Title: A Solid Love
Author: Nicole
Rating: Teen
Feedback? Yes please!
Summary: Completely AU; Josh and Donna have known each other since childhood, and their families are about to learn that their relationship has changed
AN: I played around with facts and what not; this is entirely AU. I got this idea in my head and couldn't get it out. I don't know if I like how the story turned out, but I though since I wrote it, I should post it. Please feel free to be honest about what you think.
AN 2: I am still writing "Home to Stay." It was put on hold as I moved to Hong Kong to study for the semester. The move and my classes and sightseeing have caused me to fall behind, though the next chapter should be completed within the week, hopefully. I wrote this story while I was in the Philippines during Chinese New Year and did not have my computer to work on "Home to Stay."
AN 3: This story is inspired by Samantha's story "Friends and More" at the National Library. I borrowed a couple of ideas from that story and I hope she doesn't mind. I tried to send her an email but it was out of date. I loved her story and I got this idea in my head to expand on it.
A huge thanks to my beta Trish! She made me feel much better about posting this.
Now, on to the story…
Donna awoke from her deep slumber to the pleasant feel of warm lips on her neck. Lips that belonged to her boyfriend of one year.
"Good morning." Josh whispered in her ear.
"Happy Birthday," she stated as she rolled towards him and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips.
He smiles at her, "it is now. Happy anniversary." He whispered. He leaned in to kiss her again but Donna pulled back.
"I need to brush my teeth," she stated sheepishly.
Josh chuckled as she climbed out of bed, making her way to his bathroom while still naked from the previous night's activities.
While she was in the bathroom, there was a knock on Josh's front door. He quickly climbed out of bed, threw on his t-shirt and boxers, and answered the door.
"Happy birthday!" Josh stood in shock for a moment as his mom and dad moved around him and into his apartment.
"Mom. Dad. What are you doing here?"
"Well son, it is your birthday, is it too much to want to spend it with you?" Josh's mom, Rachel asked.
Josh didn't have time to respond before Donna came out of the bathroom in only his robe.
"Honey, where is my shampoo? I think I am going to take a sho—Mrs. Lyman! Mr. Lyman! I , um, well…Josh?"
It took a moment for Josh to get over not only the shock of his parents finding Donna in his apartment but also because of the fact that Donna was flustered. He rarely saw that from her.
"Mom and dad, you remember Donna?" If she weren't in the situation she was in, Donna would have rolled her eyes at his ineptitude.
Rachel however had overcome the shock and rolled her eyes at his question instead. "Of course we know Donna, Joshua. What is she doing here?"
"Well," Josh looked over at Donna to make sure this was okay. It wasn't as if he couldn't not tell them now. When they had started dating, Donna was afraid to tell their parents. Though their families were good friends, Josh's mom had been pushing him to find a nice Jewish girl and Donna's father was wary of any of the guys Donna dated. They had felt there would be a lot of yelling and decided to wait until they were sure that this relationship would go where they thought. However, as they grew closer and their relationship deeper, Donna became even more fearful of their parent's reactions. "Mom, dad. Donna and I are dating."
Donna couldn't help but notice Rachel's grimace. It wasn't that Rachel didn't like Donna, on the contrary, she though Donna was a very nice girl. The problem was that she wasn't a nice, Jewish girl.
"I'm going to go get dressed." As Donna retreated into the bathroom, Rachel turned to Josh, ready for some answers.
"You're dating her?"
"Yes. We are dating. What's so wrong with that?"
"Everything Joshua! She's not Jewish. She's only 20. She is not the girl you need. She gets involved with the wrong men. She is too vulnerable. You need to stop playing around with her before she gets in to deep and you break her heart."
"Mom! This is not--"
"Josh, I think I am going to go." Donna said quietly as she exited the bathroom having heard Rachel. Josh instantly saw that she was close to tears and went over to comfort her, pulling her into a hug and talking to her quietly.
Before Rachel could say anything more, Noah placed a hand on her arm. She turned to argue with him but instead saw him watching Josh and Donna. He could easily see how in love they were.
"Donna, I love you." Josh whispered in Donna's ear.
"I know, but I need to go think about some things."
"Hey." he started pulling back so that he could look at her, but still close enough so his parents couldn't hear him. "What is there to think about? You and I both know this is right."
