Free Tough Love by Marcie Bridges Page A

was hurt him. I knew the longer this lasted, the more it would hurt when I told him the truth. I simply didn’t have the heart to love him, but I couldn’t hurt him either. Of course, none of that mattered tonight anyway. This was the night of Micah’s Senior Prom and it was going to be perfect.
    And it was. We danced to several songs, watched as two of his friends were crowned King and Queen, and took traditional prom photos.
    After having a snack and a few more dances, we decided that it was time to leave. We found Micah’s friends to tell them all goodbye and headed out into the warm spring evening.
    “This wind feels good on my face,” I told Micah. “With all those people dancing, it got so hot in there.” I was sure glad I’d worn flats and not heels. “Where to now?”
    We were already to the car, where Micah leaned me up against the door. With a gleam in his eye he said, “I’ll tell you, but it’ll cost ya.”
    I felt little flutterings in my stomach. “Really? Okay, what’s my fee?” We were both smiling.
    Micah grabbed my other hand in his so that we were palm to palm and pressed himself further into me.
    “It’s…” kiss “not…” kiss “much…” kiss . With that, he kissed me deeply, turning the flutterings into full-fledged butterflies. I found it so easy to kiss him, to love him, even though I wasn’t in love with him. Again, I felt bad for leading him on when I was dying inside for someone else.
    Once the kiss was over I said, “Well?”
    “I thought we’d go downtown and just walk around. We can find some cool spots to take pictures by the river. You know, just hang out together. How’s that sound?”
    “That sounds really nice, Micah.”
    It was only about 30 minutes before we both started to show signs of fatigue. The excitement of the day, not to mention all of the dancing, had taken its toll, and we were exhausted.
    As we sat on a wooden bench looking over the water I said, “As much as I don’t want tonight to end, I’m getting very tired.”
    Micah sighed. “Me too. I guess I’d better get you home so we can both get some sleep.”
    Micah and I stayed together for the rest of my junior year, even as I continued to struggle with thoughts of Brendan.
    Deep down I knew that I was using Micah to fight my fear of being alone, but the day-to-day relationship that we were building was important to me. I did love him, but Micah’s actions and words were a constant reminder that his feelings for me were much stronger than mine.
    I also realized Micah was not maturing as quickly as I was. I blew it off at first; after all, girls naturally matured faster. It could have just been my brain looking for another excuse to focus on Brendan. I was already being so unfair to Micah that giving it my all was the least I could do.
    I was by Micah’s side for his graduation party, where we had a great time, laughing with his family. When the party was over and the cleanup was finished, Micah and I went to his room to relax and watch some TV.
    “Well, I don’t know about you, but I am exhausted,” I said with a sigh as I flopped down onto Micah’s bed.
    “Yes, I am, too, but I can’t wait to spend my graduation money!”
    I could understand how Micah felt. Getting his own money, and a lot of it, was something special for a teenager. Most of our friends had thought for months about how they would spend their graduation funds. Of course, if they were going to college, their parents usually made them save it. But Micah did not have any imminent plans, so his money was “meant to be spent” as he liked to say.
    He sat on the bed next to me and leaned down for a kiss. “Thanks for all of your help today. I don’t think that I would have made it through the day without you.”
    “Sure you would have,” I smiled. “It wouldn’t have been as much fun, but you would have survived.”
    “Aren’t you just full of yourself this evening?” Micah shifted his weight on the bed so that we