Some snippets for all of you. Right now, I'm not sure what to post. So, here you go.
THE LAST DANCE
Setting aside his trash, David stretched his arms and declared, "I'm going for a swim."
"Okay. I'll be here reading." Amanda put her and David's trash in her bag.
"Are you sure you don't want to come?" asked David, as he slipped off his shoes. Waving him off, Amanda assured him, "I'm fine." Truth to be told, Amanda was getting very hot. Turning to her, David softly commented, "I have a fine memory. And my memory says that I told you I wanted to see you with your hair down." he reached over and took out the large brown clip that held all of Amanda's hair in place at the back of her head. Long locks of curls fell down Amanda's back. The cute gawk Amanda gave him was all worth it. Leaning back, quite satisfied, David softly declared, "Much better." The wind blew through sweeping Amanda's hair to the other side, beautifully. It also decided to take Amanda's cover in the current of the wind.
"Oh no." mumbled Amanda, as she and David scrambled up and dashed off to catch it. Amanda caught it, but a little boy stepped in her way, and stopping short, she fell onto the sand. David had grabbed her hand to keep her from falling, but she eventually pulled him down on top of her.
"Well, another thing we have in common. We're both clumsy." Amanda slightly moaned. Nodding, David agreed, "You're right about that." he got off of her and helped her up, as the boys' mother apologized.
"No harm done." Amanda brushed the sand off of her skin. They headed back to their original spot, and David pressed on, "Well, now you'll have to get in the water to get all the sand out of your hair." Persistent as he was, Amanda didn't budge and replied, "There's something called a "shower"."
"How about I go in, pretend I'm drowning, and you come and rescue me?" suggested David, as he jumped in front of her and walked backwards. Letting out one of her soft giggles, Amanda put down her cover, and responded, "Then the lifeguard with come and save you. Got anymore suggestions?"
"Why not?" David kept on. "You think you're persistent? I'll keep bugging you until you get in. I can tell that you want to get in, so don't try denying it. Come on, I know you want to." coaxed David. Biting back a smile, Amanda used her best "pitiful" voice and "whined", "I'm too lazy to walk all the way to the water." While saying this, David had taken off his fedora, shrugged off his shirt, and a grin stretched across his face.
"Well then, my beautiful Christine, allow me." David scooped Amanda up in his arms and ran down the shore into the water. Amanda gasped, and put her arms around his neck, tightly. He was waist high, when David grinned, and stopped, "Now, I can either drop you, or you can swim back to shore. Both suggestions mean you have to go in the water."
"Another option is you can carry me back up to the beach and I don't get wet at all." Amanda responded, stubbornly. They eyed each other for a few minutes intensely.
"But since I'm here, I'll take a dip. Now, you can put me down." Amanda gave in, and crossed her arms over her chest. David put her down on her feet.
"It feels nice." Amanda dipped her hands in the cool water and rubbed it on her hot arms. With a sneaky grin, she splashed some water at David.
"Hey, what was that for?" David sputtered, as a smile came to his face. Splashing him again, Amanda answered, "For dragging me out here in the water." She started to wade away from him, but broke into a run to get away from David. Once he was close enough, he splashed her, then disappeared under the water when a giant wave came through. Looking behind her and all around, Amanda wondered aloud, "David?" In a quick swift move, Amanda's feet were knocked out from under her. David came up from under the surface of the water, and teased, "Gotcha. But I didn't get your head."
"Well, dear Phantom, allow me." Amanda playfully pushed David under- but not before he grabbed her arms and brought her down with him. Amanda came up for air, squeezing the water out of her hair, when David also came up and replied, "That was refreshing." They both waded up to the beach and sat out in the sun to dry.
~
They soon left, and spent the day at the beach, after separating to get ready. They ended the day with going out to dinner. They went through to the backyard, trying to be quiet, for no lights were on, and Melissa was sleeping. They were talking, when David suddenly turned silent, his ears perking up to a song. Inside Amanda's open window, her radio was playing an old 40's song, that he often listened. Doris Day's version of the old song "Dream A Little Dream Of Me" was the song that caught David's attention.
