All My Tomorrows Are Yours: LUNA MOON SERIES BOOK 1

by Tia KENZIE

  It’s getting late and we need to be going to bed soon. It’s Sunday tomorrow and Colt has promised to take us both for a smoothie. I stand up and make my way over to the ladders, getting ready to climb down, but Dante stops me with his hand on my arm.

  “Before you go, I have a present for your birthday.” He pulls our bean bags together, sits down in his and waits for me to sit in mine (a pink, glittery one, of course).

  “You already gave me a present, you got me the sparkly t-shirt.”

  “Yeah, but my Mum ordered me something that I picked out for you, and it’s only just arrived today.” He holds out a small-wrapped parcel.

  “Oh Dante, you really don’t need to buy me things you know.” I’m secretly glad he did though, I love everything he buys me.

  Tearing off the wrapper I find a small purple box. Opening it I find a silver chain with a silver moon charm on it. Wow, it’s beautiful. My throat closes up, I know straight away why he’s got me this.

  “It’s a moon,” he says, “because you’re Luna moon, my Luna moon.” He looks a bit shy, and Dante is NEVER shy. I lean over and hug him tight, my face squashed against his chest.

  “I love it, I’ll never take it off. Will you put it on for me?” I whisper into his t-shirt.

  “Yeah, course I will.” He whispers back.

  I pull away and turn around, holding my long blonde hair out of the way, while he fastens it. I turn back and he holds the charm in his fingers, looking at it.

  “It’s the same color as your eyes, silver grey” he leans in and kisses my forehead, “happy birthday Luna moon.”

  ◆◆◆

  Chapter 2.

  Past 11 years old

  I’m really excited, It’s Dante’s birthday today. He will be 12 so that means he’ll be older than me for 2 whole weeks. I’ve not seen him all day, because he had a football game this afternoon, then he was going to the movies with his team afterwards.

  I could tell he felt a bit bad that I wasn’t invited (no girls allowed) but I don’t mind. If he’s happy, then so am I.

  He asked me to meet him in the treehouse at 8pm. I got here early and have been sat watching the ocean, mesmerized. I hear someone climbing up the ladder and I start feeling excited, I’ve got him a special present.

  He pops up and sits beside me, on his beanbag. I look at him and he gives me a really big smile.

  “Happy birthday Dante,” I say, holding out my gift to him. “I hope you like it.”

  Suddenly I’m not so sure that he will. I feel a bit daft now, God! I hope he doesn’t think it’s silly. He tears off the wrapper and takes out a small, blue box. He lifts his eyebrows in question, tilting his head to the side. He’s probably thinking I’ve got him a necklace to match mine, but that would be silly. Well, yeah, I did actually think about getting one though, to be honest.

  “Just open it, but like, if you don’t like it, I will get you something else.” My palms are sweating, and I’ve got butterflies in my tummy.

  He opens the box and takes out a silver star. He holds it up until he can see that it’s a keyring. I paid the man in the jewelry shop extra to add the letter D to it. Suddenly I feel nervous. I’m never nervous with Dante, but I feel it now. I dare not look at him, keeping my gaze on the floor.

  “Tell me what it means then Luna.” He waits for an answer, but I can’t speak. I suddenly feel embarrassed, I am so convinced he’s going to think the reason behind it is stupid.

  I jump up and make my way to the ladder, but he stops me, holding my arm. He’s stood behind me and he puts his arms around my middle, holding me close.

  “Luna, tell me what it means, please.” He whispers in my ear, so softly. I shake my head, not daring to. A short time after he asks me again, in another whisper.

  “Luna please, just tell me.”

  I can’t decide what to do, but then I have an idea. I’ll just tell him and run off, as fast as I can. “I got…. I got you a star because you call me your moon. Stars are always with the moon, so I thought…. well, I thought that if I’m your moon then you are my star.” I whisper, even more quietly than normal. I try to pull away, but he holds on, squeezing me tightly.

  “Why won’t you look at me Luna, why are you acting shy with me?” He whispers, before he places a small kiss on my neck.

  A strange tingling appears where he kissed me and my whole body feels weird. And I just know I’m blushing. What the heck? I can’t speak so I just shrug. He turns me around to face him, but I close my eyes. All I can think is, he’s gonna see me blushing and think I’m just being a stupid girl.

  “Open your eyes Luna. Please, come on Luna.” He gently asks.

  I open them, seeing him with a cute smirk on his face. My God, he thinks it’s funny. I go to move but he must know what I’m about to do, because just then he decides to hold my face with both hands, cradling my cheeks. He leans forward and gives me a quick, soft kiss on my lips. Holy Moly!!!

  “What the heck Dante! What was that for?” I’m in shock. Oh, and in love!! Wow, that’s my first kiss, and it’s with Dante!

  He just laughs at me, “because you love me. I know you do and guess what?”

  “What?”

  “I love you too. In fact, I love you so much I think you can be my girlfriend!”

  “Yeah? Are you kidding me, because, well you know it’d be really mean if you were just having me on? And who says I want to be your girlfriend anyway?” Please, please don’t be kidding.