"Josh, you and I both know that your mom will never accept us and I don't know if I am okay with that. I'll come by later." Donna wanted to lean forward to give him a kiss, to reassure him, but she knew that she was about to start crying and she would not do that in front of his parents. Instead, she quickly turned and left, not saying any goodbyes. "I'll call you."
Josh stared at the door for a moment before turning to his mom. "I'm not just playing with her mom. This is love. I love her."
"Love? You cannot possibly love her. How long have you even been dating? A couple of months? There is no way what you feel for her is love."
"You don't know how I feel! I love her and today is our one year anniversary."
"A year!?"
"Rachel," Noah interjected, "Why don't we hear the boy out? Josh, why don't you tell us about this relationship with Donna? Maybe then we can understand better." He said sitting down on the couch and pulling Rachel down next to him.
"Okay. Well, even though we have only been dating a year, the feelings have been there for a while.
…
"Come in!" Donna called as someone knocked on the door.
"So I came by to see you last night when I got back for the winter break and your father tells me you are on a date." Josh stated as he walked into her room.
Donna jumped up from her bed and ran into Josh's open arms. Ever since her parents moved down the street, she and Josh had been close friends. Their six year age difference never seemed to matter to them.
"I missed you." She whispered into his chest.
"Yeah? When did you miss me the most?" He jokingly asked.
"The nights." She answered seriously.
"So, who is this gomer?"
She rolled her eyes and moved into her room. "He's not a gomer Josh. His name is Michael, he's a senior on the football team and he wants to be a doctor."
Josh looked a little alarmed. "You're not talking about Michael Donovan are you?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"He's not good for you Donna. He's a player and he doesn't deserve you."
"You don't even know him Josh."
That was true. Josh had never met him, but he did know him through what Sam had told him. Sam was one of Josh's best friends and graduated from the same school two years after Josh. He was able to observe first hand the kind of guy Michael was.
"You're right. I haven't met him, but I know enough about him to know that he is no good for you."
"Josh, you don't even know him. He has been nothing but sweet and nice to me. We have fun together and I really like him."
"Well, at least you haven't slept with him yet. I am sure that as soon as you do you'll see his true colors."
Josh didn't have time to process what he had just said before Donna slapped him.
"How dare you speak to me like that!? You are supposed to be my friend!"
"I'm sorry Donna. I really am. It's just, I don't want to see you get hurt by this guy."
"I won't."
"Donna—"
"No Josh. I won't."
Josh knew it was time to drop it, but he didn't want her to be hurt by this guy.
"It's just, I love you Donna. You are my best friend and you deserve someone who will cherish you and love you and know exactly what he was when he is with you." Like me, he added silently.
Donna smile and hugged him. "Thank you Josh. I know you are only looking out for me, but I like this guy Josh and if it turns out badly them maybe it is a lesson I need to learn."
Josh squeezed her tighter," I hope not."
"I think we should watch a movie now."
"You mean you have time for me? You don't have like a date or something?" He joked.
"I'll always have time for you."
That winter break went by quickly and Josh noticed that Donna didn't have much time for him. It hurt. When he had told her he loved her, it was as more than a friend but he wasn't ready to tell her that and he was pretty sure she wasn't ready to hear it. The only thing he could do was to try to find someone to occupy his mind until he was ready to tell her the truth. Three weeks after going back to school, he started dating Mandy Hampton.
…
"So, you have had feelings for Donna for at least four years now?" Rachel asked her son, trying to understand.
"Yeah, probably longer, but that was when I first realized it." He said honestly.
"Then what happened?" Noah pushed.
"Well, I finished college and studied in London for a year. Donna and Michael continued to date and get closer. Mandy and I were still technically together. There wasn't a lot of time for each other. Nothing happened until I came home for the holiday break my first year of grad school. We hadn't seen each other for over a year. Michael had just broken up with her and she found out he was cheating on her while away at college. We met at the swings in that park, where we always used to go as kids.
…
"Donna?" Josh said quietly as he walked up behind her sitting on the swings. He could tell by the way she was leaning over that she was crying. "Your mom said I might be able to find you here."
"I don't want to hear it Josh." She sniffed.
Josh moved around to sit on the swing next to her. "Hear what?"
"I told you so. I couldn't deal with that right now."
"I wouldn't say that Donna."
She looked up at him, her eyes puffy and red. His heart broke for her.
