Read Arousing Love, a teen novel for Free Online Page A

she turned up, her face
flushed, her eyes red.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “I need to talk to you.” She glanced towards
the store. “Let’s go somewhere else.”
    We followed the rough dirt path that led down
to the beach. For some time she didn’t speak, then she stopped and
faced me. “My parents know about us. Lizzie told them I wasn’t with
her last night. They wanted to know where I was . . . they yelled at me.”
    She started to cry. I put my arms around her,
and she buried her face against my chest. When she looked up at me
again, her eyes full of tears, I gently asked, “So what did you
tell them?”
    “That you’re just a friend, but they freaked
out when they asked how old you are.”
    I hugged her tight. “It’s okay. We’ll just
keep a low profile for a while.”
    “I don’t want you to get in trouble because
of me.”
    “Don’t worry about me.” I gently wiped a tear
from her cheek. “I don’t mind getting in trouble for you.”
    “I don’t want my parents to be mad at me,
either. I don’t wanna sneak around behind their backs and have to
lie to them.”
    “So . . . what then?”
    She didn’t say anything.
    “You think we should stop seeing each other?”
A small part of me felt relieved at the thought of it ending, it
was already so emotionally intense. But the rest of me couldn’t
stand the thought of losing her. I started to feel angry. What
happened to true love making a way? She just gives up at the first
sign of trouble. And I was worried about breaking her heart.
    “Zach, do you think you could talk to my
parents? I know if they met you they wouldn’t be so freaked about
it.”
    “You think they’ll let us keep seeing each
other?”
    “I don’t know,” she lowered her eyes, “I hope
so.”
    “But if they don’t . . . will you keep seeing me anyway?”
    “I don’t wanna disobey my parents, but I
don’t wanna lose you either. I don’t know what I’ll do.”
    “Alright, let’s go see them then.”
    We started walking back up the path. Joanna
took my hand, giving it a little squeeze of appreciation.
    I was nervous about meeting her parents—I
could just imagine some big confrontation.
    “What are your parents like?”
    “They’re Christians—but don’t worry, they’re
not scary or anything. Just don’t mention the times we’ve been
alone in your bedroom together.”
    “What should we say then?”
    “I don’t know . . . just say we were hanging out and
talking.”
    I sighed. Is this really worth it—getting
a grilling from her parents so I can spend some more time with a
girl I’ll probably never see again? But even one minute with
Joanna was worth it. I had no choice.
    We entered the campground, and she led me
through the woods, past several campsites. She squeezed my hand
again as we neared a campsite with two tents. I could see a
middle-aged couple sitting at a table, but they had their backs to
us and hadn’t seen us yet.
    Joanna released my hand. “Mom, Dad, this is
Zach.”
    They both turned in surprise. Her father
stood up and looked me over as he offered me his hand.
    “Hello, Zach.”
    “Hi.” I shook his hand. He had a firm
grip.
    “Take a seat.” He motioned to the chair
across from him, and I sat down. Joanna sat next to me.
    Her parents didn’t look too scary. I could
see the resemblance between mother and daughter—her mom was still
good looking even at her age. Her father was tall and distinguished
looking, but he had a friendly face.
    “Zach wanted to come and meet you to clear up
some things.” Joanna’s voice sounded a little higher pitched than
usual. She smiled at me, and it gave me some courage.
    “It was good of you to come and see us,
Zach.” Joanna’s father spoke with a calm seriousness. “We were very
concerned when we heard Joanna was spending time alone with a boy
we didn’t even know about.”
    Her mother fixed me with a piercing look.
    “You’re eighteen, Zach?” Her father looked at
me with a