Bon Bons to Yoga Pants

Chapter 53-Promise and Light

"Shut. Up."

Megan stared at me from across her farm-fresh egg omelet with nitrate-free bacon, her mouth agape and eyes wide.

"I'm serious!" I said, laughing and stirring my kale smoothie with a straw. "Then he kissed me."

"Under twinkle lights?"

"Yes, under twinkle lights."

She leaned forward. "I can't believe you had your first kiss under twinkle lights. That's incredible. Is your life a movie? What does this mean for you guys? Are you dating now? Is he still here?" She looked around, as if Bradley could be waiting in the corner of the tiki hut. "Can I meet him? He sounds too good to be true."

"He already went back to school, but yeah. We are dating now. We're going to try long-distance and see how it goes."

Megan flipped her long brown hair over her shoulder and leaned back with a dreamy sigh, her plate of protein forgotten despite her complaints of being ravenous after a difficult workout.

"What a lovely story you and Bradley have. Speaking of, have you heard about the internship yet?"

I shook my head.

"What if you don't get it?"

"Then I'll just find another one and keep applying. I'm still early in the game, but it was such a great chance that I didn't want to pass it up. I should hear soon."

Megan smiled. "I'm so happy for you, Lexie. You deserve a really great guy and a great internship, so I'll keep my fingers crossed that they both work out."

My eyes narrowed on her, uncomfortable with speaking so much about myself. "What about you? Still riding the troubled dating waters?"

She shrugged with a wry smile. "I'm always treading bad dating waters. I'm getting used to it by now."

"No prospects?"

"There was one," she said, sipping at a cool glass of water. "But he ended up having this weird fetish for glitter that I couldn't get past, and he was always calling his mom. He called her once to help him make a decision on what kind of pizza to buy."

Both of us grimaced, but ended up laughing.

"Hey, listen, I've been meaning to ask you a question," I said after finishing the last of my morning smoothie with a loud slurp. "Would you be interested in joining the Health and Happiness Society? Mira and Bitsy and I are hoping to infuse it with a little bit of life. We're still getting together but we want . . . I don't know . . . something fresh. Bitsy thought you could teach us a little bit about weight lifting."

She brightened. "Really? I think I'd like that. Weekly meetings, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, and Bitsy's kind of a drill sergeant, so you'll probably like her."

"Maybe it will help me have more motivation." Her shoulders slumped. "I'm losing my mojo."

The idea of Megan losing mojo seemed so foreign that I didn't even know what to say at first, but the alarm on my phone buzzed, reminding me that I had one other thing to do before classes started. I silenced it.

"I need to get going," I said, gathering my things together. "The Health and Happiness Society meets tonight. Want to come?"

She grinned. "Definitely."

"Great, I'll text you the details." I stood, hesitating. "Listen, Megan, I just want you to know that I appreciate you and your friendship. You've been such a good friend, and you've helped me start to learn who I am. I don't think I could put a price on how much that means."

She waved a hand through the air. "Aw, Lexie. You just needed to see how awesome you were, that's all. We've all been there at some point. My mom helped me out of my slump, and now you'll help someone else out of theirs."

I smiled. "Yeah, but thanks for helping me out of mine."

With one last wave I headed out the door.

___________

The last time I'd stopped at the cemetery, I'd been angry, hurt, and confused. Now I quietly walked through the rows of graves and headstones, taking in the warm heat of summer and fresh green grass, with a new kind of stillness in my heart.

"Hey Dad," I said, sitting next to his headstone. I leaned back on my palms and stretched my legs out, clad in the first-ever pair of yoga pants that I'd worn with pride. The way the snug black material fit my legs felt more like a hug than a judgment now. I wore them all the time.

"I came to tell you that I'm not mad at you anymore. I'm actually . . . I'm just grateful for you. I'm grateful for all that I've learned. And I wish we could have had a different lifestyle so you could be here to meet Bradley, or to have seen Kenzie in her wedding dress, but I can't change the past. I can, however, change the future. And that's what I've done."

I hesitated, swallowing back a thick knot of emotion. A few birds twittered by, the only company I had in the calm tranquility of the graveyard.

"I'm dating Bradley now. I'm still counting calories and exercising, but I'm not so obsessed. In fact, I haven't weighed in . . . I don't know how long." I stared into the distance, thinking over the past six months. "Everything is so different now. Mom and I are getting along better, though we aren't perfect. Kenzie and I are actually acting like sisters. And, while I miss you, it doesn't hurt as much as it used too."

Although Dad didn't answer me back, and I felt no whisper of wind to indicate he was near, the way it always happened in the movies. I knew that he was proud of me. It welled up in my chest, spilling out my eyes in hot tears. Dad was proud of me, and I was proud of me.

"I love you, Dad. And, most important of all, I finally love me."

I lingered a few minutes, taking in the warm dance of sunlight across my dappled skin. The future hovered in front of me, uncertain, but filled with light. I couldn't wait to head toward it, to meet in the evening with my friends, and video chat with Bradley before bed. It seemed that life had never been so full of promise before.

And neither had I.

________________

August 18th

Dear Miss Greene,

Delta Publishing is pleased to inform you that your application for the two-month publishing internship has been accepted. Enclosed is the information packet, complete with required paperwork, that we ask you fill out and return as soon as possible. We will be in touch with further details once the formal contract has been signed.

Thank you for your application. We look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

Debbie Maughn

*hands tissues out to everyone*

THIS HAS BEEN THE BEST RIDE EVER. You guys are awesome. Thanks for sticking with Lexie and being the best fans on Wattpad, srsly. But don't cry! Megan starts next Monday!

And to answer the question that I've been getting in emails and Facebook and comments: Yes. BBtYP will be available to purchase as an ebook (on all platforms) or paperback sometime this fall. My editing team and cover designer are all over it already. I will update this story with all the links as soon as it's available. Writing for free and meeting you guys is awesome, but I also have a little boy to raise :)

If you enjoyed my writing here, check out my YA fantasy series at www.missmabels.com

Also, I'm going to write FOUR BONUS SCENES to put in the BBtYP book, and I want you guys to tell me what scenes you want to read about! YAY! You get to decide what else Lexie suffers through. (Or maybe other scenes with Bradley?! *wink wink nudge nudge*)

Leave your desires in the comments and see you monday. MUAH!