Stars shinin' bright above you
Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"
Birds singin' in the sycamore tree
Dream a little dream of me
Say nighty-night and kiss me
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me
While I'm alone and blue as can be
Dream a little dream of me
Even in the dark of night, there was no missing David's smile, as felt him take her hands into his, as they started to slow dance to the song. David felt Amanda's head rest on his shoulder, in which he smiled, simply cherishing the feel of Amanda against him. The song ended, as David lifted Amanda off her feet, and placed her on the window seat. She smiled at him, and was planning to leave, when David caught her hand, pulled her toward him. His lips quickly caressed her cheek, before he disappeared off in the night. Amanda touched the part of her cheek that David's lips quickly brushed, and smiled. The things that David did to her heart. Unbelievable! Amanda thought, contently.
~
Bzzzzzzzz. Bzzzzzzzz. Bzzzzzzzz. Amanda had been asleep for about five hours, when her cell-phone vibrated. It was an unknown number, but something in the pit of her stomach told her to answer it.
"Hello?" answered Amanda.
"Amanda? It's me, Ms. Gearhart. I'm so sorry to disturb you at this hour, but," Ms. Gearhart couldn't finish. Having not been fully awake, Amanda snapped into her awakened-self, asking, "What happened to him?" Her voice was panic-stricken.
"I heard a noise and went to check on David. He fell out of bed, hit his head on the dresser and he's fallen into a coma. We're on the way to the ER." Ms. Gearhart replied, her voice shaking. Climbing out of bed, Amanda pulled out a tan floral dress, with a denim jacket, while saying, "I'm coming there."
"Okay." Ms. Gearhart hung up. Amanda slipped out her window, and rushed to the hospital. As she was running on the sidewalk, someone pulled up beside her in a car. Joshua called from the open window, "Come on, we're heading to the hospital." Amanda got in the backseat. There were three more in the car with them, as they took off to the hospital. Ms. Gearhart and Tara were already there, as Joshua and the rest walked in. Joshua did quick introductions, revealing that the three other young men were Tony Sanders, Wesley Clark, and Dirk Whitney. When they were allowed to see David, he was unconscious, hooked up to tubes, machines, and IV's. David's skin was so pale that his veins jumped out at Amanda. His eyes were peacefully closed, and his chest slowly rose and descended. Amanda couldn't hold back her tears, neither could Ms. Gearhart or her daughter. He looked terrible. Amanda couldn't say a word, as everyone gathered around him and sat in complete silence.
~
On the last day, David was so antsy to get out of the hospital, Amanda didn't know what to do with him. He was bouncing up and down on his backside in his hospital bed when Amanda reappeared.
"Will you quit?" Amanda demanded, trying to hide her sweet smile. Like a child being discipled, he thumped on the bed, and folded his arms over his chest. He gave her a fake disdainful look, and then a smile peeked through. He put a hand on the bed beside him, as Amanda came over with a wicker basket.
"I think people think I'm a movie-star or something. I got pulled over so many times today, I need more fingers to count. But, these are for you. Doughnuts from Brown's Bakery, free pass to Coney Island, free dinner and dessert at The Bread Basket, and yeah. All this is for you." Amanda sat down beside him, handing him the basket. Shifting through the basket, David mumbled as he went through the basket, "There's two of every single pass in here." He then looked over to Amanda, who was simply sitting beside him.
"They gave two passes for everything." David repeated, as Amanda spoke, "Yeah?" Putting everything back in the basket, David snapped, "Amanda, there's one pass for every where we go for you, so can we break out of here now and head to Coney Island?" David was dying to get out of there. He had stayed in that hospital bed for way too long.
"Tomorrow. Tomorrow you can head to Coney Island." Amanda replied. Taking her hands in his, David corrected, "Tomorrow we're heading to Coney Island. And they made plans to do just that.
~
Meanwhile, at the garage, Joshua, Tony, Wesley, and Dirk were there getting ready. Tony and Wesley were taking care of the food and refreshments, Joshua was picking music, and Dirk was keeping watch for the girls. David, at the moment, was, well trying, to hang up the last of the lanterns.
"Dirk, you didn't put a hook on this one." David complained. That was the fourth one that David had found without a hook. With an apologetic look, Dirk replied, "Sorry." He headed toward David where a box of hooks were beside the ladder. In the process, Dirk bumped into the ladder hard.
