Page 65 of The Only Thing That's Real
When we got to the top three things we missed about home, excluding people, we each wrote our answers on the scraps of paper Ryan ripped up an hour ago. She thought I was cheating because my answers either matched hers or were such a complete 180 from hers it would spark a fresh debate. There was no cheating involved. We have more in common than we don’t and we both love to argue with each other. It’s like some strange foreplay that’s almost better than moving our little party of two into the bedroom.
Almost.
Main Street Park was number three on our favorite spots in Goose Hollow lists. From there, memories flowed. We agreed The Shack, an adorable VW van turned into a food truck, that served the smoothest soft serve on the planet was one of the things that got the park to the number three spot. I was surprised to find out she’d worked there during her teens. When conversation moved to the hot cocoa they served in the winter, The Great Christmas Tree Lighting Debacle of 2012 came up, and we’ve been in hysterics ever since.
This afternoon when I got her text, the relief was intense. It was so late in the day I thought she might not be checkingin at all. I worried I might have crossed too many lines, or that Daisy called her. Or maybe, just maybe, my gifts were too much, and I had pushed her away. Fresh out of the shower, I was sprinting to the bedside table when I heard a text notification. I stubbed my toe as I reached for the phone, and cursed as I threw myself on the bed. The pain in my foot became an afterthought when her name popped up on my home screen.
I had been aching to see her.
Desperate even.
Who knew I could enjoy myself as much as I did with her? Pizza, soda, games, and laughs. So many laughs. As much as I want to know how good it would feel to be inside her, after tonight, I’ve got an entirely new attraction to her. I want to be her friend. Want to spend every minute of my free time with her.
Spending alcohol-free hours talking to a woman who isn’t a member of my family is a first for me. I haven’t felt this happy in so long I find it hard to believe I was ever truly happy before Ryan Jameson entered my life.
This is why I’ve agreed to watch her all-time favorite movie. A movie I’ve made a point to avoid for years now. But it’s impossible to say no to this woman.
“Holy crap, it’s already nine. We have a movie to watch before you turn into a pumpkin, McKinnon.”
At least she didn’t add the old man to my name this time.
“We can save it for another night.”
Please say I’ll get more nights like tonight.
“Nice try. Turn the TV on and we’ll mirror the movie from my phone. I’ll be right back.”
She rushes out of the room with a skip in her step. Like akid walking through the gates of Disney for the first time. As in tune with each other as we seem, this is one thing we differ on. I’m not sure a movie has ever made me skip.
She’s only gone long enough for me to turn the TV on. A gray throw blanket is draped around her shoulders when she returns.
“Ready?”
Ready and willing for anything you throw my way. As long as you keep looking at me the way you are right now.
She’s devastatingly beautiful, and blissfully ignorant of her impact on me. There isn’t a song in existence that could express the way I feel when I’m around her. The way she destabilizes my world while righting it all at once.
Keeping my internal thoughts to myself, I pretend I’m not looking forward to spending the next two hours with her. “Do we really have to do this?”
She’s about to sit, but my question halts her, leaving her ass to hover above the couch. “Knox, do you want to be my friend?”
“Pretty sure, we’re already friends.”
Placing herself in front of me, hands on her hips, without a trace of humor, she says, “You wanna keep things that way?”
“What do you think?”
“I think you’re a smart man and you’ll make the right decision.”
“TheNotebookit is.” Tugging one of her hands, I pull her toward me.
Giggling, she lands on my lap, our eyes meeting for the briefest moment. It’s enough to make me hard, so I scoot her onto the couch cushion next to me, hoping she doesn’t noticehow turned on I am. She spreads the blanket out, covering both of us, and messes with her phone until a loan boat drifting in the sunset appears on the TV. Ryan tucks her feet under her, pressing against my side. My arm wraps around her shoulder, and she sighs in contentment.
This is it.
This is what I’ve been waiting for.
She’swhat I’ve been waiting for.
