“I remember working and seeing a cute girl sitting on this here bench.” He said, patting it. “And I remember smiling at her. Our eyes met and she looked away really quick. I was embarrassed. Then another day I was hauling ass on my bike and I crashed right into this beautiful girl. I was even more embarrassed. I had messed up the opportunity of hanging out with her before I even got the chance to ask her. I made her bleed for God sake but then her friend, who may have been the most straight-up person I have ever met asked me to hang out with them all that night and saying yes was the best decision I ever made.”
I pulled Luke and kissed him long and hard.“Sutton, my grandma always told me that every single thing we go through in life happens for a reason. Every solitary event is leading us to destiny. You’re my plan, Sutton. I love you. I really really do.”
“I love you more Luke,” I replied kissing him again, over and over.
“Sutton there’s something that’s only about a week away that we both have been ignoring.”
I felt the knot in my stomach rise to my throat and I tried to hold back the tears. Luke grabbed both my hands. “Sutton please don’t cry.” I saw his eyes welling up. “Did you hear me, Sutton? You’re my plan and I love you. I can’t come with you to Dainstown right now. It’s just not in the cards for me. My grandma needs me. My uncle needs me. I have to run the Pizza Shack.” I felt a tear roll down my cheek.
“I know Luke I would never make you leave your life here for me.” I tried to wipe my tears but they just kept coming.
Luke held me as close as possible. My head rested against his chest. He kissed the top of my head. “Sutton. Can you calm down for a minute? Can you calm down for me please?” I lifted my head, wiped my tears, and looked up at Luke. “I love you, Sutton. You’re my plan.”
Luke pulled a little box out of his back pocket. He flipped it open and there was a beautiful opal ring inside. “This was my mom’s Sutton. I want you to have it because I love you. This is a promise to you. I promise you that you are mine. I promise you that you’ll be mine in Coopersville and Dainstown and anywhere in between. I promise you will be mine forever, someday, and I promise you that we will make it through anything and everything together.”
Luke slid the ring on my right ring finger and kissed me once more. I immediately felt less nervous. I knew the future was still uncertain but the ring was a security blanket. It was a constant reminder that Luke loved me and I was his girl. We had one week of the summer and we had to make it count.
..
“Let the extravagant, amazing last five days of Summer begin!” Luke said standing at my front door completely full of energy.
I rubbed my eyes and yawned. “What time is it?” I asked.
“It’s 5:36.”
“AM?” I replied.
“AM!” Luke said with a smile. “We gotta get going; I have a big day planned for us. A big week, I should really say. Hey, I know the owner at the Pizza Shack and well I got the rest of the week off.” Luke winked at me. “We need to leave this house in exactly twenty-four minutes. Get your butt up and get ready.” I stumbled half asleep, but ready for this week which I was sure would be filled with adventure and memories.
“Can you tell me where we’re going now and why I’m wearing sneakers and leggings?” I asked.
“Sutton, can you please just enjoy the wind in your hair and the warm sun beating down on us and let the day take its course?” Luke flashed a cheesy smile at me and grabbed my hand and kissed it.
We drove for about 20 minutes then approached a parking lot that had a big “Cliff Walk Adventure Park” sign. Luke shut off the truck and looked over at me with a big grin on his face. “You ready?” He asked, slapping his hand on his thigh.
“I think so!” I replied kissing his cheek.
Luke reached into the back seat, tossed me a water bottle, and said “it’s go time”.
We walked into a door that was literally in the side of the cliff. “Hey. Hey. Hey. Come on in, guys. My name’s Chet!” A guy with shoulder-length blonde hair and sunglasses welcomed us.
“Hi man. Luke.” Luke shook his hand.
“Ah! Luke! My first cliffside zip-lining couple of the day!” My heart started beating out of my chest.
We got all geared up in harnesses and into a dune buggy to go up the side of the cliff. When we got to the top and Chet parked the dune buggy. “Alright, guys let’s chat. So there are four separate tracks we’re going to conquer today. They’re going to lead us back to the bottom without the buggy. The last one feels like a bit of a free fall. It’s completely optional so if you don’t want to do it that’s completely up to you both but I will tell you, you can do it together and it’s a hell of a rush. Take a few minutes to check out the beauty from up here. I'll snap some pictures if you want because it’s only down from here.” Chet grinned and giggled.
Luke walked towards the end of the cliff. The ocean seemed so far down and it was a deep blue. He looked back at me and put his hand out just in time for me to
