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“That’s right.” He nodded.
“After we put the stuff back into the trunk, there was this heart-shaped rock. It wasn’t very big.” I demonstrated by cupping my palm. “But I kept it. Like a memento.”
A dreamy look mellowed his features, and the crease on the edge of his eyes pushed higher. “We had a lot of fun, didn’t we?”
“We sure did.” My heart swelled recalling all the memories we made. Some hard, some sad, but overwhelmingly, the great ones won out. “And all because I asked you out.”
“If you hadn’t… I don’t know if I would’ve ever had even the courage to try.”
“Sure you would’ve.”
He shook his head. “No way. You were this incredible breath of fresh air. Personable, you got along with everyone, and I mean everyone; staff, students, it didn’t matter. You were smart, but not nerdy. You were well-known but not popular. You were gorgeous but…”
“But?” Desperate to hear the rest of his statement, I turned my left ear in his direction.
“There’s no but. You were the best-looking girl in the whole dang school.”
A wave of embarrassment washed over me, but it was mixed with a sense of pride. Aside from my father, no one since Carter had ever mentioned how I was beautiful, and here he was years later, saying it again.
“Andyouaskedmeout. All your life, you’ll never know what that felt like.”
I grimaced and pulled back a little, waiting for a response.
“I mean, the sweetest girl ever asked out the low-level drama kid. It’s like a dream come true. Life doesn’t get much better than that.”
“Sure it does. You asked me out on the second date.”
There was a hint of a sparkle twinkling in his eyes. “You meanhey, that was fun. Let’s do it again?”
And just as quickly, it faded away. However, my way in had been established.
I cleared my throat. “In keeping with our tradition, I hear there is this amazing tree lighting ceremony going on this weekend.”
He perked up once again.
“And I was wondering how I get a guy like you to take a girl like me to see this event in person.”
The Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat, but as I watched, a new expression replaced the self-deprecated look. “Well, I guess, you could ask. Or I could? But I’m not very good at this kind of thing.”
“Try me.”
He cleared his throat. It took a few solid seconds, but he finally blurted out breathlessly, “Do you want to go to the tree lighting ceremony with me on Saturday?”
Being the silly I was, I tapped my chin pensively. “Hmm… I’ll have to check my calendar. Saturday, you say?”
His jaw dropped and his eyes widened, but then it must’ve hit him who he was dealing with as a large laugh roared out of him.
“Yeah, I’m free and I’d love to join you. Thanks for asking.”
That made his smile grow even larger, which I didn’t think was possible. He rose and stood, wiping away an imaginary crumb as I hadn’t even had a chance to taste the new donut yet.
“So, Saturday… I used to be the kind of guy who would pick up a girl and drive her around but with you… well, not living here, would it be possible…”
His sudden awkwardness was so cute, it was charming.
“Would you mind parking at my place, and we can walk over together? It would help me feel more manly about the whole situation.”
“I wouldn’t mind at all.”
