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Out of options, I decided to make a run for it. Seeing a gap in the line, I darted through it and dodged a defensive tackle, then a defensive end. My teammates took care of the other threats, giving me a clear path to the end zone.
As I crossed the goal line, the referee threw his arms up. “Touchdown, Mariners!”
I dropped the ball and jumped in the air, ecstatic with my part in our victory. Within seconds, my team rushed me in the end zone, cheering and patting me on the shoulders and back.
Pushing through the mob of sweaty football players surrounding me, Liv made her way to me. She threw her arms around my neck and kissed me.
Her lips were soft and sweet, and the kiss ended way too quickly. The guys hooted and hollered around me as Liv pulled back, giving me a coy smile before disappearing into the crowd.
She left me dumbfounded, licking her strawberry lip gloss off my lips, and staring after her like a love-sick puppy.
That was our very first kiss.
* * *
When I finally pulled myself together, I drove back home to finish my work for the day. It was a Monday, and on Monday nights, I met my best friend, Tommy, at one of the local bars to have a couple of beers and watch whatever sports game was on. In the late spring, we had hockey and baseball to choose from, and Tommy and I were bigger hockey fans than baseball, especially since our state team was in the play-offs that year.
Tommy was in our normal spot at the Backstreet Pub. He already had a beer waiting for me, which brought a smile to my face.
I patted him on the back before taking a seat in the stool next to his at the bar. “Hey, bud. How’s it goin’?”
He tipped his beer to me with a grin. “Can’t complain. How about you?”
I took a swig of my beer before answering, “You’re not going to believe the shit that happened to me today.”
My response caught Tommy’s interest. He arched a brow as he swiveled his barstool toward me. “What?”
“Liv came by the farm today.”
Tommy’s eyes widened. “Are you shittin’ me? Liv, like high school Liv?”
I chuckled. “The one and only.”
“Holy shit.” My best friend blinked several times in disbelief, then took a swig of his beer. “What the hell did she want?”
Tommy and I had been friends since grade school. He was like a brother and knew everything about Liv and me. I told him about Piper’s letter, then my letter to Liv and her showing up at my front gate.
He chugged the rest of his beer and signaled the bartender for two more as I finished mine off. “So what are you going to do?”
“We’re meeting Piper this weekend. After that, I’m not sure.”
The bartender set two cold bottles in front of us as Tommy asked, “What about Amber?”
I sighed and took a long pull of my beer. “I don’t know, Tommy. This is Liv we’re talking about here.”
“Yeah, but Amber picked up the pieces that Liv left behind. That’s gotta count for something.”
After Liv had left, I didn’t date for a couple of years, but then I went on a string of one-night stands and brief hookups before meeting Amber. We’d been dating for a few years, but it was definitely more serious for her than it was for me. Recently, she’d brought up conversations about getting married and starting a family more and more, but I just couldn’t commit to her. Not when most of my heart belonged to Liv.
My momma had been pressuring me to propose as well. She loved Amber just as she had loved Liv, but I wasn’t ready for that. And with Liv back in the picture, I wasn’t sure what the future had in store.
I took another chug of my beer. What the hell was I going to do?
After the bar, I decided to talk to Amber to let her know what was going on.
This is probably going to be the most awkward conversation of my life.
Amber and I technically shared a rental home near the waterfront, but I spent most of my nights at the farm because it was easier for work that way. I still considered my parents’ house my home even if Amber saw it otherwise.
