Page 56 of Tides and Tidings

He cocked a brow, “Oh?”

“I would mount you right here and now if I could.”

His eyes went wide and he put the pool cue back. “Then why are we still here? Let’s go!” He grabbed my hand and pulled me to the door.

I couldn’t fight the giggles. “You’re crazy.”

He shot me a devious look over his shoulder as we left, “Crazy for you.”

Charlie

We took five steps outside Tequila Cowboys before the heavens opened. I ducked under an awning in the hopes it would stop quickly, while Blythe stood on the sidewalk, arms stretched wide.

“What are you doing? Get under here!” I yelled over the loud rain.

“I’m living life!” her smile was wide. “Come here!”

I hesitated, “There’s lightning. Get under here!”

Blythe bent down to unbuckle her shoes.

“Bee, you’re drunk. Don’t take your shoes off.” I sounded like a dad.

She spun in a circle. “I’m standing in water. I’ll be okay!”

I took a step forward, still under the awning.

“Charlie, come here,” Blythe crossed her arms and furrowed her brow. “Stop living with a stick up your butt. I love you, but damn. I won’t get struck by lightning. Do you know what the odds are?”

This woman knew how to keep me in check, one of the many things I loved about her. A smile danced on my lips as I moved forward from under the awning towards her, “What are they?”

“The odds of someone getting struck by lightning in their lifetime is 1 in 15,300.” Her eyes narrowed and her smile returned.

“I guess we could take the chance together,” I wrapped her up in my arms. The rain pummeled my face.

Blythe pressed her hands against my chest and looked at the drenched paper ring on her finger. “I forgot I had that on.”

I reached down to rip it off.

Blythe pulled her hand away, “What are you doing?”

“Helping you take it off.”

A loud clap of thunder rattled the street and Blythe jumped.

I held her tight, “You’re alright.”

She took a deep breath and stepped back out of my embrace. “I want to keep this,” she fiddled with the ring on her finger, not making eye contact with me. “I know it doesn’t mean anything, but it’s sweet.”

Did she want it to mean something?

Her explanation was met with silence. I wasn’t sure what to say. I could either tell her the truth—that I was going to propose. Or, I continue with the lie.

“Let’s dance!” Blythe was tired of the silence. She grabbed my hands and pulled me towards her. She laced her fingers around my neck and I wrapped my arms around her waist. We rocked back and forth slowly to the beat of music we couldn’t hear. “Thank you for this weekend. I didn’t know how badly I needed it.”

I could feel her body relax. “Me either.”

“We should do another weekend away in the Spring. I don’t know if we could rope your parents into watching Wren for the weekend quarterly, but we need to be better about setting aside time for the two of us.”