  He shakes his head. “I am definitely not kidding,” he falters, “but I thought you’d want to. I mean if you don’t…”

  I cut him off. “I do,” nodding furiously, “I really do.”

  He laughs and gives me another quick kiss on my lips, then gestures to the beanbags and we take our places. He reaches out and holds onto my hand, rubbing his fingers over my knuckles, gently. “I know it’s my birthday, but I got you something too. Well, it’s a song that I’ve changed a bit, for you.” He drops my hand and picks up his guitar. “I’ve been waiting to show you it.” He smiles and his eyes sparkle.

  Then the lantern goes out. I jump up to grab it and start winding furiously. “Do you want me to sing?” I ask as I sit back down, because, well I normally do.

  “No, not this time Luna moon, this time I’m gonna sing it to you, because it’s your song.” And then he does.

  He sings me Blue Moon, but he changes the words to Luna Moon. He’s got a lovely voice and I close my eyes to listen all the way through.

  I can feel tears building, but I keep my eyes closed and manage to hold them back. I don’t want to ruin this moment. It’s the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard. He’s changed it so it’s about me, how he was searching and lonely, and then he found me.

  I know I will never ever forget this moment, because this is the happiest and most loved I have ever felt in my whole life.

  ◆◆◆

  6 Months Later...

  12 years old

  Dante is still playing football on Saturdays, so while he’s there, Colt has started taking me for a ride on his new motorbike. We normally head along the coast road, then make our way back. I love it, it’s a great feeling, like being weightless.

  I was afraid to start with, but Colt is a careful rider, probably because Colt and Dante’s Dad was killed in a motorbike accident when they were little. He lets me hold onto his waist really tight, I always feel safe with him.

  In fact, I think I might love him a little bit too. I’ve started to get butterflies in my tummy when he smiles at me. He’s just as gorgeous as Dante. He has the same vivid green eyes and dirty blonde hair, but Colt’s hair is shorter. I’ve not told anyone I might love him though; Dante would be really mad. Plus, Colt’s a lot older than me!

  We are on a bike ride today. As a surprise, we’ve gone to see Dante playing in a football game. We park up on some grass near the entrance and make our way to the bleachers. The game has already started, but when Dante notices us, he gives a wave.


  Waving back, I notice some girls sat at the front, turning around to see who he’s waving to. I notice one of them is Serena Davenport, from surfing class. She pulls a nasty face at me when she realizes who I am. I notice she and her friends are wearing cheerleader outfits. Colt notices Serena too, so he puts his arm around me, hugging me into his side. I try not to let her bother me, but she does, she really does. After the game ends, we make our way back to the bike. I tell Colt I need to use the restroom.

  “Okay, Lune (he’s started calling me Lune lately), meet you at the bike.” He walks away from me.

  I’ve used the facilities but before I open the stall door, I hear some people enter.

  “She is such an ugly bitch. Don’t worry Serena, there’s no way Dante will want her when he can have you!” A girl voice says.

  “Yeah, I know Monica. He is going to be mine soon. Especially when he realizes that she’s a fucking weirdo. I mean, anyone who hears her speak can tell that.” A squeaky voice replies. Serena at a guess.

  “I don’t know,” a hesitant voice adds, “he seems to really like her. Come on, no way is she ugly either.” A third adds.

  “Fuck Amiah. Whose side are you on?” Serena shouts.

  They don’t seem to be moving anytime soon, and I know Colt is going to start worrying if I don’t get back to him. I make the decision to be brave and head out.

  Opening the door, I keep my eyes down and move across to wash my hands. They’ve stopped talking, but I can feel their eyes on me. I dry my hands on a paper towel and head for the door. I wish I were brave enough to say something, anything at all, but I’m not. I just want to get out, back to Colt.

  As I reach for the door an arm grabs me from behind, around my neck. Someone punches me in the side of the face. “Ow! Get off me!” I say, struggling to get away. That really hurt.

  “I fucking hate you, bitch.” Serena screeches in my ear. “Dante is gonna be mine, just you watch!”

  At that, she throws me to the ground, then she kicks me in the face.

  “Fuck Serena, stop it!” One of the others says.

  “Amiah, stop being soft. Come on, let’s leave the trash on the floor.”

  I watch them all leave through the door. A pretty girl, with short dark hair, looks back at me, mouthing “sorry.” I’m guessing it’s Amiah.

  Five minutes must pass while I’m laid on the dirty floor. I’ve pulled myself into a sitting position against the wall and I just sit there, silently crying.

  My face hurts, especially my nose. There’s blood all over my sleeve, where I’ve wiped my face. This is the first time someone has actually hit me. I can’t believe that I didn’t even try to defend myself.

  A short time later the door opens, and Colt appears. He takes one look at me and rushes to my side. He doesn’t say anything, he just picks me up and carry’s me out, cradled in his arms.

  Luckily, the game is over and nearly everyone has left. Dante will have gotten a lift home with his friend.