"You wouldn't?"
"No. People who say 'I told you so' usually find some sort of happiness in the fact that they were right. I didn't want to be right and I am definitely not happy about it."
She looked at him a long moment before speaking. "He seemed so great, you know? After we were together the first time, I kept waiting for it to all change, like you said it would. Especially since…But it never did. Not until this last semester. He said I wasn't serious enough since I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. I didn't know what I wanted to major in and he said if he was going to be a doctor, he needed to be with someone who was serious."
Josh was furious. He wanted to tear every limb from this guy's body; he was sure Sam would help. He thought about it for a few more moments, ultimately getting angry with himself for what he had said to her that night which seemed so long ago.
"I'm sorry I had said that to you Donna, and I am sorry that I wasn't wrong, but—wait, 'especially since' what?"
Donna looked at him, confused. "What?"
"You said you expected it to change 'especially since' and then stopped. 'Especially since' what?"
Donna looked away. "Especially since I wasn't ready. He sort of pushed me into it."
"Donna—"
"No Josh, it's okay. I just wanted my first time to be with someone I was in love with and I wasn't in love with him yet."
Josh didn't know what to say. He wanted so badly to pull her into her arms and tell her that everything would be all right. He didn't know however if that was what he should do. As they sat in silence, Donna started crying.
"What did I do Josh? Why didn't he want me?"
Josh moved off his swing and kneeled in front of her.
"This wasn't about you Donna. You are a wonderful, amazing person. This guy was just selfish. All he cared about was himself. You will find someone. Someone who will love you with everything he has inside him. He will cherish you and do everything in his power to deserve you. Like me." This time he did say that last part aloud. He continued looking at Donna, waiting for her to process what was said, waiting for her to understand what it meant. It didn't take long before he saw her eyes well up again with tears.
"You love me?" She asked timidly.
"I do. I have for a while now."
Donna smiled and leaned forward in the swing. She waited a moment before kissing him. He put his arms around her, pulling her towards him and off the swing. They remained in each other's arms, exploring each other's mouths. Donna remembered thinking this is what it should feel like to kiss a man. She briefly felt happy and alive before she remembered what had happened that day. She reluctantly pulled away.
"I can't do this." She whispered.
Josh looked crushed, but managed not to pull away. "Why not?"
"It's not that I don't want to- it's just- I was dumped today and you have a girlfriend. I may not like Mandy, but I won't let you be Michael. I won't let you cheat on her."
"Donna, Mandy and I are not—Wait! You don't like her?"
Donna laughed, "of course I don't. She's mean to you and she's bitchy and she doesn't deserve you."
"We're basically over anyways. We've been off and on for the past year, mostly off." He leaned in to kiss her again, but she pulled back.
"Still, I need to get over Michael before jumping into a new relationship. It wouldn't be fair to you unless I was ready to move on."
Josh smiled at her and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "I can respect that."
"Thank you."
Three weeks later, Josh and Mandy broke up for good.
"And that was our first kiss. We decided to wait. She wanted to be ready for what we both knew would be a serious relationship. She was also still in high school and wanted to focus on completing her last semester and starting college. I broke up with Mandy and just waited for her."
"But that was more than two years ago. You said that you have only been dating for a year?" Noah asked.
"Yes. She wasn't ready until then."
"And you didn't date?"
"I didn't need to. I already knew who I wanted to spend my life with. Donna dated a couple of other guys, both treated her poorly, but she felt it was something she needed to do before we started dating."
Josh noticed his mom sitting silently and moved to sit next to her.
"I know she's not Jewish mom, but she's the one. I want to spend my life with her by my side. I want to have children with her."
"Grandchildren?" she asked
Josh laughed, "Eventually."
"I would like some grandchildren and Donna would be the perfect daughter-in-law." Noah added.
"Thanks dad." Josh turned towards his mom. "Do you understand now, mom?"
She smiled, "I do. Donna is a wonderful girl and if you love her like I think you do, then this is a relationship that I can support."
Josh hugged her. "Thank you."
"We're not done yet Joshua."
"What do you mean?"
"I want to know when you started dating. How did it happen?"
"Well, it happened last year on my birthday. I was going to go home that weekend, so Donna and I decided to spend sometime together. Donna was a freshman at the college nearby and we had been hanging out more and more. We decided on a low-key night, dinner and a movie. Afterwards we came back to my apartment. Donna had bought me a cake and ice cream."
