Well hello there! Thank you so much for clicking on my new story. If you’re completely lost please go read this blog — https://fitcouchpotatocom.wordpress.com/2018/08/21/new-story-summary-of-chocolate-chip-cookies-and-pink-nails-writing-corner/ —

Now that you’re caught up, let’s jump right into the first chapter!

Chapter One: The True Meaning of Love

What does love mean to you? Miss Howard held great pride in the fact that her English essays always had topics that forced you to hunker down and think a little. Sometimes the subjects were serious and other times they were more lighthearted but they always required you to really think. You couldn’t just throw something out there for the sake of reaching the required word count. Oh no, she would have you rewrite the entire essay after school. The women had high standards of what she expected from you. This week, the topic made the girls in the class buzz in excitement. With Valentine’s day on Thursday, they gushed about chocolates and roses. What does love mean to you? Love has always been an interesting topic for my family. I have two fathers. Before meeting each other, the two deemed themselves to be straight. They loved to please women. Real players of the field. Daddy Dearest always told me of the pain and agony they experienced as they fought the bond. The heartbreak. And then once they accepted each other and their love, the true happiness, and bliss that followed made all the struggles worth it. Years passed of marital bliss before they adopted me. A rejected baby left in a ditch. Love comes in all shapes and sizes. They would say. Although we didn’t share blood, I was their child.

What does love mean to you? I bit my pen as I pondered over the question. Where do I even start? Time inched by slowly and unable to find the answer, I rolled over to my side to read my messages. The constant beeping peaked my attention. The sender could only be one person. Sasha. My best friend since kindergarten.

<OMG! You won’t believe what just happened!>

<I want to die from the embarrassment.>

<Please come over and kill me.>

<Zack caught us getting down and dirty.>

<I’m dead serious. He full on walked in on us.>

<John was inside of me, M.>

<I repeat. INSIDE OF ME.>

<Instead of pulling out. He came right there and then.>

<I’m not even kidding. He came inside of me.>

<I’m freaking out.>

<Zack is so going to tell Dad.>

<I’m dead meat.>

<Please come over.>

<I need damage control.>

<Zack nearly killed John.>

<OMG. My brother saw my vagina.>

<Just kill me.>

<Hello? Where are you?>

<PLEASE M.>

<I NEED YOU RIGHT NOW.>

<I SWEAR I’M GOING TO SPAM YOU TILL YOU COME OVER.>

<M.>

<M.>

<M.>

Sasha stood true to her response with over a hundred messages of just M. My mind reeled at the new information and a piece of my heart clenched. Even though I’ve come to terms that Sasha’s relationship with John is here to stay…it still hurt to hear about their sex life. I quickly typed a short response before getting up. I skipped down the stairs before coming to a halt at Dad’s office door. I knocked and after a few seconds of silence, I opened the door. I peaked my head through and found my Dad nearly buried in paperwork. He glanced up and smiled. “Heading over to Sasha. I will probably eat dinner at their place.” Before dad could reply, his phone rang. “Okay sweetheart. You know the drill. Be home before ten!” I nodded in response. Dad answered the call. I mouthed a quick goodbye before closing the door behind me. Next stop. The kitchen. As predicted, I found Daddy Dearest rolling out the dough. “What are you making?” I leaned over to peck his cheek before grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl. “I’m playing around with this new cookie recipe. I want to make a cookie muffin.” I knew better to question what a cookie-muffin exactly is and instead moved to the fridge to grab a bottle of water. “I’m just quickly heading over to Sasha’s place. It’s a John emergency. I’m probably going to stay over for dinner.” Daddy Dearest paused at the mention of John, his features immediately becoming concerned. I shook my head and bit back the tears. “We can talk about it tonight but I should really leave.” After a while, Daddy Dearest nodded before returning his attention to the dough. I pecked his cheek again before bouncing out of the kitchen. My phone buzzed with another message. Sasha wasn’t known for her patience. I quickly pulled on my shoes and jacket before grabbing my keys and rushing outside. My phone buzzed once more as another ten messages flashed on the screen. Sasha also had the horrible habit of sending sixty short messages in one go. Why she couldn’t just write one long message was beyond me. After sending her a bicycle emoticon which meant I was on my way, I tucked my phone in my jacket pocket before mounting my bicycle. The cold wind bit my face. The things you do for love.

