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Even though those were some of my favorite nights with him, it didn’t mean I didn’t love date nights with Griffin nearly the same. Maybe that was because Griffin didn’t do the same old thing when he planned our date nights. Obviously, he’d always take me out to dinner, but afterward, we’d go and do something fun together.
And since it was rare for Griffin to tell me in advance what we were doing, I found it hard not to get excited like I was now. As much as I wanted him to tell me what our plans were for the evening, it was mostly out of curiosity. I didn’t need to know precisely where we would be going or what we would be doing to know I was going to have a fantastic time with him.
That was just it, though.
It had been impossible not to enjoy every moment Griffin and I had with one another. We genuinely liked being around each other, for sure, but I would have been lying if I said there wasn’t something else lingering there for me.
Time was flying.
In the weeks leading up to my interview at the Blue Spruce Ski Resort—the weeks I’d been living with Janine and her boyfriend—it seemed time had dragged on. Every day felt daunting and hopeless.
Because it was.
Now, it was different.
Every day felt like a fresh start, a new beginning. There was so much promise and hope and fun awaiting me.
I was enjoying life again.
And while part of it was because I was working again and getting myself back on my feet, the bigger part of it was Griffin.
He’d brought so much joy and optimism into my life.
But as happy as I felt, there was that little voice in the back of my head that often reminded me of just how little time I had left with him. We had roughly two weeks left together before he was going to leave to head back to Hawaii. Every time I thought about it, I felt a lump form in my throat.
It already felt horrible, and he was still here with me. I couldn’t imagine where I’d be three weeks from now, but I knew it wasn’t going to be any place good.
And since I wanted to be able to soak up every last ounce of precious time I had with Griffin and do it while actually enjoying him, I frequently pushed the negative thoughts from my mind and pretended they didn’t exist.
“And we’re here.”
I shook my head, forcing the thoughts that threatened to send me into a tailspin from my mind, and looked around.
That’s when I noticed where we were.
My eyes flew to my left, where I found Griffin was watching me, an amused look on his face. Lifting a brow, I asked, “Pottery?”
He shrugged and explained, “You know how I like to keep things tame for you.”
A smile slowly formed on my face. Griffin had been mindful of my aversion to risky things, doing that while still ensuring we always had fun together.
Of course, I frequently had the thought pop into my mind that choosing to remain in a relationship with a man who lived in another state—one I could only get to by plane—was risky. But letting go of him felt like an even bigger gamble, so I chose to hold on to him and hope for the best.
“Are we just painting already crafted pottery, or are we making it ourselves?” I asked.
He grinned. “We’re going to get a little messy tonight, sugar. But I think it’s going to be worth it for what I had in mind.”
Surprise washed over me. “You already have a plan for how this is going to go?”
Nodding, he replied, “I want us to make each other a gift.”
“What?”
Suddenly, his face grew solemn, and his fingers tightened around mine. “I’m leaving in two weeks, Indy. I know I can’t do what I really want, which is to bring you there with me. So, I was thinking I’d like for you to give me something to take with me, and I’m going to leave something here for you.”
My heart.
My heart couldn’t handle this.
