AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Me:I’m on the dick.
My Girl:Ummmmmmm
Me:I meant dick.
Me:DICK
Me:WTH? DECK!
My Girl:Awww, autocorrect hates you too!
Me:Well, if I’m honest, I’d take you coming out on my dick too.
My Girl:You’re such a weird horny ass.
Me:Weird horny ass, huh?
My Girl:Yup. Ok if I don’t come out there what are you gonna do? Shank my ass for being a bad girl?
Me:I don’t think I’ll go to that extreme.
My Girl:But bad girls get shanked.
Me:Oh, pretty girl, just stop texting and get your ass out here already or I will SPANK your ass — not SHANK it like you’re asking me to, bad girl.
My Girl:Oh my gosh. Damn you autocorrect! **shakes fist**
Me:Just get out here before I come in there and lick you up and throw you over my shoulder to bring you out here.
My Girl:A good licking isn’t so bad.
Me:I give up. Just come outside please?
I’m standing outside on the deck waiting for her when she comes outside, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She’s giggling at our texting snafu and looks calm and relaxed, the same way she’s been for the last few days since we arrived. I grab her hand as soon as she gets close to me and lead her down the stone path to the back yard where the fire ring is sitting, deep set and surrounded by landscape rocks. The sun has almost set, the last of the day’s rays reflecting off the lake water, making the night take on a mysterious form. The hot tub that sits off to the side we haven’t had the pleasure of enjoying yet, but we plan to. Even with the cooler temperatures of Michigan autumn biting at our backsides, it’s serene, beautiful, tranquil even.
We sit next to each other in the dark-stained Adirondack chairs that are set around the fire ring. She’s still wrapped in her big, fleece, red-plaid throw blanket, and she stares at the fire, seemingly content.
I’ve been sitting out here for a while, thinking, going over in my head what I want to say to her. What to say to make the past few months go away, to make it better. But maybe I already have. We’re back to ourselves. Or getting closer every minute, at least.
“You know, I don’t remember the moment we met,” I tell her.
“Me either. I was thinking about that earlier too. So many people have these great when-we-met stories, and you’ve just… been there… my entire life. I’m not complaining, but I know what you mean.”
“I guess. I do remember the day I saw you differently though.”
“You do?” she asks.
“I do,” I say, looking straight into her bright blue eyes. The flames from the fire are making her blue eyes shine even more, shine brighter. I go on to tell her about the pep rally, my feelings, what I remember about the following few weeks. How I fell head over heels in love with her when I was still a teenager — barely able to comprehend what love was at that age, but still old enough to understand that what I felt wouldn’t change over time.
By the time I finish with the story, she has silent tears slowly trickling down her cheeks, and her breathing is coming in a little heavier. But what I notice most is that she’s radiating with love. For me.
“Tess. That moment that I saw you walk through those gym doors at the homecoming pep rally, my world was turned on its axis. No longer did I think of tomorrow, but I thought about forever. Of how you would be part of my forever. I no longer cared if I crossed everything off my teenage bucket list. I didn’t care if I went on to play college ball, if I traveled all over the world, or if I gave people a reason to remember my name. You were all that mattered — and still are. I knew, without a doubt knew, that if I could get you to smile my way, shine your eyes in my direction, give me your love, that I would do anything and everything in my power to treasure it, to keep it. I wanted to show you every single day what you mean to me. I failed you.”
“Barrett, no. You didn’t fail me.”
“I did. I know that you understood in your head that I still loved you. But you weren’t seeing it. You weren’t feeling it. At least not in the capacity you deserve. I should have never let you feel like I wasn’t continuing to fall in love with you. I might be a selfish son of a bitch for saying this, but I want to be the one that puts the spark in your eyes every day. I want to be the reason your heart beats faster, the cause of your bright smile. I sat on those bleachers that day and willed you to look my way, and you did. You looked my way. And that’s all it took. I felt it when you let me drive you home from school that day, and agreed to wear my jersey. But I forgot that feeling. I forgot that you made me feel like the king of the school that day. I wanted to get on the speaker at the football field and tell everyone that you were mine, even though you weren’t yet. I felt like I had won the best thing in the world, just by you agreeing to wear my jersey.
“And I did. I discovered the best treasure that day. I discovered you. But I got wrapped up in my own self, Tess. I neglected to remember you changed my world for the better. In all the mundane normalcy of our lives, I let it ruin us. I let the day-to-day stuff lead and used it for an excuse. I won’t do it again. I promise you.”