…
"That was a great cake. You remembered my favorite was marble."
"Of course I remember your favorite, don't you know mine?"
"Honey cake." Josh stated without any hesitancy.
Donna smiled widely. "Let's go into your living room. I want to give you your presents."
"Presents? As in more than one?"
"Well, one is a present. The other is something I want too."
Josh was a little confused, but grabbed her hand and led her to the couch. Donna grabbed her purse and pulled out a small, rectangular package, that she was somewhat nervous about giving him. She had saved her money for months to get it for him.
Josh unwrapped it and upon opening it found a beautiful watch. He stared at it for a short time before she spoke.
"Do you like it?"
He looked up at her, "I love it Donna, but this is too much."
"No, it's not enough. I wanted you to know how much you mean to me. These past few months, I have cherished all the time we have spent together and I think my second quasi-present will better show you how much you mean to me. But first, I need you to close your eyes."
Josh hesitated but did as she asked. Donna took a calming breath before leaning in and kissing him softly. "I love you Josh."
Josh opened his eyes and fighting the lump in his throat said, "I love you too." He leaned in to kiss her again. Donna quickly opened her mouth allowing him to deepen the kiss. They kissed passionately for a long while before Josh pulled back. Donna's shirt was unbuttoned and his hand was resting on her lace-covered breast, and Donna's hands were under his shirt. Donna tried to pull him back to her, but he resisted.
"I don't want us to rush here."
"You are not rushing me Josh. I'm ready. I love you and I want you to make love to me."
Josh didn't need anymore encouragement, silently he led her to his bedroom.
…
"Our relationship was great and strong from the beginning. We had so much fun together and we're just happy to be with each other."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Rachel asked.
"I wanted to shout it from the rooftops."
"Then why didn't you?"
"Donna was afraid of how you would react and after today I can understand why. The more serious our relationship grew, the more scared she got. I kept talking to her about telling our families, but she thought disapproval from either side would cause us to fall apart. So, I agreed to wait until she was ready, until she though we were ready to face it. I'm sorry we kept it from you, but I wanted Donna to be comfortable and to be honest I'm a little afraid to tell Mr. Moss."
"I guess I can understand, but how did you manage to stay together with this summer and all if you were keeping it a secret?"
"This last summer was hard and we fought quite a bit actually. Donna was only an hour away however and she would spend the night here frequently under the guise of staying with a friend."
"Oh Joshua…"
"I know mom, but it's what we felt we had to do and our secret relationship worked well until this last winter break. We had our biggest fight yet because you were playing matchmaker mom."
…
"I need to talk to you." Josh stated when Donna answered the phone.
"Now?"
"Yes."
"Meet me at our place. I'll head that way now." 'Our place' was the swings where they had played together in childhood and where they shared their first kiss.
"Okay. I love you."
Josh hung up and made his way up the street to the park. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to tell Donna that he was being all but forced to go on a date. His mom felt that since he hadn't had a girlfriend since Mandy, that she needed to help him out and wouldn't take no for an answer.
About half way down the street, he met up with Donna, leaving her house. He smiled at her and grabbed her hand, walking down the street.
"You sounded upset on the phone."
"More like frustrated. I need to tell you something that you are not going to like and I'm not sure how you are going to take it, but I want you to remember that I don't like the idea either."
"Josh, you're kind of scaring me here."
"My mom set me up on a date." He blurted out.
"What? With who?"
"Amy Gardner"
"Amy Gardner? The girl you had a crush on in high school, Amy Gardner?"
"Yeah, I guess her mom and my mom were talking and--"
"Just tell her no."
"I tried Donna; she's not letting this go. She thinks I'm still upset about breaking up with Mandy, and she wants to help me move on."
"You can't just go out with her Josh."
"Well, we can tell my mom and dad about us."
"Just tell her you don't want to go on the date Josh!"
"How am I supposed to do that?"
That caused Donna to snap, "You're 25 years old Josh. You don't have to do everything mommy says anymore!" she screamed
"Hey! Donna, calm down. You know I don't want this any more than you do, but you know how my mom is."
"Do you really not want this? Because if that was the case, I would think you would fight this harder. But maybe what is really going on is that your dream girl is now interested and you want to see what you may be missing, maybe you can trade me in for her." Donna knew what she was saying wasn't true, but she couldn't get over the jealousy and insecurity she was feeling.
