Page 18 of The Baxters
He was tall and tanned, his shoulders filled out from spring football practice. That night Ashley was sure hers was the most handsome prom date any girl had ever had. She couldn’t remember anything about the other kids at the dance. There was nothing in her memory about what guys her friends went to the prom with or who was crowned king and queen.
When she looked back on that night all she could see was Landon. All she could feel was his hand on her waist. His cheek against hers.
When the dance was over he took her to get ice cream, and as they drove home, he turned onto a hilly street and stopped at a place where they could see the lights from downtown Bloomington. He cut the engineand turned to her. “Tonight was…” He stared at her, his eyes shining. “Perfect.”
“I felt like a princess.” Ashley still wore her wrist corsage. She looked at Landon in the moonlight. “I don’t want it to end.”
Landon took her hand and slid his fingers between hers. The radio was on and Simple Minds was singing “Don’t You Forget About Me.” Neither of them said a word at first. They just looked at each other. Ashley blinked back tears. “Weren’t we just in Mr. Garrett’s class?”
“And you were coming through the door covered in mud.” His laugh was soft. “Remember that day?”
“I fell in a puddle getting out of my mom’s van.” She laughed. “Things like that always seemed to happen to me. And you wouldn’t let me forget.” She angled her head, memorizing the sight of him. A silence fell over the moment. It was as good a time as any to tell him her news. A surprise she had saved for that very moment. “So… guess what?”
He looked dizzy in love with her. “What?”
Ashley grinned. “I got accepted to Baylor.”
Landon looked like he might jump out of his seat, or maybe out of the car altogether. “You what?” He shook his head. “Are you serious? You never… you never told me you applied.”
“Artists are a tricky bunch.” Even as she said the words, she hadn’t been completely sure about her decision.But she didn’t have money for Paris, and school wasn’t a bad idea. The walls weren’t closing in anymore. As long as she got out of Bloomington for a few years, it didn’t matter if it was Paris or Baylor. And Baylor had something Paris would never have.
Landon Blake.
And so Ashley had decided Paris could wait.
A hundred questions seemed to flash in his eyes that night. But instead of asking a single one of them, Landon leaned close and framed her face with his hands. “Can I… kiss you, Ashley?” He didn’t blink, didn’t look away even for a second. “I’ve wanted to since I held your hand at the zoo.”
Ashley laughed. “You were only eleven.” She put her other hand over his, their faces closer than before.
“Didn’t matter.” Landon was laughing now, too. “I was smitten. I still am.”
“Well, then…” She moved in toward him. “I’d say… the answer is yes.”
“Really?” Landon seemed surprised. “I can kiss you? Now?”
“Yes.” Rivers of emotion deeper than anything she’d ever known welled up in Ashley’s heart. “Please, Landon.” Her words became a whisper. “Please, kiss me.”
Even now, years later, Ashley could remember that kiss. How her heart soared that night. The way Landon’s body felt warm near hers. The taste of his lips, the smell of his cologne.
Ashley could’ve remained lost in that moment for an hour. Forever. But they left after that single kiss. Landon knew better, even when Ashley wanted to stay. She remembered thinking that Landon had been looking out for her since Mr. Garrett’s zoo trip.
He wasn’t going to let anything happen to her now.
As they drove home that night, Ashley kept stealing glances at Landon. His jawline and shoulders, his strong hands on the wheel. She couldn’t stop looking. There would never be anyone else for her, she was sure of it back then.
And as the days took them toward graduation, they made their decisions known to their parents. They were both going to Baylor. They would leave mid-August and have rooms in dorm buildings near each other. Landon would study teaching and Ashley would dive into the school’s art program.
Ashley still planned to visit Paris someday, but that year all she wanted was to be with Landon. Their families shared Fourth of July together at nearby Lake Monroe, and Ashley and Landon played Frisbee on the shore. All of life was just ahead of them, the fringe of tomorrow within their grasp. And nothing could tear them apart.
Nothing.
But on that hot summer day at the lake, laughing and playing and teasing each other, neither of them could’ve imagined the turn life would take. The events that would happen just twenty-four hours later. They couldn’t have known about the heartache around the corner or theway their lives would be torn apart. And most of all as that summer night played out, they didn’t dream of the disaster headed straight for Ashley.
Or the drunk driver who would change both their lives forever.
6
Bloomington High School was Landon Blake’s favorite place to jog during the summer. Something about being home from Baylor University made him long for days gone by, the years when he and Ashley were teenagers.