  Colt fetches some napkins from the fast-food cart, sits me on his bike and starts wiping my face. The napkin is soon wet with tears and blood. He’s waiting for me to speak; I know he is. But he also knows me well enough to wait until I’m ready.

  He grabs us both a hot chocolate, which we drink, sitting on the grass beside the bike. He sits positioned so he can hug me from behind. It’s a nice feeling, he always makes me feel safe.

  After a while I decide I need to tell him. “It was Serena Davenport and her friends. She wants Dante to be her boyfriend. She called me an ugly weirdo, then punched and kicked me in the face.” The tears start again, which luckily, he can’t see, being behind me.

  “Lune, I’m sorry, I wish I had been there. Fuck! She’s such a bitch. Don’t worry though, D loves you and he always will. I should have known. I saw her looking at you earlier.” He starts rubbing his hands on my arms. “Lune, I’m gonna sort it for you. I promise.”

  ◆◆◆

  Past 13 years old

  Me and Dante have stopped with the surfing lessons for now. Julie and Nan are happy that we are capable enough to surf in the ocean on our own doorsteps. Well, they still insist on adult supervision though, but that’s okay.

  I continued going with Dante to the lessons for a while. It was okay because Serena Davenport stopped going after the instructor had words with her parents, about what she’d done to me. I didn’t have any problems after that. (apart from when she hit me at the football game) Also, I had made a new friend in Ricki, so that made it better. Anyway, Dante is busy playing football on Saturdays, instead.

  Dante is a really good surfer now; he can even stand up and ride the waves. He looks so dreamy too, with his body starting to fill out and becoming muscly. I swear he gets better looking every time I see him. Me, not so much. I’m still as skinny as a stick. I have gotten really good at floating on my back though. And I make sure that my strap is fastened tightly, every time.

  Today is Sunday and I’ve been invited to a party. A party! Me! It’s Ricki’s birthday and he made a point of inviting me, Dante said, so I’m really excited. I really liked him because he was kind to me, and that doesn’t happen very much. I’m glad he thought to invite me. It’s mostly going to be the guys from football, but that’s okay, I prefer boys anyway.

  I’m a bit nervous to be honest because Dante says now that I’m his girlfriend and we're both 13, he wants me to hold his hand while we are there. I think it’s silly, but he insists, says if not one of his friends might try and steal me away! As if!

  I get changed and take a look at myself in the mirror. I’m wearing my new clothes that Julie helped me choose - short-denim dungarees, a pink glittery t-shirt underneath and silver sparkly flip-flops. Plus, my moon necklace (which I never take off) and charm bracelet that Dante has just bought me for my birthday. I love it, it’s got a moon and a star charm on it already. Dante says he will buy me a new charm for every birthday.

  Julie took me shopping to the mall so I could treat myself with my birthday money, Nan usually takes me, but she’s not been feeling very well, lately.

  I hear a car horn, rush to my bedroom window and see Colt in Julie’s car, waiting for me. I run outside and Dante holds the car door open for me to get in. I think it’s really sweet, which makes me blush, which makes Colt laugh. Colt then makes fun of us both all the way to Ricki’s house, where the party is at.

  It's a really good party! There are about 20 boys here and some younger girls. The girls are Ricki’s cousins. Apparently some more girls are on their way, but if I’m honest I’m not too keen on the idea. Dante keeps hold of my hand while we walk around, talking to everyone. Well, me not so much. But I still enjoy it, everyone is nice to me.

  We have some food, then the birthday cake celebration and then it’s present time. It was Julie’s job to pick out Ricki’s gift, but she really struggled. Instead, she gave the job to me! I decided on another silver keyring, this time shaped like a football. We also paid extra for an R engraved on it.

  I think Dante was a bit jealous when he saw what we had picked, Julie thought so too, so she said it had been her idea!! Wow, Julie told a lie! But I don’t mind because I know why she did it.

  Ricki loved the keyring so much. When he opened it, he high-fived Dante and gave me a kiss on the cheek! It was a nice surprise, but it made me blush.

  Later on, the boys all go outside to play football. Ricki has a large garden, and they want to test out some new moves they’ve been practicing.

  I stay inside to play with Ricki’s cousins, who for some reason really like me. We end up going upstairs to hang out in one of the bedrooms.

  I decide to head back down a while later, but half-way down the stairs, I feel a push in my back. The next thing I know, I’m tumbling down and hit the bottom in a heap. I look back and see Serena Davenport stood at the top, looking down at me. Which can’t be right because she wasn’t even at the party. Right?

  Ricki’s Mom comes running to help me, then I don’t reme
mber much after that. I wake up and I’m in hospital. The doctors check me over, saying I’m really lucky to escape with only bruises. I don’t feel very lucky though.

  Dante and Colt pick me up from the hospital a while later. They wanted to know what happened, so I told them, they were both really mad, and promised it would never happen again.

  When we get home, they don’t take me to Nans. Apparently, she isn’t feeling well again so I’m going to stay at their house for a few days. I’m sad because I really want to tell Nan what happened.