Josh seemed to see right through her cold words to know exactly what was bothering her. "Donna, honey, I'm not Michael. I am not going to cheat on you. Moreover, you are wrong. My dream girl is you."
"Josh, if you really love me, you'd try harder to get out of this. You wouldn't go on this date."
"Donna, I tried. I honestly did. It just started seeming easier to go on this date than to fight about it with my mom."
"When is it?"
"Tomorrow night at 8, I should be back by 10. I'm taking her to dinner and that is it. I'll let her know that I'm not interested."
"You won't decide you want her instead?"
Josh wrapped his arms around her, "You are the only girl I'll ever want." He promised.
The next night Josh went out on his date with Amy and Donna stayed in her room all night, crying into her pillow. She trusted Josh, she did. Nevertheless, she could not shake the feeling that maybe Amy was better than she was. But only 5 minutes after 10:00, Josh was knocking on Donna's window. She quickly let him sneak into her room, and no sooner did she close the window did Josh have his arms around her. He was kissing her as he had that first time they were together. Donna let out the breath she didn't even realize she was holding and she finally realized just how deep his feelings for her ran. Josh continued to show her how there was no other girl for him as they made love all night long.
…
"And that was two months ago." Josh finished telling the story of his and Donna's relationship, before the conversation continued Josh's phone rang. He knew before answering that it would be Donna.
"Hello?...Yeah, I'm glad you're here, I'll be right down." He hung up the phone and turned to his parents. "I'm going to go let Donna in. Maybe we can all sit down and talk, you can let Donna know that you are okay with this relationship."
Rachel stood, enveloping her son in a hug. "Of course we will honey. You should go get her; it's cold outside, she'll get sick."
Josh rushed out of his apartment and didn't notice him mom following. She saw as he let Donna in and immediately embrace her. Donna started crying in his arms. "I love you Donna," she heard her son whisper, but it was Donna's response that caused her to cry as well. "I love you too Josh. So much. I'm not going to let you go, okay? I couldn't live without you."
Rachel no longer cared that Donna wasn't Jewish. She loved her son with her whole heart and that's all Rachel ever really wanted for him.
THREE MONTHS LATER
Rachel and Noah stood in the shade waiting for their son to make his way to them. He had just graduated from Law School and they did not think it was possible to be so proud of where his life was heading. They watched as he embraced Donna, who had been sitting with them during the ceremony, but went to find him as soon as it had ended. They watched as he kissed her and saw her sit down on the bench as he made his way to his parent.
"My baby boy!" Rachel exclaimed.
"Mom!" Josh said embarrassed, but nevertheless hugged her.
"We're proud of you son." Noah said as he pulled Josh into a hug as well.
"Thanks Dad."
"We want to take you and Donna out to dinner tonight. To celebrate." Noah continued.
"Well, do you think we could do that tomorrow? I was planning on doing it tonight."
Tears gathered in Rachel's eyes, "You're going to propose tonight?"
"Yeah," He said nervously. "I got grandma's ring cleaned and resized. I'm going to ask tonight."
"Well, then tomorrow we are taking you and your fiancée out for dinner."
"Dad, you're going to jinx this."
"Nothing is going to jinx this Josh," Rachel assured. "She'll say yes."
That night at dinner Josh and Donna were sitting in a corner of a romantic restaurant talking quietly about life and what was next for each of them.
"Donna, I want to pay for dinner tonight."
Donna was a little confused. This night was supposed to be part her gift to him for graduation. "Josh this is supposed to be part of my present."
"I know but this is kind of like an anniversary for us," Josh said cryptically. "I want to pay for this. But there is something else you can do for me."
"What's that?"
Josh wanted to tell her exactly how she made him feel but was too nervous and just decided to come out and ask.
"Marry me?"
"You want--" Donna was a little surprised. She wasn't expecting this yet, but she also didn't need to think about it. "Yes." A simple answer to his simple question. The only answer Josh wanted to hear.
He smiled as he placed the ring on her finger and leaned into kiss her. "I love you."
"I love you too." She responded through the tears that were gathering in her eyes.
They spent the rest of the night talking about their future, knowing they would be able to make it through anything life may throw at them because they were together.
THE END.