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

serious intensity. Okay, so they were a little
scary.
    “Yes, sir. I know it might seem strange for
me to be hanging around with your daughter, but . . . uh . . . she’s just really nice to talk to. I
like hanging out with her. I didn’t mean to cause you to
worry.”
    Her parents stared at me like I was from
another planet. I glanced at Joanna, and she smiled
encouragingly.
    “Zach, we don’t allow our daughter to date.
If she goes out with a boy it’s always with a group of her
friends—never alone.” Joanna’s mother was trying to sound calm and
controlled like her husband, but there was an emotional edge to her
voice. “You’re much older than she is. We want to keep our daughter
from situations she’s not ready to handle yet.” She gave Joanna a
disapproving look. “Joanna knew she was breaking our rules.”
    This wasn’t going too well. Joanna had slunk
down in her chair. She seemed so much younger all of a sudden. I
wanted to tell her parents to stop treating her like a little
child, but I knew if I said that I’d never be allowed to see her
again.
    “Zach,” Her Father spoke again, “we’d rather
you didn’t see Joanna anymore. We prefer her to be around others of
her own age, that we know.”
    Yeah like Matt. He’s a great influence.
    Silent tears rolled down Joanna’s cheeks. I
tried desperately to think of something I could say to change their
minds.
    “I . .  . I understand
you want to protect your daughter, but we’ve already become such
good friends, and I’d really like to continue our friendship if
that’s possible. Would it be okay if we stayed in a group with her
other friends?”
    Her mother shook her head. “She hasn’t been
very trustworthy with you so far, Zach.”
    My mind raced. “Well, that was my fault. I’m
sure she wouldn’t have left her friends if I hadn’t asked her to.
She was talking to me about her faith, and I didn’t feel
comfortable talking about it in front of her friends. What we’ve
been discussing has really opened up some things for me.”
    I watched their stern faces begin to thaw. Wow! Using their religion, how did I come up with that?
    I looked at Joanna. She was looking at me
with a strange expression. She probably doesn’t like me lying to
her parents, but it’s not really a lie—she did talk about her
faith, and it did touch me to see her sincerity.
    “Is this true, Joanna?” Her father looked at
her, and I held my breath.
    “Yes.” She said meekly.
    “Well, perhaps we have been a little hasty.”
He turned to his wife, “What do you think?”
    She nodded. “Would you like to stay and have
some dinner with us, Zach? We could have a little chat and get to
know you better.”
    “Sure.”
    Her mother’s attitude changed to all smiles
and sweetness as she went to work cooking up something on their
camp stove. Both parents started peppering me with questions, and I
felt uncomfortable under their scrutiny. I tried to get them to
talk about Joanna instead.
    When dinner was ready, we sat around their
small table, and Joanna’s father said grace before we all started
eating.
    “I notice you don’t like talking about
yourself much.” Joanna’s father looked knowingly at me across the
table.
    “There’s not much to tell.”
    “And you’d rather talk about Joanna.” He
raised an eyebrow at me. “I’m getting the impression your interest
is something more than just friendship.”
    I looked at Joanna, she was blushing, and her
father had noticed that too. I didn’t say anything, I just focused
on what I was eating.
    Joanna’s father leaned back in his chair and
looked at us. “There’s a good reason why we set these rules about
dating. I know what it’s like to be a teenager, and how easy it is
to be swept up by your emotions and lose all common sense. You
know, the Bible teaches, when two people have sex, they become one
flesh. Today we have a marriage ceremony and legal papers that make
people married, but it’s the