Brook and I go down the hall and out the door to the front of the school.
"I can't believe he knows how to do that shit," I say, still amazed he created his own game.
"He's really smart." Brook slips her hand in mine as we walk down the sidewalk. It's a warm spring night. Brook's wearing a white cotton dress with pink and purple flowers on it. It looks beautiful on her. She doesn't wear dresses much but when she does, I always think she looks older, like we've skipped ahead a few years and she's my wife.
I want that more than anything but it'll be a ways off before it happens. We both want to get through college and then Brook has law school after that. I don't want to wait that long to propose. I'm thinking of asking her in a couple years, although even that seems like a long ways off. But even if we're not married, at least we'll be together.
In the fall Brook and I will both be going to college in Dallas. We'll be going to different schools but living just a few miles from each other. Brook got a full scholarship, including room and board. The school makes freshmen live in the dorms the first year, but after that, Brook plans to move in with her sister. Well, that's what she's telling her parents but she's actually planning to live with me. Jake and I will be living in an apartment. The college I'm going to has the same rule about freshmen living in dorms, but I explained my situation and they agreed to let me live off campus.
Brook's phone dings and she stops to check it. "My mom wants to know if we'll go to dinner at Canton's house tomorrow."
"On a Saturday? Don't they usually go to rich people parties on Saturdays?"
"Yeah, but whatever they were going to got cancelled so they're inviting us over." She looks up at me with that face I can't say no to. "Will you go? I need to let her know."
I sigh. "Okay, we'll go, but do I have to wear a suit?"
"Yes, but it's only for a few hours." She smiles. "And you know how much it turns me on when you wear a suit."
I smile back. "Now I'm looking forward to this."
Brook's mom has been dating this guy, Canton, for months now. They're already talking about getting married, and they're planning to live together when Brook leaves for college. Canton's house is a freaking mansion. I've never seen a house that big and can't imagine living there. I'd get lost with all the rooms. Brook and I have been there a few times for dinner. Canton's okay. He never says much to us, but I never feel like he's looking down on me.
"Oh!" Brook says as she texts her mom. "Don't let me forget about Eve's cake. We have to pick it up Sunday before the party."
We're having a birthday party for Eve on Sunday. She's always complaining to Brook about how much she hates having to share her birthday with Evan. They don't even get their own cake. So Brook decided to give Eve her own separate birthday party before the party she has later with Evan.
Brook's been planning Eve's party for weeks. She can't wait to surprise her on Sunday. Some people from school will be there, including Kendrick, who still has a crush on Eve. He can't seem to get past the friend stage with her so he's been dating other girls. And Eve's been dating a guy from another school. It's too bad Eve and Kendrick can't admit their attraction to each other. You can feel it whenever you're around them but they refuse to act on it.
"Oh, and you have group tomorrow," Brook says, her eyes on her phone. "At ten."
"Great," I say, sarcastically. It's an anger management group and I'm the youngest person there. I don't like going but my counselor thinks it helps to hear other people's stories. So far, I haven't found it that helpful. The one-on-one counseling isn't bad. At first I didn't want to talk, but I did, because of Brook. Because I'm trying to be a better man for her, and for Jake. I don't ever want to lose my temper with them, or worse, become like my dad. He's still awaiting sentencing for his latest crimes but he'll probably get at least twenty years added to his current sentence, maybe more.
I watch Brook as she swipes through her phone, her long blond hair blowing in the breeze. She's so damn beautiful. Every day I wake up wondering what I did to deserve such a kind beautiful woman.
"Okay, I'm done." She puts her phone down and smiles at me. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Because you're mine." I bring her into my arms. "I don't know how it happened or why. I just know you changed my life. Made me a better man. Gave me hope for a future I didn't think I'd ever have."
"You changed my life too." She softly smiles, then reaches up to kiss me. "I love you."
"I love you too." I smile back at her, my heart filled with more love than I thought it could ever hold. I didn't really understand love until I met Brook.
I can't change my past. Or my parents. Or the memories they left me that I can't seem to make go away.
I can only change my future. And my future will be nothing like my past. Because of Brook. The girl I bullied on the first day of class. The girl who gave me a chance, and saw more in me than I ever did.
The girl I will love forever.
Brook
"I'm done!" Jake says, running down the sidewalk, a huge smile on his face. "We can go home now."
"Didn't Brook tell you?" Dean says, mussing his hair. "We're going out for dessert. Whatever you want."
"What sounds good?" I ask him.
Jake takes a moment to think. "I want one of those cookies they make in a skillet with ice cream on top."
