Page 80 of This Is Love (The Light to My Darkness 3)

"Summer Brooks, what on earth do you know about love?"

Everything. I shrugged my shoulders. "I've seen a lot of Disney movies. All of them I think."

"Well this is real life. We're not in some movie."

"Are you saying you don't like Cinderella? Or Beauty and the Beast? Or The Little Mermaid?"

"I liked them when I was a kid."

"It sounds like being a grown up is no fun at all."

She laughed. "Trust me, it's fun."

"Well, did Jacob at least ask you out in a really grand way?"

"Actually, I asked him out."

"That's really stupid."

"Summer!"

"Well it is, Julie! That's not how it's supposed to go at all. He's supposed to realize he loves you and then ask you to be with him forever. He should have proposed by now."

"That's not how life works anymore. We're not in the dark ages. Women are empowered and independent now."

"You're only 17. How would you know?"

She raised her eyebrow at me.

That's when I knew I had her just where I wanted her. She only ever raised her eyebrow when she was getting mad at me.

"Clear the dishes, kiddo. And your mom mentioned that you were reading a book. Do you want to read that for a bit?"

"Definitely. It's a big book of fairy tales."

She sighed and shook her head. "I have to study anyway. How about you just read that in your room and then get to bed?"

I glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall. It was almost 8 pm. The timing couldn't have been any more perfect.

Phase 2 complete.

Made of Steel - Chapter 2

I tiptoed down the hallway and peered around the corner into the living room. Julie was asleep in front of the TV. Her notes were strewn across the coffee table and she was snoring from the couch. Phase 3 was definitely complete. I tried to stifle my excitement as I ran back to my room. I pushed the window open while I slid my feet back into my bunny slippers. For just a moment, I thought about changing them. Bunny slippers were for children. I thought about Julie's new Converses that she couldn't stop talking about at dinner. I wanted Miles to think I was sophisticated. He was two years older than me. Maybe he liked Converses too. I bit my lip. But I loved bunnies. There was no better footwear than the slippers I was currently wearing. I climbed out the window without another thought.

With one last look at my house to make sure the coast was clear, I ran across my lawn. I opened up the gate to Miles' backyard and closed it as quietly as possible. The light was already on in his tree house. I climbed up the rickety ladder and knocked twice on the boards above my head.

"Secret password?" Miles said from the other side.

The password was different every month. It was always a constellation that was easy to see in the sky during whatever month it was. It had taken me a long time to memorize them. But I preferred this method over what his password always was a couple of years ago: boys rule and girls drool. When I first moved in next door, I was pretty sure he hated me. I had worn him down though. Now we were best friends.

"Lyra," I said. He had a habit of choosing the smallest constellations that were the hardest to see. It just so happened that I liked those ones the most. The ones that he had to point out in order to show me where they were hiding.

"Access denied. It's September first, Summer. New month, new secret password."

I laughed. "It's Sagitta then." It was one of my favorites. It looked like an arrow in the sky and reminded me of cupid's arrow. I had been waiting for it to hit Miles for two years.

The board lifted above my head. I climbed up into the tree house and he closed the floorboard door behind me.

---