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Back Dear Universe Save as PDF
Contents (64)
  1. Copyright
  2. Contents
  3. Prologue
  4. {OCTOBER}
  5. Days ’til prom: Eons
  6. 1
  7. SECOND HALF OF SENIOR YEAR {JANUARY}
  8. Days ’til prom: 103
  9. 2
  10. Days ’til prom: Still 103
  11. 3
  12. Days ’til prom: 100
  13. 4
  14. Days ’til prom: Still 100
  15. 5
  16. Days ’til prom: 89
  17. {FEBRUARY}
  18. Days ’til prom: 83
  19. 6
  20. Days ’til prom: Still 83
  21. 7
  22. Days ’til prom: 65
  23. Days ’til prom: 64
  24. 8
  25. Days ’til prom: 61
  26. Days ’til prom: 57
  27. 9
  28. {MARCH}
  29. Days ’til prom: 51
  30. 10
  31. Days ’til prom: Still 51
  32. 11
  33. Days ’til prom: 50
  34. 12
  35. Days ’til prom: 49
  36. Days ’til prom: 48
  37. 13
  38. Days ’til prom: Still 48
  39. 14
  40. Days ’til prom: Seems irrelevant now
  41. 15
  42. Days ’til graduation: 31
  43. 16
  44. Days ’til graduation: 30
  45. 17
  46. {APRIL}
  47. Days ’til graduation: 17
  48. 18
  49. Days ’til graduation: 11
  50. Days ’til graduation: 6
  51. 19
  52. Days ’til graduation: 5
  53. 20
  54. Days ’til graduation: Still 4
  55. 21
  56. Days ‘til graduation: Still 2
  57. 22
  58. Days ’til graduation: Still 2, but minus a few hours
  59. Epilogue
  60. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  61. PRAISE FOR
  62. Dear Universe
  63. PRAISE FOR
  64. Love & Other Carnivorous Plants

“What’s this?” he asks.

“Open it.”

He undoes the tape and lifts the top off. I got my ask-cute. It’s now or never. I love you! I LOVE you! I loooooove you! I love… “I love chocolate cupcakes,” I blurt out.

“Me too!”

I take the cupcake from him and swipe my finger over the frosting and lick it. I think I drool a little bit.

He laughs. “You’re so hot,” he says, and then he rubs some of the paint off his stomach. “Did I do okay? I wanted you to like it, and I wanted to do it here because I just love that you get running, you know?” He stuffs the cupcake in his mouth. “Damn, this is good.”

“I loved it, thank you.” Okay, let’s try this again. “Really loved it, just like I love chocolate cupcakes.”

He kisses me, the chocolate on his lip meeting the chocolate on my lip.

“I love chocolate cupcakes too,” he says, then looks up at me shyly. “And you. I love you.”

I triple in size to accommodate my heart. It’s big and beating so fast. “That’s what I meant,” I say, looking at his lips because I can’t quite look into his eyes. “I love you too.”

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Dear Gene,

I want to break the world record for longest kiss while running. I want to shower with you. I want you on top of me when your parents aren’t home and whoever we really are comes through in the dark. I want to wear all your T-shirts. I want to redefine happiness using your name. I want to dance with you in the middle of the room on the best night of our lives. And then I want to be naked side by side until we fall asleep, curled together like we’re meant to be, sharing the same dream.

image

Days ’til prom: 57

After something like that happens, things change weather-wise. There’s more sunshine, regardless of the cloud cover. And every dormant plant in my mom’s garden wakes up feeling alive. I’ve placed my ticket from the track meet into my senior year time capsule, on top of the unopened condom. I don’t think it’ll be unopened much longer now that I know Gene likes me enough to risk public nudity and public humiliation, all for his public declaration of love.

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Text exchange with Gene after I drop some heavy hints that things should get heavy soon:

G My parents are gonna be gone Senior Night

G Like overnight

G Idk how much you were looking forward to sleeping on the floor of the gym with 100 other people…

Would anyone notice if we left at like 11? C

G Doubt it.

Should we? C

G Do you want to?

Do you? C

G lol obviously

lol same C