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“Will you come with me?” The question spills out without thinking.
“To Colt’s family’s lake house?”
“Yeah. It’ll be fun.”
“I can’t leave Gramps.”
“Yes, you can!” I hear called in the background. I smile automatically. Earl Matthews is one of my favorite people on the planet, and not only because I’m in love with his granddaughter.
“I thought you were asleep, Gramps. Stop eavesdropping!”
There’s some rustling in the background that makes me think Lennon moved to a different part of the farmhouse. “You were saying?” I tease.
“Miraculous, how his hearing is perfect when I’m on the phone with you but the baseball games have to be blasting for him to follow the innings.”
“Did he watch the Jays game last night?”
“Did you forget who you’re talking to?”
I snort, then sober. “I know you worry about him. But it’s only two nights, Len. You. Me. Our own room…”
My attraction toward Lennon has never just been physical. Even when I met her as a hormone-filled fourteen-year-old, I was just as interested in talking to her as I was in anything physical. But I miss sex. Brian sneaks a different girl into our cabin most nights.
“Isn’t it supposed to be a guys’ trip?”
“They’ll all prefer if you’re there. Trust me.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to Gramps.”
Just like that, my mood soars.
We talk for a few more minutes, catching up on each other’s days. I’m tempted to ask Lennon if she’s heard back from Clarkson. But she doesn’t mention it, so I don’t bring it up. We’ve made it two and a half years attending different schools. I have no doubts we’ll make it through another.
As soon as I step back inside the restaurant, I hear my name called. Sophie is standing at the bar, waving me over. “They’re slammed, so I came over here to get the next round,” she explains when I reach her.
“Did the food arrive?” I ask, glancing at our table. “I’m starving.”
Sophie doesn’t answer. She steps closer, bringing the smell of lime and tequila with her. “I’m really glad you came tonight, Caleb.”
I step away, some of the relaxation following my call with Lennon evaporating. “This is getting old. I have a girlfriend, Sophie.”
She licks some salt off the rim of her margarita. “I was so excited when my parents said you’d committed to Clarkson, you know. You were pissed about moving to Landry. Figured you’d never look back at that town, once you left for college.”
“Things change.”
“My parents expect us to get married.Yourparents expect us to get married.”
I don’t react.
“Yeah.” Sophie exhales. “I figured that wouldn’t happen when every girl on campus—including me—threw herself at you and you didn’t look twice at anyone. Even when youweresingle.”
“You’ll meet someone special, Sophie, and it’ll make sense.”
Sophie scoffs and sips her drink. “I hope she knows how lucky she is.”
I grin. “I think she’s more resigned to being stuck with me at this point.”
As soon as she agreed to try, I pursued Lennon with a tenacity I’d only ever applied to baseball. For weeks, I called her every night at seven p.m. sharp. Every free weekend, I drove back to Landry. She told me she was scared of not being a priority, and I was hell-bent on proving her wrong. Still am, honestly. Part of the reason I’ve been the last player to leave the field each day is that I’m not going to do any training once I’m back in Landry. My plan is to do nothing but spend time with Lennon until I have to leave for Clarkson and start senior year.
