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“Since I what?” I goaded her.
“Since that night at the bonfire in your truck. Where Emmeline interrupted us.”
I nodded, remembering the sun setting over the water. A couple guys from the football team throwing old notebooks into the fire to keep it going. The faint smell of smoke, stale weed, and cherries.
“You were going to tell me something that night, weren’t you?” I recalled.
She shrugged.
“What were you going to say?” I asked.
“No way. It’s your turn. Truth or dare.”
“No, Cindy. I’m not playing games anymore. I’ve always wondered what you were going to tell me that night. Honestly.”
“It was nothing. I barely remember.”
“I know it wasn’t nothing. Don’t bullshit me, Cindy,” I demanded. “I know you remember. Whatever you were leading up to, this was important. I deserve to know after all this time, don’t I?”
“I…”
“Please, Cindy. Tell me.”
Cindy looked at her hands. She bit her bottom lip and shook her head.
“Cindy.”
“I was going to tell you that I was in love with you.”
I blinked a few times, my eyes on Cindy, searching for hers, but she won’t look at me.
“You were in love with me?”
“Yeah. I was. But that was, like, ten years ago, Luke,” she said. She pushed her hair behind her ears and sat up straighter. “I was a kid back then. Really. It’s no big deal.”
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“I’m not embarrassed.”
“I’m just saying.”
“And I’m just saying that, yes, I had a thing for you when we were younger. But I’m over it now. I’m not in love with you anymore,” she concluded. “And I think we should probably go home now.”
Cindy stood up, probably a little too fast, and gripped the bar top to steady herself. She swayed a little, definitely drunker than she let on. I took care of the bar tab and got Cindy back into the vehicle.
Once inside my truck, sitting in the passenger seat, she leaned back and closed her eyes.
“Are you okay there?” I asked as I turned on the engine.
“I’m fine. Just going to take a little nap over here.”
By the time we got back to Blue Creek, Cindy was fast asleep. I shot off a quick text to her sister before helping her into my house and practically carrying her upstairs to my room.
“I’m sorry, Luke,” she said. “I think I wrecked our night.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“I’m sorry I’m not twenty-two anymore. I could drink back then.”
