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“Oh, no. Did you already see him?”
Chuckling, though there’s no humor in my voice, I crumple up the empty brown paper bag and shove it into the trash can.
“You already saw him,” she answers for me. “What happened?”
Sighing, I drop down into one of the kitchen chairs and stare blankly at the remaining two bags of groceries that need to be put away.
“He’s going to be Coach Mitchell. He’s helping Sam Rush with the team.”
“So you talked to him? Tell me everything.”
I shake my head, though I know she can’t see me. “It was only for a second. He just mentioned he’d be coaching while he’s rehabbing his arm.”
“That’s it?”
“Pretty much.”
I don’t tell her the other part, about how I was so brittle, or the part where I told him not to talk to me. Both of those things mean I’m not over what happened between us, even though part of me hoped I’d moved on.
“Well if that’s it…I mean, I know this is going to sound selfish, but…are you still coming with me on Saturday?”
At that, I actually laugh. Leave it to Nicole to make this about being at the biggest thing to happen in this town since the grocery store caught fire last year.
“I don’t know, Nic,” I tell her honestly. “I’m not sure I’m up for it. You know he’ll be there.”
“And? Show him what a mistake he made,” she volleys back. “Dress up in something gorgeous and shake your ass every time he’s behind you. You can’t miss the biggest event this town has seen in years!”
I nibble on the inside of my cheek. There’s no way in hell Bishop won’t be at the Cedar Cider opening this weekend. His brother is one of the owners. His twin sister is dating one of the other owners. Plus, his parents go to every major event around here. If he’s in town, he’ll be there.
“I’ll think about it,” I tell her, not wanting to make any promises.
She grumbles about staying home with me if I decide not to go but then begs me not to make her miss it. We get off the phone, promising to see each other Saturday morning at yoga.
I sit there for a long moment, my mind skittering over every possibility of what could happen if I go to the brewery opening. Seeing Bishop is a guarantee, but maybe I can avoid him. Maybe he’ll avoid me. Maybe there will be so many people it’ll just be a simple nod from across the room and then we’ll both be too busy.
Ultimately, I set those thoughts aside and return to my task of putting away the groceries. I have too much to do today to think about this any longer, and I resign myself to making a game-time decision. Today, I don’t want to deal with it.
It will just have to be a future Gabi problem.
When I arrive at Cedar Cider on Saturday night, I immediately realize past Gabi made a mistake.
I can make all the excuses I want about why I didn’t want to come tonight. My busy schedule. My achy arms. The fact that I’m legitimately exhausted from the poor sleep I’ve been getting. All of those things might be true, but I know the real reason, and he’s sitting in the corner, chatting with his parents and a few other people I recognize from around town.
Like magnets, our eyes lock across the space.
It’s always been like that, for as long as I can remember, from the first minute I walked into homeroom in the seventh grade and saw him.
“You’re new,” he said, his eyes skimming over me.
He said it like it didn’t happen that often. Eventually I learned it was because it really didn’t. I was the first new student in his grade in several years, having just moved to Cedar Point to live with my aunt Leah.
“You’re nosey,” I replied, tugging my sketchbook closer when he tried to look at it.
He chuckled and just continued talking to me like we were already friends, and he did that every day in homeroom for the rest of the year. His eyes found mine as I walked through the door, and he grinned that grin I hate to love so much.
Like I said…magnets.
“Let’s grab a beer and a table,” Nicole says, leading me over to the bar. Her head tilts back and her eyes survey the room as we wait on one of the bartenders to take our order. “God, they did such a good job. Do you remember what this place used to look like?”
