Page 4 of A Love Unfaltering

“I- then that settles it,” I replied, grinning and pulled away from her even though it was the last thing in the world that I wanted to do. I couldn’t hug her for too long, or she might have felt like something weird was going on.

I couldn’t let her know how much I wanted to be with her, at least not yet.

I’d always had a crush on Amy, but making the change to myself and trying to better who I was just made it that much stronger.

We started walking again, and after a couple more minutes, we arrived at her old run-down apartment building.

I wanted more than anything to invite her to come to stay at the hotel with me, but… I couldn’t. Not yet.

“I- would you like to get dinner together tomorrow night?” I eventually asked out of the blue and was shocked with myself for doing so. I waited a few agonizing seconds for her to answer, but when she did, there was a smile on her face.

“Sure. I would love to,” she replied, allowing my heart to recede down to my chest from my throat. “I’ll text you to ask about plans later, alright?”

I nodded mutely, and after a moment, she wrapped her arms around me once again.

“Have a good night, Jared,” she said.

Then she was gone, walking through the parking lot to her first-floor apartment.

Left alone, I remained baffled by the fact that everything seemed to be working out.

Chapter Three

Amy

It had been a long, long time since I’d dressed up to go to dinner.

I left my bathroom and walked out into my bedroom, looking into the full-length mirror against the wall. I had picked out my best dress for the occasion because honestly, I knew very well what would happen at this dinner.

I was going to fall in love with my best friend for probably the hundredth time. And this time, I was going to look forward to it.

The emerald floor-length dress matched my eyes perfectly, and I combed my fingers through my maroon locks before deciding to straighten them for the evening. I pulled out my straightener, plugged it in, and sat down in front of the mirror with a sigh.

This was insane.

I had never expected anything like this from Jared. He’d been a loud partygoer that had drank too much and had to be dragged home on the nights where he made too many insensitive comments.

Now? He was polite and apologetic, yet he was still the man I had known and loved for all these years.

It was a bit exciting to be heading into this without knowing where it would end up.

I watched the curls in my hair fall away into straight locks, pondering over what I expected to happen during the night. We’d decided to meet up at Luca’s, a fancy Italian place that we’d frequented a few times while in high school and living without bills.

Tonight was a night of celebration, though, or something like that. It felt as if we were celebrating, even though there wasn’t anything to be holding a celebration over.

Either way, I was excited.

It only took me another 20 minutes or so to get ready, and I locked my door as I walked out to my car. It was only a 10 minute drive, but I was still leaving 25 minutes before we were supposed to meet.

I was excited and nervous.

The drive wasn’t eventful, but I hadn’t expected it to be. I kept the windows up because I didn’t want the wind to mess with my hair, and I got to the restaurant before it even began to feel toasty in the car.

Even though I’d left 15 minutes early, I still saw Jared’s old blue Pontiac sitting in the parking lot when I arrived. As I pulled into the spot next to it, he climbed out and leaned against the side of the car, an easy grin on his face.

He looked…incredible.

He was wearing a well-fitted suit, and his beautiful blonde hair was combed up in a swirl that I liked, and as I put the car into park, he walked around the side to open the door for me.

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