"Whoa!" David tried to steady himself, but failed. The ladder fell, and David was left holding onto a wooden beam. In all this commotion, Amanda had came in and rushed over. Looking down, David smiled, "Ah, my lovely Christine, you came."
"Dear Phantom, I have came, for a good night, with no worries. Now I come, and you are going to fall to your death." Amanda teased him.
"No, my lovely Christine, follow me." David had moved his hands like on monkey bars, until he came to the corner of the room.
"David, please don't kill yourself, and be careful!" Amanda followed him.
"Amanda, my love, I'm always careful." David stated the obscure, exaggeratedly, as he swung his legs and let go of the beam he was holding, to catch another. A few more hand switches, and David was above the top of the stairs. Amanda was also there when he let go, to be standing in front of her.
"Ta da!" David took a teasing bow, before taking Amanda's hand and kissed it.
~
About a week later, David came down with a small fever, in which he was commanded by Amanda to stay in bed that day. So, she took that chance of being alone, without David in stride. Her first stop was The Ice Bucket. Joshua, Tony, Dirk, and Wesley were on shift that day.
"Joshua? How does David take birthday celebrations?" Amanda stirred her straw in her root beer float. Wiping the counter tops with a wet soapy rag, Joshua replied, "He takes them very well. It's one of the only days he ever comes out of the house. Until you came around, I mean. Now he's everywhere. But, every birthday he has, feels like a giant milestone. I mean, it is. Everyday that he's still living is a blessing from God."
"Is he religious?" Amanda suddenly wondered out loud. Amanda herself did believe in God, but was not hard-core religious. She read the Bible and prayed often, but never bothered to attend church. She had accepted Christ when she was eight, and worked to keep God in her heart. God, for her, was like a constant companion. But lately, it seemed like He just left her. For the past year, Amanda had slowed up on her Bible reading, but not on her praying.
"He's a Christian, but you wouldn't really tell. By what I see, David still loves the Lord, but he still is struggling to see why God put him in this position. He told me just not to long ago, that now he knows." Joshua started fixing another customer's ice cream dish.
"So, what did he say?" Amanda questioned. Joshua delivered the dish he prepared, then came back to lean on the counter, before responding, "Because he met you. If he never got cancer, he never would have stayed inside, he never would have been in his room to be able to have been watching you practice at that studio that you went to, and he never would have met you. In another truth, he would never experience the love he has for you, or the love you have for him now. See? God has a plan for everything, and now David told me, he's finally came to his senses to see it. I just wanted to tell you thank you for that."
~
It was now a Friday and David was feeling much better. He was just waking up from sleeping, when he heard someone on the stairs. It was quick steps, so David knew it wasn't his mother, and his sister was at work. So from his process of elimination, he was correct, when Amanda came sailing through the door.
"You have not seen me in a week. I feel like Erik, like it's been ten years! I'm ashamed of you, Christine." David teased her. Sighing, Amanda put her bag down, before walking over to David. "So what have you been up to? Besides being lazy and sleeping, I mean." David smiled at her humor-filled tone, and playfully shot back, "I have been sick, my lovely Christine. But I need to ask you your first question."
"Nothing much." Amanda's answer was too short for David's taste. She's up to something. David thought. He slowly tossed off his covers, and asked, "I want to know what you've been up to, and I plan to get out of you, even if it mean putting you in my own torture chamber." Amanda gasped, as she dashed to the other side of the room, before David caught her, and tackled her to the ground. He immediately began tickling her sides, demanding, "What are you planning?"
"Okay, okay. It was supposed to be a surprise, but if I don't tell you, you'll never stop. I'm planning a surprise birthday party for you. Okay? I said it!" Amanda gasped between her uncontrollable giggles. David immediately stopped, and asked, "How do you know when my birthday is? No, never mind, my mom probably told you. That's sweet of you, but don't you know Wesley would have snitched on you guys? He's really bad at that. He'll even it admit it. But I just saved him from going into the boiling pot." Amanda pushed up against the wall, and straightened her dress, before complaining, "You messed up my hair. Even though it looks great, it took me forever to get it like this." David crawled over to her, and took out her clip, and replied, exaggeratedly, "That was the point." Her long hair tumbling into her face and down her back.
