Page 142 of Before We're More Than Friends
“Really?” Dallas threw another ball at the dogs, and Penrose caught it again. Houston let out a whimper. “Sometimes I wondered what it’d be like to play at my dog park with you, too.” He took the ball from Penrose before throwing it farther away. Both of the dogs chased after it, and Houston caught it this time. “What else did you imagine me being a part of?”
“Other than going to school with me and having an extra friend to sit with at lunch, nothing else.” I waited for Houston to bring the ball to Dallas before I threw the next ball. Houston and Penrose collided heads as they tried to catch it, and we both laughed. “They’re just like us.”
“They are,” Dallas said, his dimples appearing. “Honestly, when I thought about meeting you in person, I couldn’t form an image in my mind. I just knew the idea of meeting terrified me because of my feelings.”
“So you really weren’t worried about meeting me in real life because you knew all my darkest thoughts?” My heart ached for the girl from two weeks ago, who had thought that was why Dallas had lied. “You just weren’t sure about your feelings for someone you’ve loved on paper for years but never met.”
“That’s it,” he said. “That and . . . I was worried I wasn’t good enough for you.”
I blinked. “What do you mean?Iwas the one worried I wasn’t good enough foryou.”
“I don’t know.” He scratched the back of his neck. “I’ve had feelings for you since eighth grade, and you were perfect to me, even with all your flaws. I thought there was no chance of being liked back when we were strictly platonic. And when we met inreal life, I only fell harder for you.” He looked me in the eyes, the moonlight shining in his. “And you chose me.”
“I wouldn’t want anyone else.” With my free hand, I brushed my fingers along his shoulder. “No one knows me like you do. And that makes you able to love me like no one else does.”
A grin spread across his lips before they met mine. The four seconds of his warm touch were enough to make butterflies go crazy in my stomach. “It does,” he said before throwing the ball to the dogs again.
After a few more minutes of playing with the dogs, we let them play on the dog equipment. We sat on the bench where we’d placed our bags and started our songwriting session.
“How has your song been coming along?” I asked Dallas as he took his notebook out of his backpack. “Has being in a band given you any inspiration?”
“I’ve been writing a lot, actually.” Dallas flipped through his notebook, the pages etched in black and green ink. “But I’m not sure which of these lyrics I want to pursue.”
“I can take a look at some of them if you want me to.”
He swallowed. “Sure.”
He didn’t sound too confident, but I didn’t question him. I flipped through a few of the pages before finding lyrics that stood out to me. While the rest of the pages were disorganized thoughts, this one had a structured verse.
Because I’m such a disaster
Why would you ever fall for me?
Why would you ever fall for me?
We’re only meant for disaster
Why can’t I stop falling for you?
Why can’t I stop falling for you?
It’s a road to disaster.
“I-Is this about me?” I asked, the journal shaking in myhands. He wrote it back in February, before the bonfire. My heart locked up in my chest. “Dallas.”
“I-It’s old now,” Dallas stammered, shutting his notebook on my hand. I winced, and he touched my hand. “I’m sorry! I?—”
“I’m not upset,” I told him, squeezing his hand. “I’m just sad that you ever felt that way.”
“I still feel guilty.”
“Don’t.” I brushed my finger against the spirals on his notebook. “We can always change it. If you want to. Or we can write something new completely.”
“I want to rewrite it.” He flipped his notebook open to a new page. “Do you have any ideas on how we can flip it around?”
“Let me think.” After a few moments of pondering, I took out my pen and notebook before scribbling down a new chorus.
I thought I was a disaster
