Read Online The Falling of Love by Marisa Oldham - Free Book Online Page A

had closed them and stared at her for a moment.
    “I love you, Gracie.”
    “I love you!” she blurts out.
    With her mind now back in the present, out of the corner of her eye, Grace sees Ian still staring at her while she’s been daydreaming. She stifles a giggle and smiles in his direction.
    “Can’t wait till lunch,” he whispers.

 
 
 
    At lunchtime, Grace sits under the oak tree where Ian first kissed her, now one of the best among the hundreds they have shared. She reflects on the events from the evening before, another cherished dinner with Ian and her family. Ian has been spending more and more time at her house lately and seems to fit in easily. Grace hears familiar clanking behind her and hands slide over her eyes. A grin takes over her entire face. Warm breath hits her skin, and Ian kisses her neck sweetly. Unable to control herself, she giggles profusely. The simple gesture of him nuzzling her neck makes her soul happy and her spirit soar.
    “Hi, babe!” he says. He plops down on the grass next to her and crosses his legs before he digs through her lunch bag.
    “Hi,” she says, with a deep breath, her head still spinning from the way he makes her feel.
    She lights up at the vision of him, loving him so much more than she ever thought she could. They spend their lunch talking about their classmates, music, Grace’s family, Ian’s job, the movie they saw last weekend, and the walk they took together last night, beaming about how much they love each other. How easy it is and how much conversation they have amazes her. They can talk for hours on end.
    When the bell rings, her heart fills with sadness. It physically hurts her to be away from him, and he has told her he feels the same. Because they cannot stand to be apart, Ian has been trying to get all his classes switched to the same as Grace’s without success.

 
 
 
    After school, Grace and Ian walk the three and a half blocks to her house. He refuses to let her carry anything other than her purse, something he has done every school day for the past few weeks, despite her protests that she can carry them herself. Contrary to his “bad boy” reputation, Ian is the perfect gentleman. He always opens doors for her, pulls out chairs for her, and her well-being is constantly at the forefront of his mind. Grace cannot recall what life was like before she had this amazing boy in her life, nor does she want to. She appreciates that he always goes out of his way to show her that he loves her.
    Grace frowns when Ian runs ahead of her. “Where are you going?” she calls after him.
    “Wait right there!” he shouts over his shoulder.
    Grace watches as he bends down and pulls a dandelion out of the grass and jogs back to her.
    “You know,” he says, with an eyebrow raised, “if you make a wish and blow on one of these it comes true. Wanna do it together?”
    Grace nods, letting her smile speak for her.
    Puckering their lips, they gently blow. Like fairies dancing on the wind, white, feathery bristles float toward the cloud-filled sky.
    “What’d you wish for?” Ian asks, with excitement in his eyes.
    Swatting him, she laughs. “I can’t tell you that, silly. Then it won’t come true.”
    “That’s a bunch of bullshit, Gracie. All my dandelion wishes have always come true. Now tell me!” He tickles her side.
    After she stops giggling, she says, “I wished for happily ever after with you.” She looks up at him and the sparkle in his eyes warms her cheeks.
    Kinking his head to the side, he smiles, and stares at her. “Then our wish is absolutely coming true, because I wished for the same thing. I didn’t think happily ever after though.” He laughs.
    “What did you think?”
    “I wished that you would love me forever.”
    “You don’t have to wish for that, Ian.”
    Ian slides his arm around the back of her neck and pulls her to him as they set off up the hill to Grace’s home. She can see that he is proud to have her under his