~
"Hello, Mr. Morgan. I've come to pick up my daughter. Is she here?" Robert asked, as he stepped inside. Clearing his throat, Mr. Morgan answered, "Yes, she is here. Amanda." Amanda jumped up from the sofa, as David slowly stood.
"What are you doing here?" Amanda demanded.
"Well, if you would have answered the telephone and not have hung up on me, I could have told you that I am out of jail. We'll be moving back into our apartment. So pack up all your things and we'll be on our way. Then I'll be on the lookout for good job away from here." Robert motioned. Amanda shook her head, and replied, "No. I'm staying here."
"Amanda, don't be ridiculous. Pack up your things." Robert ordered, his tone firm. With an angered look, Amanda walked off to her room. She couldn't fight her father forever. Before long, she was packed. But her heart sank when she came out to see Robert in the front yard with David. Before her eyes, David turned and started heading off down the street. She dropped all the boxes and ran out the door.
"No, David!" Amanda screamed, as Robert held her back. David fought the urge to look back at Amanda for the last time. "David!" David couldn't bear it and dared to look back. He saw Amanda struggling against Robert, but there was nothing he could do. But something inside him snapped. He ran back for Amanda, but was held back by Mr. Morgan, who told him, "David, don't. I know, I know. But don't do it." David finally had to walk away. He fought back hot, angry, uncontrollable tears. He hadn't cried in months. He hadn't had the need to. But now he was losing Amanda. She felt like his other half. Amanda sobbed as she watched David walk away. She finally had to get into the car and they headed back to the apartment. That night, David tried to call Amanda. To his shock, he found that Robert had blocked his cell-phone number from Amanda's cell phone. Everyday that went by made Amanda miserable. She wouldn't speak to Robert, nor even look at him. He tried to talk to her, but got nothing but silence in return. He heard her cry at night, he heard her call out David's name in her sleep. But he didn't care. He had finally accomplished his goal of getting David to stay away from his daughter.
~
Erin sighed as she graded David's math. About two weeks after he and Amanda were separated, David's school grades started failing. He dropped from straight a's to d's. So she called the school to get a tutor.
"Alright, have your son go to the library and there will be a tutor waiting." Principal Alexander told Erin. As Erin hung up, David walked down from his room.
"David, you scores are failing drastically. Tomorrow you're going to meet a tutor to help you." Erin told him.
"Why? I don't need a tutor!" David spat. He had been on edge ever since he and Amanda had been separated.
"Yes, you do. You are going to go and meet your tutor tomorrow at the library at three o'clock." Erin's tone was firm and final. So David reluctantly headed to the library the next day. But he couldn't see anyone who could possibly be his tutor. All of a sudden, he turned a corner and collided with someone.
"Watch where you're go-," David snapped, when he met eye to eye with Amanda. He dropped his math books and notebooks on the floor, and whispered, "Amanda."
"David?" Amanda whispered. David scooped her up into his arms and whispered, "Do you know how many nights I've spent lying awake and wishing I could be in the Morgan's tree to watch you? Do you know how many stars I tried to count to get you out of my mind?" He felt Amanda cry into his shoulder.
"David." Amanda breathed. Words couldn't possibly do justice to what she felt. She smiled, smelling his light cologne. She hadn't smelled that smell in at least two months. His smile, oh his familiar smile!
"What are you here for?" Amanda asked. David didn't release his grip on her or allow her to move off his lap and he replied, "I have to meet a, a tutor because I'm failing in school."
"That's funny. I'm here waiting to tutor someone." Amanda and David burst out in laughter, quieting down when they remembered that they were in a library.
"I really don't need a tutor. I just can't focus. I think about you all the time, all day, all night." David sighed, his fingers fingering her hair tie.
"For the love of God," Amanda softly exclaimed, "just take it out!" She missed that feeling of David's hands removing whatever was holding her hair up. Her long brown hair fell down to her back.
"We are so not studying today. Come on." David and Amanda stood up. He managed to throw his books up to his room through his open window, before he and Amanda ventured off to her house. Amanda saw that her father wasn't home and grabbed her swimsuit and coverup before she and David took off for the beach.
Hope you enjoyed them!
