curled into my sides, draping their arms over me and buried their faces in my neck. I smiled to myself and closed my eyes.

Tonight was the last night with my friends. Tomorrow they would be beginning their journey to college to work for their future. Tomorrow I would be starting fresh as a Manager, starting my life with a bang. I sighed and slipped my arms around them, bringing them closer and grinned.

“I love you guys,” I murmured.

“Love you too,” they chorused sleepily.

I smiled. This wasn’t the end, I knew.

This was just the beginning.