Page 90 of Where We Met

Shannon laughs. "I think this is awesome. I've never seen Mr. D so worked up before."

"Oh, my God, Shannon. Read the freakin' room," Aubrey whispers.

"What?" Shannon asks. "I'm just trying to lighten the mood. I don't think Luke and Mr. D are going to be brawling or anything."

I look over at them. Luke is talking while my dad has his hands in his pants pocket. I can't get a read on what's being said or how it's going. My dad nods his head a couple times. Is that a good thing?

It feels like they've been talking for hours instead of only a couple of minutes.

"Come on, let's just give them their space," Veronica suggests. "Let's get a photo with you ladies holding up your diplomas."

It's not the most subtle attempt to distract me, and it doesn't work. My eyes are glued to Luke and my dad. I'm guessing every photo I will be looking off in the distance with a fake smile.

At some point, the girls pull me in another direction so I can't see them. Somewhere in that time, Luke snuck up behind me.

I turn around and he's standing there.

"You're here," I say surprised.

He laughs. "Where else would I go?"

"I don't know. I started picturing calling the cops to get my dad off you."

"You've got quite the imagination."

"You know," I say as I rest a hand on my hip. "You could've warned me you were gonna do that."

He smiles. "Where's the fun in that?" I raise an eyebrow at him, not amused. "Ok. But I didn't know until last night. I hadn't had a plan yet, but I knew I needed your dad's permission if we were going to be together."

"Did…did you get it?" I breathe.

He lightly tugs on a piece of my hair. "You guys are going out to lunch but I'd love it if you come to my house after. We can talk then."

"Uh…okay."

"Perfect," he says. "First, let's get a quick photo of me and the graduate."

He pulls his phone out and holds it up. We both get in the frame and smile.

"I'll see you soon," he says then winks and walks away.

I'm left standing here, not sure what just happened.

He seems happy. He invited me over to his house. My dad is laughing with the other parents right now, not looking pissed off.

Did he just convince my dad in the matter of minutes to give him permission to be with me?

Chapter Thirty

Luke

Ismiletomyselfas I walk away from her. She's definitely not sure what just happened, and as much as I want to talk to her now, she needs the time to finish her celebration with her friends and family.

I don't want to get in the way of that.

Looking down at the picture we just took, I realize I snapped two. One accidentally when she was looking up at me. Our eyes are trained on each other, you can see the admiration we both have for each other.

I click on the photo and make it my home screen.

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