***

  “You’re late!” Sasha squeaked before my bicycle even touched her driveway. I glanced at her wild appearance and sighed. Sasha couldn’t handle stressful situations. Exam periods was chaos with her around. “Relax! Have you talked to Zack? He won’t just snitch on you.” She shook her head no, her hair flying wildly around her shoulder. “Why don’t you go fix your I-just-had-sex hair look and I will go talk to your brother.” She nodded before disappearing into the house. I quickly locked the bicycle before following her inside. I took the stairs two at a time, walking directly to Zack’s room. He opened at the third knock and I chuckled at his appearance. Where his sister looked frantic with stress and panic. Zack looked sick to his stomach. Seeing his little sister having sex with her boyfriend clearly did a number on him. “Don’t laugh at me. I’m going to have nightmares for the rest of my life.” Zack collapsed on his bed and groaned. I laughed before following his cue and collapsing on his king size bed. I poked his sides still laughing. “Does he really have the weird birthmark on his butt?” I burst out laughing at the pure look of disgust on Zack’s face. “Please just stop.” Zack rubbed at his eyes, probably trying his utmost best to rub the memory away. I rolled my eyes and laughed. After a few minutes, Zack joined.  “Sasha is worried you’re going to spill the beans to the parentals,” I said after a few moments of silence. Zack sighed before rolling over onto his back. “I won’t tell.” I smiled at his response. Sasha will be relieved. I moved to get up to share the news but Zack tugged on my hand, halting my departure. “Are you okay?” Like Daddy Dearest, he was concerned. I nodded slowly. “I’ve come to terms with it…” I simply stated before pulling my hand from his grasp. I practically ran to Sasha’s room before Zack could press on the matter.

The rest of the evening was a breeze. Sasha relaxed completely once I reassured her that her brother had no plans to tell their parents about the incident. She immediately called John to inform him of the news and chatted away with him about the weekend plans to celebrate Valentine’s Day. I grabbed my book from her desk before settling down on her bed and continuing the story I started days prior. I bid goodbye to the Wilson family after dinner before cycling home. Once home, my phone buzzed with a message.

<It’s going to be okay.> I smiled at Zack’s message. Only three people knew about my unrequited love. My fathers and Zack. I walked straight to my bedroom before dropping onto my bed. My unfinished essay crinkled at my weight. What does love mean to you? Heartbreak. Absolute heartbreak. I, after all, fell in love with my best friend.

***

I returned my attention to my essay. What does love mean to you? With an answer in mind, I got to work.

The True Meaning of Love

Let’s separate the words unconditional love and look at them individually. First, what do we mean by the word love? Many of us have thought we understood the meaning of unconditional love, yet perhaps we should again consider what it really means. Is unconditional love a feeling, something like affection or romance? Is it sexual desire? Is it an expression towards another? What does it mean to unconditionally love another? What does it mean to unconditionally love ourselves? Often we define love as a physical response to either external or internal stimuli. For instance, when we look at another person whom we love, we may get a sense of inner happiness that translates into a melting feeling in our bodies. Love can also be defined in a more superficial way, with a descriptive meaning. We may use the word casually as an expression, without feeling or truly understanding its essence. Let’s look now at love as being something more than just an internal feeling or external description.

Love, like all our other doorway concepts, it a thought within. The thought of love has an energy to it. The energy comes from the culmination of all our experience and memories of love. The physical and emotional experiences provide part of the backdrop of what we know as love. And yet there is more. Because love is thought and our thoughts have energy, love is also power: internal power. Love is a sense of peace within. Love is joy and happiness deep inside. Love is an expression of kindness and compassion. Love understands. Love comforts, supports and cares for. Love forgives. Love also honors, respects and believes. Love is patient. Love does not judge or show hate. Love does not fear or doubt. Love trusts. Love is not aggression, spire or terror. Love is not blame or guilt. Love I so much more than just a word. It is a way of being – it is a thought. To be unconditional is to have no strings attached, no expectation, no stipulations. If we bring our two words together, we may say that unconditional love is an unlimited way of being. We are without limit in our thinking and our expression of thought. If we can imagine it, we can build it. Life through love, is, therefore, an unlimited experience. This is the true meaning of love.

*

A/N – The brilliant piece in italics is a piece written by Harold W. Becker. In this chapter, it is, however, the main character’s English essay.

You can find the next chapter here — https://fitcouchpotatocom.wordpress.com/2018/08/28/chocolate-chip-cookies-and-pink-nails-chapter-two-writing-corner/ —